The weeks after the feast were the most hard-working ever. Basch and I were working all day, alternating farms to carry big amounts of boxes, dig out vegetables and sort them, and also calculate how much gil each box could make us earn. Well, I have to admit I alone was in charge of that part.

For the first time, I felt my body was not following my mind. Working days began to feel more dreadful, one after the other, and there had been days I had wondered if I could make it till the end. On her side, Mom was also working, on different farms. She didn't speak a word about the fatigue that began to overwhelm me, about the evenings when I could barely eat dinner because my head could not stay up straight anymore. She just told us every morning that we had to work on this or that farm, to sell the goods at this bazaar, and to come back with that amount of money. It felt like she could see nothing beyond my blank morning eyes. I could not blame her, though. I knew what it must feel like, to be a lone mother with two children to feed and dress, and a husband more absent than alive. Or at least, until that day.

Our mother made us wake up really early. I was having a nightmare worse than I could ever have imagined. I was fighting a giant snake with a woody sword, and the creature was about to eat me whole.

'No! No!' I shouted.

Then, Mom began to calm down. She slowly whispered, turned towards Basch's bed, who must have already waken up, and afterwards, to mine. I could not hear the voices, I was still on the battlefield.

'No I won't! No I won't!'

'Easy, Noah. I'm here now. You won't get any work to do today.'

At this moment, like the realization of something, my eyes began to open and my brain to connect to the real world. The pain I have felt silently all over these weeks was knocking on my door, making me feel more useless than ever, but still, somehow, happy.

'Listen to me, boys', Mom said.

We sat down on our beds and lent her our ears.

'I know you've been working hard these days. Too hard. I must apologize for what I've made you go through.'

I was about to tell her it was okay, and I'm sure the same thought crossed Basch's mind, but instead, the surprise of her tone kept us silent.

'You're my sons. You're supposed to be the gift of my life, the treasure of the village, the hope of all Landis; but instead I just made you face the worst suffering, day after day, as if it was your only fate!'

And then, the tears began to flow.

'Mom!' we shouted, and at the same moment, we jumped into her arms.

'My little sons… my darlings… I'm so sorry for this… I wish I could earn some more money, so I could spare you and let you pursue your own destinies… But instead you're here stuck in land work, without me even knowing if you agree with it or not!'

'Don't worry, Mom', Basch said. 'We're really enjoying it. The farmers we're working with are very nice – well, except Olszewski – and when she's with us, Naria is a great help, and we're having so much fun together. Right brother?'

'Yes', I confirmed. 'I couldn't have said any better. Even if it's not easy at times, we always manage to get away with a good pay and good memories.'

'Noah…' Mom said, still in tears.

'Well, Noah is a coward, as you know', Basch added with a sarcastic grin. He's always the first to come down, he looks like he can't handle any more with his tiny arms!'

'Enough, Basch', Mom said harshly. 'As I said, I know what I'm making you go through and it's absolutely not fit for two boys such as you. Noah is right to feel what he's feeling right now, and it must be stupid to let him and you continue on this rhythm any longer.'

'But, Mom…' I began.

'No, Noah, I know what it is. Please don't say anything that's a lie to your mother. You're not supposed to do all this and that's that. I was expecting some more money from your father, so he could help us, but…'

'Yeah, Mom', Basch said. 'He hasn't talked to us for a while. We understand and that's why we agreed to do all this. It isn't such a big deal, you know!'

Mom sighed.

'Anyway', she said. 'It's important that you understand why work has been particularly intense lately, for me and for you. I'm especially proud of you, guys!'

Her smile enlightened the whole room, though there was no sun.

'And the bag of flour you earned from the feast has been a big help too', she added with a wink at my direction.

Basch stretched his arms and neck and yawned noisily.

'So, boys', Mom said. 'Now I want you to have your morning bath and be all ready to meet me at the living room. I've got some surprise to announce to you soon. Alright?'

'What?' we both said, and we immediately made a leap towards the living room.

'No, no, no', Mom insisted, pulling the hair of each one of us. 'Bath first, you dirty boys!'

'Aaalright', Basch sighed, very disappointed.

When Mom left the room, we exchanged a dazed look, then I let him go to the bathroom while I was gathering my clothes, before we exchanged, as we're used to do – yes, Basch looks for his clothes all naked.

