"First this way, then this… And now, you twist the reeds here. See?... Good. Now lets do another row. You try it this time…"
Patiently, old Grake held the child on his knees as they both bent over a basket that Grake was weaving, with little Hero helping him weave supple reeds in and out of the weave. All of them sitting on the porch as sun poured its summer warmth on them, Rangil looked at them and sighed, turning his dark green eyes to his own work.
"It's pointless to show him how to do it. He's going to forget all about it anyway. Humans… He doesn't have Kin Memory."
"Maybe he will forget. Or maybe he will remember it later." Grandpa Grake said patiently. He gently corrected the child's fingers to the proper positioning and then helped him pull the reed through. "The point is not teaching him how to make a basket, nephew."
"It's not? Then what is it?"
"The point is to show him what it is like to be loved. Everyone deserves to learn what that's like." Old villager said with a warm smile, his eyes on his foundling kind. At that, Rangil's shoulders slightly drooped and he frowned, as he irritably continued to pull the strands around his own basket, much faster and more efficiently than Grake was doing it now with little Human's help. His lips drew together tightly into a thin, grumpy line.
Noticing his mood, grandpa Grake roughed up Hero's unruly hair and set him off his knees. "Go find Margol and Tnul and see if you can help them with their chores." He directs the child, who reluctantly nods and runs off in direction of the barn.
"He'll just make more mess than help. Or he'll distract them again. You shouldn't have sent him." Rangil complains as he looks at the little non-Human with dislike.
Grake sighs. "You still cannot forgive him. Even though he had nothing to do with your brother's disappearance."
Rangil frowns more and his lips twist as guilt mixes with anger within him. He returns his gaze back to his basket and stubbornly thrusts the strands into their places, his hold on the basket tightening. One of the strands splits and he briefly puts the basket aside, glaring at it resentfully.
"He disappeared because of him, uncle. Because he went to find the Humans. Even though he knew that there are no safe ways out of the Valley."
"Perhaps he found them and they took him far away?"
"He is gone, uncle! Respawned! Even if he remembers us, it won't be until years later, when he is old and we are all already gone. That's how Kin Memory works with us Villagers. It's hopeless to expect him to return. He will not! So yes, I cannot forgive him. Even though I know that it is not his fault, I feel that it is. As well as mine. If I hadn't told them what that accursed witch told him, he would have still been here with us. I cannot forgive myself."
Old Grake sighed and looked away. "Do not speak like that, kari. Each one of us made our mistakes. There is no turning back from them now, only moving forward. You know that in time, whether in this life or the next, you and your brother will meet again. You will respawn together again as young siblings. As will I, close to my family and friends. That's how Kinship Respawn works. The ties remain, no matter what happens to us now."
"I know that…" Rangil says, slightly calming down as he dwells on uncle Grake's words. "That's one good thing about being a Villager I suppose."
"Why, do you wish that you could respawn as someone else?" Grake suddenly smiles humorously and Rangil smirks, too.
"Well, I've considered spawning as a Creeper. Their lives are great really. All they do is Sing and Play all day long."
"They also explode." Grake reminded.
"But it doesn't hurt them. For them its just a way of self-defense. They simply respawn somewhere else and begin their lives anew, as if they were never interrupted. I just think… but this is silly." Rangil sighs and picks up his basket once more, starting to weave the strands.
"Of course. But its all right to dream once in a while and to use your imagination. There is nothing wrong with that." Grake reminded and his nephew shrugged, appearing slightly calmer as he continues to work after finally sharing the guilt he feels with someone else whose opinion he trusts. It helped him a little.
"Listen, Rangil. I know that I've been unfair to you and you have been under a lot of pressure, raising not just your brother's children but also my little Hero, who is not even related to you in any way. I have decided to send out word looking for more help. I've spoken to Jalil, my old childhood friend, who is the elder of his own village. And he is asking if he and a few family members can come over to our village and visit us, since he is also very old. This way they could meet with our elders and learn the entire situation."
The younger villager's eyes opening wider, he stopped weaving his basket and looked up. "When?" He asks.
"Maybe in two weeks? We have plenty of time to prepare." Grake said lightly.
"How many?" Rangil verified curiously.
"Maybe twenty-five?" Grake grinned and his nephew nervously jumped up.
"Where are we going to possibly house so many people!" He asked in panic.
"Don't worry, kari. Don't worry. I am sure that many other villagers in our village will be willing to house them, so long as we invite them all for dinner."
"Dinner! Of course. We will need to prepare that, too. For… twenty-five?" He verifies with Rangil with slight disbelief.
