It was fall, meaning I had to do more chores. I looked forward to fall just as much as anyone for both the harvest and the sights, but I could always do without chores. Luckily, mother's spira Myrtle helped out, nursing any sick crops and just somehow making plants grow.
I couldn't wait to try to get a spira. It would be a year before I was old enough, though. You had to be sixteen to join in the Red Moon festival, everyone knew that. That was one of the only times spiras wandered, visible that is. Someone who wanted one would kneel before it and the spira would decide if it liked you. If it chose you, you'd become bonded and the spir would help you with things. Each spira was different, like Myrtle was a tall woman with green skin and hair that was vines. Her dress ended in a way that you could never see her feet if she had any. Myrtle was silent, but my mother seemed to understand her. Spiras apparently live in your soul.
My friend Lopan told me that in the city of Khine, everyone has a spira, even the poor. Of course, my friend Lopan knows this sort of thing because he went to Khine once to visit his uncle. And he told me they have a thing called auto-mo-bi-les there, things that could move by themselves but still had wheels. And he also said that in Khine, there's so many rich people there that they can afford to spend their money on the weirdest things. Like pet chickens.
Sometimes I liked to take walks out in the woods on a day like today; just enjoying the coming of fall. Taking a familiar path through the dense forest, I strode slowly. A man was coming down the path. The leaf covered path that only I knew. He had his hands in the pockets of a strikingly blue overcoat, the stern look in his eyes offset by his messy bright blond hair. No one in town could afford something like that. Not even any of the few Khine passersby wore clothes like that. I knew this man must be some sort of noble to dress how he did. I realized how stupid I must look, a poor farmer girl gawking at this Noble lord. I quickly stood off path to let him pass.
"You do not have to do such a thing. Surely you agree there is enough path for both of us?" He asked, tilting his head in a odd fashion.
"It is only fair I make room for a noble such as yourself, sir." I bowed slightly.
"Ah. Yes, I thought this might be the case. Please observe I am not a lord of any sort. I am only a man going for a stroll." He closed his eyes as he spoke.
"No man dresses in such a strange manor," I said before thinking.
"Rude girl, I asked no opinion of you." His rage was evident, even with his eyes closed.
"Sorry Sir. May I perhaps help you carry your bag?" I said. Then I noticed he seemed to not have anything. What sort of traveler brought nothing while they traveled?
"No need. However, if you don't mind, you can help me find something... I lost." His voice quieted as he spoke, and by the end of his sentence it was barely a whisper, "It should be around. It is a... gem."
"Glad to be of service," I said, "could you describe it please?"
"You will recognize it," it was not a comment, it was a order.
I looked around, maybe for some clear sign of where the gem could be. Then I chose a spot at random and dug beneath the leaves. All I found was dirt. The man was still standing in the road, but now intensely staring at his palm. He didn't move, so I chose another spot to search. It was going to be awhile.
I found the gem in a obvious spot. I had been searching around for awhile in many places, all the while the man stared at his palm. Eventually I came across a animal den. It was small, maybe a fox lived there or a nest of snakes. I slowly reached my hand in and was surprised to find I hit something cold and hard. I pulled it out into the daylight to examine it. It certainly seemed like a gem. It was about the size of my fist and perfectly round. It was a sort of pink or red color, but when I moved my hand it changed color to a green or blue. It was beautiful, and I knew why the man had wanted it back; this thing would sell for a fortune. When I help it in my hands, it seemed to pulsate, like a slow heart. The sort of feel it gave was one of that made me want to hold it close to my heart but also throw it in a lake, to never bee seen again. I carried it back to the man like It was a gem worth more then my whole life- which it probably was. The man looked up at me and grinned. It was a wide grin, stretching from each side of his face. It looked more like a grimace to me.
"I hope this wasn't hard to find?" He said, with his grin/grimace.
"No sir," I replied.
The man's closed eyes crinkled up even more, like they were in great pain, "I must thank you. This here is mine- only mine. No one Else's, you see?" He paused, "I hope you understand this."
"I do sir," I said, hoping he might reward me in some way. Even a common thing to a rich man is riches to a poor family.
"Well then, good. I must be on my way now!" He said, bowing his head a little before turning around and coming back the way he came. Feeling rather disappointed, I too headed back home. So much for kindness.
No comments:
Post a Comment