SHNAYNU

Prologue

Once upon the eve of a spring sunday, once upon the middle of a lukewarm March;

Gold light was not unfamiliar in the late evening, a cloudless sky vast and a vast landscape breathtaking with every breath sweet and pure, an air distant from the black smoke and sickly sweet fumes of the quickly changing world.

Their dear mother had yet to regret distancing herself and her children from the noisy and crowded city once. She was strong in that way, never letting the opinions of her family and friends sway her from the path she knew to be right.

The cliff in front of their old country house was lined with sturdy wooden fence for safety but they had grown tall enough to see over it when they stood on their toes and careful enough not to get splinters.

From the cliff side, they would view the valley, all the pine trees that grew along its body like a never ending sea of moss and the small city in the center of it all where little people lived their lives like little ants in the ant farm they made for school.

Ants were attracted to sugar water like humans were to greed and just a few hundred steps back made one see just how small they could be.

They were once thrilled by the idea of the woods that surrounded their home.

They quickly learned that the land had been bought by wealthy men who wished to chain down the world with iron railroads. All the wolves had been killed off, all the treasures dug up.

Uncertainty made up their dreams but it was funny how uncertainty was a friend to children like them but the worst nemesis to adults. But because the passage of time was cruel and all things lucky would grow into adulthood, the battles were fought fair and square and the adults won the war and the dreams were chased away to a distant sunrise.

The world now sought growth and change and at no steady pace. No one was going to wait for those too slow to catch up. This was no longer a world for children but a world for the anxious and wary.

But one thing the modern youth, in all their colleges and academies; in all their textbooks and ancient scrolls; could not seem to wrap their heads around was that the world was round and that no matter how fast they ran and pushed the circuits of the earth to exhaustion, they could never sprout wings to fly into a brighter future and would always end up right back where they started, square one.

Sitting still was alright. A journey could wait for its turn in another day.

Under the shade of a tall oak tree by the wooden fence were two young boys with the same face.

They sat with their knees in the pulled up dirt, caring nothing for the filth they coated their Church coats with. Wet soil was wedged so far up their fingernail, it was beginning to hurt and stray stones had scraped their palms on numerous occasions as they dug into the earth.

Time and necessity were hardly a concern and their will to resist fears and worries was as strong as it ever was. They were just children after all.

"Nue," groaned the boy to the left "I'm tired."

"I know, Mana." Grumbled Nea, the boy to the right.

He never looked up to meet his brothers eyes, seemingly far too preoccupied with the dirt in front of him even though the other had stopped to rest his aching limbs.

It worried Mana. Ever since their dearest mother had gone to the doctor last week, Nea had been incredibly troubled. He talked so little about it that, if Mana had been anything other than his twin brother, he probably would not have seen the sharp edge of sorrow and dread in his eyes every time he thought he wasn't looking.

He and their mother were both very trouble and, no matter how much he tried, he could not understand why. He knew division and multiplication like the back of his hand; He had a basic understanding of science that most of his teachers complimented as beyond his years; He knew the history of quite a many countries quite well; He even knew a bit more than he would have liked about French and Spanish.

Despite being the older of the two by a few minutes, Mana was never good with complex and mature words. There were some things that adults said that he never quite understood. When their mothers Doctor spoke, he could not help but drift into the brighter sunrise were childish dreams still remained strong so, in short, he had absolutely no idea what the doctor had said to upset his only family so deeply.

Otherwise, he would have known why they were out right now, digging into the earth with their bare hands.

But it was only now that Nea noticed that his brothers efforts were absent and reacted.

He lifted his eyes as a light breeze rushed through his hair, chill biting at his cheeks and ears.

"Why did you stop? Keep going."

"Why?" He inquired through the filter of minor irritation "Why do we need to do this?"

Nea visibly hesitated, catching the meaning of his tone.

Mana pushed himself up, his hands resting on his sore knees.

"We've been digging for so long in the cold." He groaned as he cast his eyes to the sky were vibrant golds faded to mellow blues and the moon was visible on the horizon "We could become ill, you know."

What he said was true. From his estimation, the time was most likely Near six thirty and they weren't supposed to leave the house any time past six. Their mother would usually grab them by the ear and drag them back inside if they were out this late but she had become very tired recently and spent most of her hours in bed.

Mana missed her usual punishments for their disobedience, the disobedience that was mostly Nea's but became his when his went along with the shenanigans and enjoyed every moment of it.

Even if Nea hadn't specifically requested the help, Mana would have followed him anyway even without knowing why.

Nonetheless, he wished to know exactly what ailed him and why digging a hole in the ground took priority over rest in bed and warmth by the fire.

"I'm sorry." Said Nea suddenly, letting his arms drop limply to his sides "You go back inside and warm up. I'll finish this."

"I won't." Mana replied bluntly "Then you would just get sick. I wouldn't want that."

"Go back inside, Mana."

"I won't do it."

"Then why were you complaining to begin with?" Grumbled Nea sarcastically as he continued to dig in the dirt; ripping out stray roots and sharp rocks.

"I don't really know." Mana followed his example sluggishly but willingly "I just wanted to know why we were digging this hole."

