Chapter 20

                                    

                                          
While Ada doesn't exactly use her tent for sleeping, her overall experience of living in the camp improves with the addition of her new private space. 
After another day with no rest, Ada attempts to do some reading, sitting under a tree in a secluded spot on the outskirts of the camp. The silence is peaceful given everyone has turned in for the night as it's now past three in the morning, broken only by her own munching in her ears as she snacks on some crackers. Armed with a blanket and a lantern, her comfort level is about as high as it can be. 
The trouble with reading when she's running on empty, is that it's difficult to make sense of the words in front of her. They swim around the page, jumbling up so much that eventually, she can't process a thing no matter how hard she tries. 
"I thought that tent would help you sleep," the low voice of Dutch sounds and she looks to her side to see him standing in his union suit. He looks almost normal without all his decoration, and she wonders what's keeping him awake tonight. 
"Well, having a whole home and a bed didn't help me sleep, so I doubt a tent will make much of a difference," she says and looks back to her book. 
"I thought you couldn't sleep because you weren't comfortable?" he asks. 
"Nothing to do with that, unfortunately." 
"Then why?" 
She shrugs. "I don't know. What was Trelawny doing here today?" 
"We have an arrangement of sorts. He doesn't live in with the gang, but he's an honorary member considering all the information he provides us with," he explains. 
"Huh, figures." 
She hears his footsteps move behind her until he sits himself down against the same tree so that he's leaning on the quarter next to hers. "How long has that been the case?" he asks and she spares him a questioning glance. "You not being able to sleep, I mean." 
"Oh, it's coming up to about ten years now," her expression turns to suspicion before returning her gaze back to her book, unclear on what his aim is with this line of questioning. 
"Since your mother?" 
She looks at him properly this time, confused and slightly impressed that he remembers. "Mhm," she nods. 
He sighs and Ada turns her attention back to the book in her hands. She expects him to get up and leave, but he doesn't. They stay like that for a while, her pretending to read and him... thinking, she assumes. 
"Does it help?" he asks and she meets his gaze once more. He nods to her book. 
"Sometimes," she lies. It's a distraction and she tells herself it does help, but rarely finds herself falling asleep from reading. 
"Now?" he asks.  
She lets out a short breath of a laugh. "Not really. I'm a bit too tired to actually process any of it." She gives up the act and closes the book, holding it on her knee. Leaning her head back on the trunk of the tree behind her, she gazes up at the sky. After a while, she almost forgets Dutch is there until she feels the book slide from her hands. 
"Hey..." she murmurs as he slides it from her grip. 
"Shh," he opens it and flicks through the pages, shifting the lantern closer to himself. 
Ada doesn't fight him on it. If he decides to take it again, she's got no qualms about stealing it back from his tent. She rests her head back on the tree and holds her hands on her lap. 
He clears his throat. 
"Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling," Dutch begins. She glances at him with uncertainty and he pays her no mind as he continues to read the poem aloud.