After a short time, we were both ready in the living room, Basch sitting on the edge of the back of the big armchair, and I waiting under the shelves of books.

'Right then', Mom said. 'I can see you're set.'

'Yeah, Mom', Basch said in a hurry. 'What's the big thing you want to announce?'

She smiled to us both. Even I, who was not speaking and had no idea what was to come.

`You know your father has not given to us a single sign of existence. That is not true anymore.'

'What?'

Basch fell head first onto the ground while my own head hit the first shelf above it. My mother was all laughs.

'That's not right to us, Mother! Please tell us what's happening! We can't wait!'

When Basch called her Mother, it means he's all nerves.

'It's as you heard', she said. 'I've had news from your father'.

Basch tried to say something but I believe the words kept stuck inside his throat because he fell again. My mother turned towards me.

'A letter has come this morning. It was not written by your father himself, but by a comrade who knows him at his regiment. It's an officer who says your father is well and in good health, and who could not leave the family without news, knowing the soldier himself would write nothing.'

'It's so mean from Father to leave us alone like that!' screamed Basch.

'At least now we know where he is', Mom added in a calm tone.

'Where?'

It was my turn to get choked. Father? Knowing his place? That's never been the case in ages!

'Your father's troop is currently located in the training camp at the north of the village.'

Basch and I stared at her like two fishes who were just captured.

'Why doesn't he come to us? Do you even know if he plans to?'

'Don't expect him to come', she calmly added. 'He will not.'

A mix of anger and sadness filled my heart. Why? Why always ignoring us, as if we were not part of the same family?

'The officer advised him to do so, but he refused. That's why he sent a letter saying they are nearby.'

'Then it unfolds to us to go see him', Basch concluded.

'Would you, Basch?' I objected.

'Well…' he said, lowering his head. 'I don't know'.

'We shall think about that', said my mother. 'We will decide later, and not follow hasty ideas; you know this part of the forest is dangerous.'

'Yes, Mom', we agreed.

Basch spent the rest of the day outdoors, I didn't know exactly what he was doing. As for myself, I had an idea, but haven't dared to suggest it yet.

'Mom…'

'Yes?'

She was in the kitchen.

'I'd like to pay a visit to Cirla and Margit in the city. Can I?'

'In the city?'

It was located north-east. It was where Basch and I used to go to school at the time. We used to board a cart carried by a couple of chocobos, for ten gils. I knew that specific day was a day off for high school students, so my friends would be at home.

'I don't know where Basch has gone…'

She seemed to be worried, her arms shaking in all directions.

'Well, you can go without him, after all. He must be busy doing who-knows-what who-knows-where.'

Thanks, Mom.

'I trust you for being careful, my son', she added.

'Oh Mom, you know I've taken this path a zillion times. Goodbye!'

I took the coin she was holding out to me and left.

The path indeed reminded me of my old days, where I didn't have to care about… as many things as now. Father? Here? Why? Does that make any difference anyway? I don't know. Is seeing him a really good idea? Isn't his role as a father to come back home during his free days, when he's so close? To help us, even with a smile? Basch seems doubtful, although he had always been the first to denounce his violent behavior towards our mother.

'Waldgott?'

'Yes, sir'.

I came down the cart and began walking across the city. I could remember every path and building that was between the station and my friends' house. I managed to draw a smile on my face while I was approaching a garden where a young girl was collecting flowers.

'Noah!... Noah! Is it you? Is it really you?'

'Hello, Margit.'

She seemed to have found something close to heaven because she threw at once all the flowers she had and her face was showing something between amazement and disbelief.

'Cirla! Cirla? Come down, you harebrained uneducated boy! Noah is here!'

A low hoarse voice came from the upper window.

'Please give me a moment. It's not everyday that I'm sick, Margit.'

'Sick? Oh please. Don't call what you have a sickness. It's nothing more than the sickness of your mind and manners we're talking about.'

'Is it always like this?' I asked.

'I guess yes', she answered before turning back towards the main door.

'Are your parents out?'

'Yes', Margit said. 'But don't worry, it's okay if you stay with us the whole day. Mommy always told me she would be glad to welcome you after all this time'.

Her parents were business man and woman who were working at offices nearby in the city, and sometimes in the capital, Kalthof. Cirla came down the stairs, with his nose red and his neck tied by a thick scarf.

