The village meeting was finally over. People walked away slowly, talking in quiet voices. They were worried, and some were afraid , but they had decided to defend the mountain pass together . It was a serious choice, and everyone understood that.
Jimsy stood near the wall with his arms crossed. He tried to look relaxed, as if nothing could bother him .
“Well,” he said with a little shrug, “in the end they made the most obvious decision.”
At that moment Lana came to him. She moved softly , but when she looked at someone, her eyes felt warm and steady, as if she could understand more than the person said out loud.
“Jimsy,” she said, “I need your help.”
Jimsy blinked, surprised. “My help? With what?”
“It’s Tera,” Lana explained. “She’s awake now, but she’s very upset . She thinks something terrible happened to Orlo , and she’s been crying.”
Jimsy frowned and turned half away. Comforting someone was not something he liked or knew how to do .
“So why me?” he asked. “She doesn’t even like me.”
Lana shook her head gently.
“Jimsy, you know she came to my house looking for you last night, don’t you?” she said. She wanted to warn you . She heard that Orlo was planning to burn down the tree house , and she didn’t want you to get hurt .
Jimsy opened his mouth, but no words came out. He hadn’t known this. For a moment he looked confused, and maybe even a little ashamed.
“Tera is actually kinder than you think,” Lana went on. “She just hides it because she’s proud. Please, Jimsy. Just talk to her.”
She said the last words softly, but firmly, like she truly believed he could help.
Jimsy stood still for a few seconds. Then he sighed, scratched the back of his neck, and nodded. Lana smiled and whispered:
“Go.”
Tera was lying on a bed in a small room . The light was dim, and she was curled up under the blanket, crying quietly. When Jimsy stepped inside, he heard her soft whimpers, and they made him feel tight and uncomfortable inside. He didn’t know what to do with feelings like this—neither his own nor someone else’s.
He knelt down beside the bed.
“Tera?” he said carefully. “Does it hurt? Don’t cry.”
He meant well, but the words sounded stiff, almost clumsy. Tera didn’t look at him. She only cried harder.
Jimsy swallowed and tried again.
“Hey… come on. Orlo’s not dead.”
That made Tera lift her head. Her eyes were red and wet .
“How would you know?” she shouted through her tears. “You weren’t there!”
Jimsy winced a little. Her anger felt sharp, but he could see that behind it was fear, and that she was really just a girl who loved her brother very much.
“You’re right,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t there.” He hesitated, searching for honest words. “But… I think he’s alive.”
Tera covered her face and broke into loud, shaking sobs. She cried so hard that her whole body trembled.
Jimsy sat beside her, awkward and sad. He wanted to help, and he hated that he didn’t know how. He pressed his lips together, squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and then just stayed there, listening to her cry. Even if he didn’t know the right words, he stayed. And sometimes staying is its own kind of kindness .
Later, when Orlo and the others finally came home safe and alive, Tera would run to him with a big, relieved smile. But right now, in this quiet room filled with her crying, it was enough that Jimsy tried .
Sometimes courage looks loud and brave .
Sometimes it looks small and unsure . And sometimes it is simply a boy sitting beside a friend because she needs it .