A brief silence followed when Nea reminded himself that what he knew their dear mother was going through was in no way Mana's fault even if his brother remained oblivious to it. Somehow, Nea started making him the object of his anger when it was something he never had control over.

He did not intend to do that and he felt guilt rising up inside his chest like a bitter bile.

Knowing his brother deserved an explanation, he reached a hand into his coat pocket which immediately caught Mana's attention, being a lover of everything exciting and new.

"What's that?" He inquired brightly, leaning forward and digging his knees in the dirt to catch a glimpse.

Nea did not respond but opened up his outstretched palm to reveal a small leather pouch. With its mouth slightly loosened, a thin black substance spilled out.

For just a moment, Mana worried his brother had somehow come to acquire gunpowder but the scent of it immediately proved him wrong.

A fume like scent that somehow reminded him of burnt meat.

"Seeds…?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Poppy seeds." Was Nea's abrupt reply as he retracted his hand.

Mana met his eyes as he leaned back away from the hole.

"Mothers favorite!" He said with a bright smile and a clap of his cold hands "How did you find them?"

What he said was true. She did love the flower very much, as did her children, but was unable to add it to her flowerbed on account of them being rather expensive.

"A woman at Church gave them to me." He replied. Nea poured the black seeds in his palm and closed his fist. Then he ran his hand over the hole they had dug and let the seeds slip through his fingers like sand.

"She said to weed the area before planting and to clear the ground of large rocks so that they could grow better."

"Oh?" Mana nodded in agreement.

For a moment, he felt satisfaction, being deceived into thinking that he learned what he wished to learn.

It was only after the younger began to pat the seeds down, looking to them with those unusual sad eyes, that the older realized he actually still didn't know anything.

"But," He inquired carefully "Why now? And why not in mothers flower bed?"

Nea did not answer at first, yet again. Mana just assumed he really felt like keeping secrets today. Nea just kept patting down the seeds with an open palm so that the wind would not blow them away.

"Once they bloom, they are going to be a gift." He replied once the ground felt smooth and even under his fingers "She can't see it or it would ruin the surprise."

"A gift?"

"For her birthday."

It was a date a few months away and Mana had always been unsure what to do for it.

It sounded like a sound plan other than the facts of planting Poppy flowers.

Curiosity had gotten the better of him. He doubted it mattered much but he had to ask, finding the ensuing silence awkward and annoying.

"Don't they mainly grow in the winter?"

Nea looked up "Does it really matter?"

"I don't really know." Mana took a small handful of the dirt that had been pulled up and tossed it into the hole to hide the seeds just as Nea was doing "But I think they might grow better if you waited. I am sure Mother would like it all the same even-"

"No." Nea interrupted suddenly as he got to his feet and dusted off his filthy hands "They have to grow as soon as possible."

Aside of that same unusual sadness his voice held, he spoke with determination. He was not going to change what he decided on so Mana did not see really any reason to try. Nea had always been very stubborn in that way.

"Alright." He gave in quietly.

Mana got to his feet and both boys walked their ways back to the house at a slow and mellow manner.

The sky had now turned a deep shade of dark blue. The pure white puffs of clouds in the sky looked rather bronze in the contrast and the orange moon looked suspiciously bright tonight, shimmering heavily through the skeleton like trees to their left.

Mana was very sleepy. He wanted to rub his eyes, but his hands were covered in dirt and might do some sort of damage. They could not afford glasses, especially not in this season.

They stood in front of the steps that led to the twin front doors; Three ashen stone steps worn down with the passage of time.

Nea reached out a single hand to pull the handles slowly and steadily. If they made any noise, someone would wake up and get them in trouble and that was the last thing they needed.

It suddenly occurred to Mana, who stood in back of him that they would be going straight to bed after this and, after a few hours of sleep, he would forget everything he truly wanted to ask.

He had a funny way of losing important thoughts like the purpose of quantum physics and trigonometry like there was a hole in his head.

Mana had to ask this now, otherwise he feared he would never ask at all.

"Nue?"

His brother retracted his hand immediately as though the handle burnt him. He was listening but he did not turn to face the one who spoke.

Tremors ran through the bones of his small body.

Mana really wanted to ask his question but part of him feared the answer. He had somehow convinced himself that it could never be true but he was scared and now just three worlds stood stagnant, trapped at the tip of his tongue.

But only for a short while because in a moment he set them free.

"Is mother ill?"

He said it. It had slipped out in his moment of hesitation.

Nea had not so much as moved in response and Mana suddenly felt his chest grow cold with a need to explain himself.

"I mean, I just thought" He blurted, holding his hands up as if it would prove his innocence "Since she always has a fever, she always has coughing fits and she always stays in bed that-!"

"She's very sick." Was the quiet reply.

Mana was silent but quickly regained his composure. He took a few steps forward.

"I thought so. Though, I don't believe it's anything to horrible."

Now he did not know if he imagined it but over the sound of the doors whining as they were pulled open, he thought he heard his brother whisper three very important words of his own.

"She won't recover."

After that, the two boys slipped through the ajar doors, silent as the grave and swift as a fox.