"Well, distant relatives and friends. They were all very curious about our little Human. So it's a big celebration. And an opportunity for everyone to just have fun and talk. It will be fine, Rangil. Do not fret."
"I'm not fretting! I'm just properly concerned. Twenty-five?" Again, Rangil asks and looks up as he starts counting his fingers. "More tables and chairs. We won't be able to eat in-doors, so I hope it will be a summer weather."
"It will be. It is summer. It's always sunny right now." Grake smiles. Rangil huffs and continues to count.
"Jars of juice. I need to trade for more! And pies and stew. I will have to make several pots. And bread? Lots of bread will be needed for snacks. And vegetables! I will have to clear and plants additional fields. Grake, you really made some work for me, do you know that?" Rangil looked at his uncle with some reproach, but his uncle only smiled.
"You're looking forward to it. I can already see that. And if one of them adopts little Hero, then he will be off your hands. That will be good, won't it?"
Rangil uncertainly nods. "My brother adopted him, though… If he ever returns…"
"If he returns, you will simply tell him where he now is and that's all. Nothing to worry about." Grake reassures Rangil and after a moment, the younger villager nods. His expression then grows thoughtful.
"Uncle… I am sorry that I yelled at you the other day… I really lost it, because of that creeper. You know how scared I am of those creatures."
"I know that, Rangil. I do not blame you." Grake said gently as he looked away, neither of them meeting each other's eyes because of the discomfort they shared, each of them blaming themselves for what happened.
Grake clears his throat first. "Are you going to change your mind about Hero living in that barn?" He prodded cautiously. The younger villager frowned.
"Why? Has he complained?" He asked Grake and Grake had to shake his head. The younger villager then shrugged, dismissing the matter from his mind. "It is safer if he stays in there for now, at least. His magic has been waking up again when he sleeps. I'm really concerned that he will burn our house down. That's why I exploded, too. I… didn't know what to do."
"You wanted me to take him to the woods and leave him there." Grake said reproachfully, hoping that the younger villager would find it in his heart to go to the child and reassure him that he had been wrong to say that. His nephew, however, only frowns as he thins his lips.
"I may have been too harsh, but I meant what I said. The elders said that it was up to us now to decide whether to take care of him or not. With Beor not coming back… And I was thinking that maybe he should go and live on his own… with the other monsters. Creepers love him and he does not really need to eat."
"Of course he does." Grake protested, his eyebrows raising up. Rangil slowly shook his head.
"He likes to eat. That's why it's the only punishment that works with him. But you are right. With how many times I've used it already, he should have been much thinner and weaker." He says guiltily. "And creepers do not eat. Nor do other monsters. They live off the energy alone."
"Maybe they do, but he doesn't. He gets hungry and thirsty. And even sick. You remember that, don't you? He cannot live out there."
"Well, maybe not now. But when he is older, then he might have to. Uncle, he will have to. Don't you know what kind of stories they already tell about him in the village? They are looking for an excuse to cast him away. I've already had to speak to the elders several times about that. I don't know how much longer I can use the same excuse that he is too young to go and live out there on his own. They just don't know yet that he can respawn. If they did…"
"Shhh. Don't let Margol or Tnul hear that." Old villager hushes Rangil quickly and looks around to make sure that no one heard him complain. But their house is quiet and they hear Margol commanding Tnul and Hero to carry water to the garden in a bossy tone of voice. Grake took a relieved breath.
"Please. Take care what you say around the young ones, nephew. You have already… said too much once." Grake said with some regret, dropping his gaze to his basket as he begins to quickly weave again, this time better than Rangil had done it.
"I know… I'll just… Be quiet then." Rangil said softly as rekindled guilt returned. "I don't really want him gone. He is also my brother's child. Beor adopted him as his own. And I… I am sorry that I told you those things. I don't want him gone."
Grake smiled with relief as the younger villager finally admitted his real feelings on this matter. He looked at him with approval.
"Then help him, kari. Help him to know that he still has a home. I…" Grake suddenly felt dizzy and stopped. Breathing with difficulty, he held on to his basket with quickly numbing fingers. Catching his nephew's concerned gaze on him, he tightly smiled.
"I think I better go lie down. I'm not feeling well these days, kari. I'm afraid that my time is soon. I'm sorry that I will have to leave you with so many troubles heaped upon your shoulders."
Forgetting his basket, Rangil dropped it and immediately stepped to his uncle's side, carefully helping him to get up. Pushing the door open for them, he led his uncle to his bed and then helped him lie down.
"Don't worry about anything, uncle Grake. I will take care of it. Just rest now… Just rest."