Clove & Moose 10: The Former Friend

Clove and Moose is a serial fiction story. While there is an overarching plot, each episode can be enjoyed on its own without reading what came before. However, if you want to get caught up, click one of the buttons below.

Previously, on Clove & Moose: After the mysterious Cataclysm dried up the earth and its magic, Clove left home to search for pools of corrupted magic left behind in the Cataclysm’s wake. Along with her cat Moose, Clove has been repairing these pools while travelling toward a nearby city. Shortly after her arrival in the city, she rescued a young woman named Marissa from one of the corrupted areas, and the two agreed to stick together until they left the city.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Marissa asked, for at least the tenth time.

“No,” Clove admitted. “But we’re not going in circles any more. We definitely haven’t seen that house before.”

“You’re right, I would have remembered seeing a toilet for a driveway marker.”

“Which means we must be headed in the right direction.” Clove said this with more conviction than she really felt. 

“Does it? How do you know we’re not just wandering a circle around the edge of the city?”

Since crossing the river, they’d been drifting through the suburbs, trying to keep heading west. Clove was starting to regret not buying a compass. Personal knowledge had only brought her as far as the city. From here on out, they were trusting to street signs. If she at least had a map…

“We can’t be. If we’d gotten turned around, the sun would be behind us.”

“I guess,” Marissa allowed. “Can we at least take a break and come up with a plan?”

“Sure.” Clove gestured at a tree by the edge of the road. “Let’s get into the shade.”

Moose was only too happy to stop; he’d been riding on top of Clove’s backpack and was quick to jump down and start sniffing the grass. 

Clove rubbed his chin before pulling her water bottle from her pack and taking several large gulps. The sun was high and they’d been walking for hours. They’d hoped to find somewhere to stop by now, but the day had not gone as planned.

“How are we going to find our way out of here?” Marissa flopped onto her back and threw an arm across her eyes to block out the sun. Moose walked over and stood on her chest.

“We just need to keep going,” Clove said. She took a step out of the tree’s shade to study the sky. If they kept the sun on their right, then they should be going in the right direction. Except that it was midday and the sun was so high in the sky it was hard to tell whether it was on the right or the left. Maybe they should rest for a while. She glanced around the neighbourhood for any signs of life, when her eyes latched onto something familiar.

“What is it?” Marissa asked, peering at Clove from under her arm. She winced as Moose started making bread on her stomach. “See someone?”

“No. But I have seen that before.” Clove pointed at a house with an elaborate rose garden out front. The flowers grew up trellises and stood in bushes, a riot of green and red and pink and white. “I remember it.”

“Really?” Marissa frowned. “I don’t, and I’m pretty sure I would. That place is beautiful.”

“Not from today. I’ve been here before.” Clove dug deep in her memory. “Which means Nora must live in that direction.”

“Who’s Nora?”

“An old friend of mine. We went to school together. I visited her here once, when she first bought the house.”

“Perfect. Let’s go visit Nora.”

Clove hesitated. “I don’t even know if she still lives there.”

“But she might, right? Maybe she can give us directions. We can refill our water bottles and sit down for a few minutes on something other than grass.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? You two have a falling out or something?”

“No,” Clove said. “Nothing like that.”

“Ugh,” Marissa complained, rolling over, to Moose’s disgust. “Always so mysterious.”

“It’s just been a long time, okay? She’s going to ask about things and I don’t even know if she still likes me or if I still like her or if we have anything in common any more.”

“Who cares?” Marissa said. “I’m not asking you to marry her, just stop in for five minutes and ask for directions. If you haven’t seen her in years, does it really change anything if she tells you to go to hell?”

Clove sighed. “No.”

Five minutes later, they stood on Nora’s front step. Clove had almost missed the house – Nora had repainted it from cheery yellow to a pastel pink – but then she caught sight of the unicorn suncatcher in the front window, the same one Nora had put up in every dorm room and apartment she’d lived in during their college years. 

Still, Clove paused at the door. What was she going to say to Nora? How do you rekindle a friendship after so long apart? How would she explain the glaring, obvious, absence in her life?

Marissa rolled her eyes and rang the doorbell.

A few minutes later the screen door swung open and a familiar head of auburn hair burst out. “Hello?”

“Nora,” Clove said, her mouth dry. “Hi.”

The other woman peered at her for a moment before recognition dawned on her face. “Clove? Is that you?”

She swallowed down the last of her nerves. “In the flesh. Sorry for dropping in unexpectedly.”

“Oh my god, don’t. The best kind of unexpected. Is Arthur here?”

Clove could feel Marissa’s curious eyes on her, but she ignored the look. “No, Arthur’s… gone.”

She didn’t elaborate, and she felt a rush of gratitude when Nora didn’t ask her to. 

“I’m so sorry,” was all Nora said. “And who’s this?” 

“This is Moose,” Clove said, shifting him in her arms so Nora could pet him if she wanted.