After a quick change into their night clothes, they tiptoed up the stairs without the aid of a candle and passed into their little room.

Once they said a quick night time pray, they slipped into their beds and under their warm covers without hesitation.

They would have been asleep had their racing heartbeats and chilled skin not gotten in the way of a welcomed slumber. Nea knew it and Mana quickly realized it but The former was determined to pretend that he had fallen asleep, otherwise he knew his brother would probably start up an interesting conversation and they would talk on and on for the rest of the night if the could.

They had school tomorrow and now wasn't the time for sleep deprivation.

Minutes felt like hours and about ten of them passed when Nea's eyelids began to feel very heavy but Mana decided to take this chance to get one last word in.

He pushed the covers off his body and let his feet touch the cold floor as he walked to Nea's bed.

"Nue?" He whispered as he shook his shoulder very lightly "Are you awake?"

Lightly grumbling, a now very awake Nea glared at him with distrustful eyes.

"I am now." He replied.

Mana took that as welcome to sit down on his bed as he always did and he did just that with a light smile on his lips.

After a moment of hearing no protests, he began to speak of ghastly things in the dead of night when only they could hear.

"I never told you but the day you were ill from the flu a few months ago," Nea shuddered at the memory of the fervor, the sore throat and the bowl of sick in front of him, a memory he knew all too well. "Mr. Tapp let me have a special lesson with other children. You'll never guess what he did."

"Oh? What did he do?" Nea said as he turned his face away, his words muffled by his pillow.

"He dissected a dead woman."

Of all the unusual tales of life in school, that was the very last he expected to hear from Mana and so bluntly told.

"...What? Why?"

"He dissected a dead woman to see what it was that killed her."

"Why are we talking about something so ghastly before bed?"

Mana continued, envisioning that day to the best of his ability "You see, she wasn't just any woman. She was a witch."

"Go back to sleep, Mana."

"You must believe me! She had the tattoos to prove it." He insisted.

"Mr. Tapp told me that she had died from execution. They had her hung, you see but before execution, she had a perfectly healthy mind and body."

With a light inhale, Nea replied "What is your point exactly?"

"When her body was given to Mr. Tapp for study, he found that almost three fourths of her brain were missing at the time of death. He told my that was impossible because she was functioning perfectly well before execution and yet she should not have been alive with that much brain damage."

Truthfully Nea had seen this coming. Mana was always far too nice a person to ignore someone else's suffering and would try his very best to console them.

He knew this all too well and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Yet, why did he suddenly feel so angry?

"Are you equating our good mother to a disgusting witch?" He suddenly inquired and the smile on his brothers face disappeared in an instant.

"What? No, I just-!"

It bothered Nea so because Mana hardly knew anything; pain, sadness or even the full truth; and here he was trying to tell him that he shouldn't feel so angry that his own mother was going to die just because someone said they might see her again?

The world was not as black and white as a child might perceive.

Did his heart mean so little in a world so black and white?

"How did the professor even know it was truly the witch who spoke?" Nea replied with more venom in his voice than he had intended "It was probably just evil talking through her, anyway. Don't believe stupid stories like that."

"I-I know it's silly..." Mana muttered, feeling rather unsure of himself "I just thought…"

"Well you thought wrong." Was his poisoned reply, whispered through clenched teeth "As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing beyond this life at all!"

Nea faced the moon now and a sky full of twinkling stars so he could never have seen the look on his brother's face or the harm he had inflicted when he said those words.

He probably would not have cared anyway.

Mana swallowed, his wide eyes searching the room seemingly looking for help and his throat dry "I don't think you really believe that."

All this thinking had alas made very tired.

He hoped to go to sleep now and forget about the whole thing. He regretted bringing it up to begin with. He felt so very incredibly stupid that he no longer wanted to talk.

So, he lowered himself to give Nea a single soft kiss on his temple.

"Goodnight Nea." He whispered hoarsely and retreated to his own softer bed in an instant.

Only now it was Mana who slept and Nea who stayed awake.

He had not intended to have been so cruel. It simply enraged him because his dear mother he could do nothing to save told him a story hardly a word different.

Deep down, he knew he was just a silly little boy.

Even after night had fallen upon the valley and all had gone to their beds, the vast day was not black but rather the color of a clean navy blue, the color of the ink most common in schools.

No one dare see it but in a dream the world from cracked eyelids were color divided into ribbons of form and mass, shifting and twisting in a perfect rhythmic path like the current. Wind wondered in patterns like frost and left a trail, a streak like the artist running his hand over the wet paint. Starlight shine bright like the golden halos of guardian angels watching the children of God and all creation seemed to come alive in a symphony that only could be comprehended by man in his dreams.

Nea could never truly have known what his eyes beheld that starlit nightfall, the vision he witnessed through the pure lens of a child's eyes but he dared to say that it was the melody of wolves howling through the night that lulled him to slumber.

And so the boy slept in peace and he could never truly know the events his harshly spoken words would set into motion.

Long before sprouting, those seeds that carried the desire of that one boy were washed away as though they never existed by a grand flood not a season after and all would soon change.