Chapter 6:06 Movimiento Es Vida

Knee deep in dirt and mud, they march through a dank swamp, swatting flies.

Without torches it's overwhelmingly dark. A flamboyance of flamingos fly overhead.

The dog and the butler stopped chasing them when they came across a plot of Kixi flowers. They grabbed as many as they could carry and ran off.

Theo's angry with Maise for grabbing the cupcake. "No self control!" he yells at her.

"But I'm hungry." she says painfully.

"Which way do we go?" Theo asks Oliver.

"This way." He points reluctantly.

Maise spots another Kixi flower, "Look! I found another one!" She plucks it.

"Who cares." Theo grumbles.

Past some brush they come upon a woman at a well wearing a white dress with straight, raven black hair that runs all the way to the ground where it becomes a tangled, beautiful mess.

She lets the bucket into the well, but the gas light in her lantern burns out. She pulls the bucket back up and sets it down.

She puts her face in her hands and quietly cries.

"No— stop." Theo whispers to Maise as she steps out of the brush toward the woman.

Startled, the woman scrambles for a tree branch and shouts, "Who's there?!"

"We're lost." Maise says.

"Where are you trying to get to?"

"East." Oliver replies.

"You're headed the wrong way then. How did you end up all the way out here?"

"Running away from crazy people." Maise says.

"I feel that," the woman laughs. "My name is Lady. My sisters call me Lady Luck. This is a wishing well— even though it doesn't work for me anymore. Toss in a copper. Make a wish."

"We don't have any coppers." Theo says.

"Well I live in that house there." she says, pointing to an old crooked shack nearby. "We were just about to make some dinner if you're hungry."

"We're starving." Maise says.

"I'll give you some for the watch." Lady says, pointing to Theo's wrist.

"But this is my lucky watch." Theo says as he turns to Maise who gives him a pleading look.

"Fine." he says as he takes the watch off and hands it to Lady.