“Uh, I was referring to her,” Nora said, waving a hand at Marissa.

“Oh.” Clove’s face burned. “This is Marissa.”

“It’s okay, I know Moose is more important than me,” Marissa said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Are you two–?”

Clove didn’t know how Nora planned to end that sentence. Apparently Nora didn’t either, because she trailed off. Clove answered anyway.

“We met in the city and we’re both going the same direction, so we figured we’d stick together for a while.”

“Safety in numbers,” Nora said. “Got it. Now how about we quit standing on the doorstep and you two come in? Sorry, you three,” she corrected, reaching out to scratch Moose’s head.

It was blessedly cool inside. Nora’s home was exactly how Clove remembered it. The blue walls in the porch, the green countertops of the kitchen, the art deco furniture. 

“Come, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”

Marissa shot Clove an I-told-you-so look while Nora fetched glasses of water for them, and Clove settled on the couch.

“Okay if I let Moose off his harness for a few minutes?” she asked.

“Feel free,” Nora said. “Nothing here that’ll do him any harm.”

“He won’t break any of your stuff. Probably.”

“So what brings you out to my neck of the woods?”

Clove explained about her travels to try and fix the corrupted magic. Marissa explained her own journey to look for her family, and the adventures they’d had together so far.

“Exciting times!” Nora said. “And here I’ve just been huddling in my suburban bungalow hoping the food supplies don’t run out.”

“We can’t all go running off on adventure,” Clove said. “We need people to keep things stable, too.”

“It’s weird being the stable one.” Nora shook her head. “I seem to recall that you were the calm bookworm one who always put the rest of us back together when we ran amok.”

“I don’t know about that.” Clove snorted. “You remember the Slug Farm Incident?”

“Oh gods, the slug farm.” Nora slapped a hand over her mouth to suppress an outburst of laughter. “I can’t believe I forgot about that.”

“What happened with the slug farm?” Marissa asked.

Nora dove into a wild retelling of the Slug Farm Incident, which was followed by an explanation of the Vegan Cupcake Surprise and the Purple Trombone Mystery and assorted other adventures and anecdotes from their university days that Clove hadn’t thought about in years. It was the hardest she’d laughed since the Cataclysm, and she was surprised by how relaxed she felt when ten o’clock hit and she found herself stifling a yawn.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to stay so long,” she said.

“Are you kidding?” Nora stroked Moose’s fur. He had jumped up in her lap somewhere around the recounting of the Yarn Dying Escapade and didn’t look like he was getting up any time soon. “This is the best day I’ve had all year. I’ll make up the guest rooms for you two. Stay as long as you want.”

The next morning they shared a breakfast of eggs and toast. Nora invited them again to stay longer, but Clove and Marissa both agreed that they should be on their way. 

“Can I keep this little guy as a guest, at least?” Nora teased, scratching Moose under his chin. Moose leaned into her touch, but kept himself firmly rooted next to Clove.

“Afraid not. He’s my trusty companion.”

“Ah well. Back to the solo life for me, I guess.” Nora pulled Clove into a hug. “It was so great to see you. Thanks for stopping by.”

“You too. I’m sorry it’s been so long.” After all those years of not calling, now that Clove wished she could, she had no way to get in touch.

“Me too.”

Clove released her and took a step back. “If I’m ever back this way, I’ll stop in again.”

“Who knows if I’ll even be here? Maybe I’ll follow your example and strike out on adventure.” Nora pulled Marissa into a hug too. “You take care of yourself. Good luck finding your family.”

Back outside, Clove opened up the rough map that Nora had sketched for them. “Alright, it looks like we want to take a left down Pine Avenue and keep going that way until we get out of the city.”

“Sounds good.” Marissa adjusted her pack and the two of them set off, Moose back on his harness and walking at their side. After a few minutes, Marissa said, “So?”

“So what?”

“Wow, you were right Marissa,” she said in a mimicking tone, “I loved seeing my friend and stopping in for a visit was a great idea. I’m glad you talked me into it.”

One side of Clove’s mouth quirked up despite her best efforts. “Yeah. You were right. I’d forgotten how nice it was to be around other people.”

“Geez, and what am I?”

“That came out wrong. What I’m trying to say is, it’s been nice travelling with you too. I know we talked about sticking together until we got out of the city, but if you’re still planning on heading west, so am I.”

“I am. What are you trying to say, Clove? Use your words.”

Clove stuck her tongue out at her. “I was going to say we should keep travelling together, but now I’m reconsidering.”

Marissa laughed. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. We’ll stick together until Bone Gorge. If Moose will allow it, of course.”

“What do you say, buddy?” 

Moose ignored her and chewed on a blade of grass.

“Good enough.” Clove shrugged. “I think that’s yes.”

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Katie Conrad is a speculative fiction writer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can find her on twitter, instagram, and tumblr.