'Cirla, are you alright?'

'Oh it's nothing', he said, waving away the pain with a gesture of his hand. 'I just caught a cold recently'.

Margit laughed sarcastically. Her brother turned to her and rolled his eyes.

'Anyway', Margit said, 'come with us'.

Their room always impressed me. It was not their sleeping room, but the one they spent most of their time in; and, what's uncommon among brothers and sisters: they spent it together.

'Please sit down', said Cirla.

The desk was still at the same place, on the right; it was a table with drawers, and multiple chairs around it. Brother and sister used to study at this place, write their essays and read their needed documents.

'Now tell him' Cirla asked.

'Fine', answered his sister. 'Here is how we came to this: as you know, Cirla and I pursued our studies after elementary school. In addition to that, I chose to follow a famous dancing class in Archades, because they say the girls are cool, and because… uh…'

'And because she's fat', Cirla shortened.

'You're neither perfectly done, brother', Margit exploded, an angry eye scanning her brother from head to toe. 'Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to help me stay fit. It is a one-day class, during which we get to know each other and train to dance with the coach. Archadia does that in many fields to get people from all Ivalice discover its knowledge and… and…'

'And spend their money', added Cirla. 'You should be ashamed of wasting our parents' money in such a thing! This course is awfully expensive! '

'What if I like it, huh? What if it's something that actually helps me in my everyday life? I'm not stopping you for doing the things you like, like playing sport with those mischievous guys from the village!'

Margit briefly turned towards me.

'Not you, Noah. Well, all this is to explain to you the wonderful meeting I made. A girl from my course told me she was also attending law lessons. I began to ask her about the subject, because I found this area interesting – it deals with history, economics, society issues, and sometimes even science and magic. But of course, for me it was banned, because I was not Archadian. But guess what she said! The course was open for everyone, and it was also once a month!'

'Of course', Cirla explained, 'it's not enough to have strong skills in law – which requires being enrolled in one of the prestigious Archadian Imperial Ackademies, which we cannot afford – but at least it could help us discover the subject.'

'Yes, that's interesting', I commented.

'So all over the past year', Cirla continued, 'we kept going to Archades once a month – well, twice for the fattie – and learnt many things. The course is made for those who can go only this often, so the amount of books and subjects we discuss is absolutely huge. But it's nonetheless a wonderful source of knowledge for us – with only one day of class, we have enough notes to do our own research at the Waldgott library, which we…'

'Kinda re-discover', said Margit, her face illuminated with excitement.

'Of course', I said. 'There are so many books you haven't looked at, at the time, and now they must appear in front of you all of a sudden'.

Cirla nodded.

'So we kinda make our own essays about the themes seen in class, with the help of these books, and the things we noticed in town – some arrests, audiences, nominations, etc. The result is…'

'Well, we haven't dared to ask our teacher if our dirty drafts made sense, but just the amount of pages we wrote can give you an idea about how convinced we were!'

And after saying these words, Margit opened the upper drawer. I tried to look closer but my first impression seemed… real: I could see only white. I tried to take one paper but noticed there were dozens; hundreds of similar sheets! All filled with a little, clumsy handwriting.

'This is Margit's part', Cirla proudly said. 'Because, naturally, we always have opposed ideas concerning most of the subjects! So every time, each one of us makes their own essay. My stuff is on the lower drawer.'

I pulled it and saw a similar amount of papers.

'It's better written, right?' he boasted.

The handwriting was indeed more delicate and readable than that of his sister, but the idea of saying it out loud didn't actually cross my mind. Margit pulled out her tongue.

'So this is what we've been doing', she concluded. 'Many times a week, we spend our evenings debating this or that law subject in this room. I must admit it's really convenient when the parents are near…'

'Yeah, they must think we're so serious!' Cirla laughed.

'Oh, surely then they forget when you go rolling yourself in the mud with the likes of Basch', Margit ironically added.

I joined Cirla in laughing. They were still certainly the two most serious persons I knew.

'Oh…' he seemed to try to defend himself, then to give up. 'I nonetheless must go see this crazy lad at Uwiel again. I've begun to miss him'.

Uwiel was the short name of my village, Uwielbinie. I smiled. It always made my heart warmer to know people cared about my brother.