A few weeks passed, and the date Falkr had set to leave for the festival was only two days away. I’d been staying at his farm to help with the preparations for our trip.
As winter was coming to a close we had let the sheep move onto the open fields for grazing. We rarely had snow during the winter, but we still reduced the grazing area and herded them into a barn at night to avoid the worst of the cold.
We’d be gone for a couple weeks, but the sheep would be fine on their own. Uncle had asked a nearby farmer to check on them every few days, but the sheep would mostly be left to their own while we were traveling.
Currently I was sitting on a small hill next to the farm, making progress on my carving. I’d been working on it less often recently because of the preparation work my uncle had me doing, but it was almost done. The design ended up being a little sheep with short legs, though it was pretty much a ball with a sheep’s face on it and 4 little stubs.
「It actually ended up pretty cute.」
I felt the wind blow from behind me, and the morning dew on the grass shimmered in the light. A few of the sheep were nearby, and I heard occasionally bleating.
「Just last week a breeze like that would have sent shivers down my back. Guess springtime really is here.」
I laid back in the grass and sprawled out, closing my eyes, and taking a few moments to clear my mind.
Charo: “Guess I’ll head back now.”
Jumping up in one sudden motion, I stood and stretched out my back before walking back to the farm.
Falkr: “Ah, there you are.”
Charo: “Were you looking for me? You could’ve called out, I was just over there.”
Falkr: “Eh, it’s nothing important. We’re mostly done for the day. You can head home if you want. I’ve decided that we’ll leave a day early so that we don’t have to rush, so I’ll pick you up early tomorrow morning.”
Charo: “Don’t need any more help?”
Falkr: “Nah, I’ve just gotta finish getting my stuff together. Go spend some time with your parents before we leave.”
Charo: “Alrighty, I’ll see in the morning.”
I turned towards the town and started walking.
「Ah, it’s such a nice day.」
The air had a chill to it, but the sun was out in full force. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my back, keeping me at a very comfortable temperature. I continued on the path to town at a leisurely pace, there was no reason to rush. It was only about midday and I wasn’t hungry yet.
「Oh, I’ll probably stop there and finish up my carving.」
There was a large tree on the way, it’d grown far larger than most of the buildings in town. Some of the roots were so large you could use them as a bench, and the wood was soft. Most of the wood that I carved came from branches that fell off that tree. The branches were soft for a while after they broke off, but they would end up hardening into stone after a month or so. It was an odd tree, but I liked it.
It wasn’t long before I could see the tree, and I ended up finding a root that looked comfortable to sit on. I tried to pick a spot that wasn’t too deep in the shadows because I’d need some light to see the details I was working on. All I needed to finish was the fine curves in the wool. I’d already carved a loop into the back of the sheep so that it could be attached to a string. After the wood hardened, it should be sturdy enough to be used as a keychain.
Time passed quickly and I finished up my carving just as I could feel a chill in the air.
「It’s gotten kinda late.」
I cleaned off my knife and put the sheep in my pocket. Brushing the shavings off of my clothes, I stood up and stretched my arms and fingers. The sun still had a few hours left before it’d disappear over the horizon.
I ended up making it back to town with about an hour left of daylight. Some of the stores were starting to close up shop and cleaning up. I happened to spot Gerri rolling a pot inside. I walked over and waited around the corner of the door, out of sight. Just as she walked out of the store I jumped out from my hiding spot.
Charo: “Boo!”
Gerri let out a short yelp and fell backwards.
Charo: “Hah, sorry, here let me help you up.”
Gerri: “Geez! Why’d you have to do that!”
Helping Gerri up with one hand, I grabbed the sheep out of my pocket with the other.
Charo: “Here, look. I’ll give you this as an apology.”
I grinned as Gerri’s eyes went wide. She reached out and grabbed the sheep with both hands. It looked like her hand had healed from the cut a while back.
Gerri: “Really? I can have it?”
Charo: “Yeah, of course. It’s still soft, but if you wait a few weeks it’ll harden. After that you can attach a string here and use it as a keychain.”
I made sure to point out the loop I’d added.
Gerri: “Thank you! I’m going to go put this in my room, thank you!”
She ran off into the store as I waved at her.
Heading back home, I strolled through town. I was going to be gone for a while, so I wanted to take my time walking. It’s not a dangerous trip to the capital, but I just wanted something to remember when I felt homesick. I’d helped my uncle with the trip the past few years and usually on my first day in the capital I’d find myself incredibly homesick.
I would find myself lost in the sea of people and buildings. Everything moved at a faster pace that I just wasn’t used to. There were no large open fields, and everything felt rigid. You couldn’t even feel the wind on busy streets. This year was going to be even busier because of the festival, according to my uncle.
I had a bad sense of direction, so I easily found myself lost. Luckily, while we were selling our wool we typically went out together so I just had to make sure to keep a close eye on my uncle.
The sun was finally setting, and the shadows were long. The buildings were bathed in a warm, gentle, orange glow and the only thing I could hear was the wind rustling nearby trees. I closed my eyes and took one last deep breath before heading home.
When I finally made it to my parents’ the sun had already set and there was a closed sign on the door. It wasn’t locked, so I entered and could already smell dinner from the stairs. I was finally hungry, so I decided to run up the stairs by taking the steps two at a time.
Charo: “I’m home! What’s for dinner?”
Mom: “Welcome back, we’re having dumplings tonight.”
Dad: “I’m hungry!”
My dad was already sitting at the table with a fork in one hand and a spoon in the other while my mom was standing at the stove. I walked over to my mom and looked over her shoulder at the pot she was stirring.
Charo: “Smells good. Need a hand?”
Mom: “No, I’m almost done. Go ahead and wash up and take a seat.”
I’d been out all day so my hands and clothes were a little dirty. I ended up going to my room to change after washing my face and hands. The shirt I ended up pulling out first was the same on that I had cut a strip from to make a bandage for Gerri. It had been a little small for me, but now it was definitely too short to wear in public.
「Eh, I guess I’ll just wear this one. I’ll probably give it to my parents to make rags later.」
When I walked back into the kitchen my dad immediately noticed my shirt.
「Leave it to a tailor to notice right away!」
Dad: “What’re you wearing?!”
Charo: “I just threw the first thing I grabbed on, it’s fine.”
My mom looked over her should while she was plating the food.
Mom: “Make sure you don’t bring that on your trip. Leave that on your bed when you leave and we’ll take care of it.”
Charo: “Got it Mom.”
I walked over to the table and sat down.
Charo: “Uncle Falkr said we’ll be leaving a day early, so he’s gonna pick me up tomorrow morning.”
Dad: “Yeah, he told me that as well.”
Mom: “I’ll make sure to pack some food for you in the morning. When will you be heading out?”
Charo: “Probably around sunrise, he just said early morning.”
My mom walked over with two plates and set them down in front of my dad and me.
Dad: “Smells great! Bet it tastes even better, thanks hun.”
Mom: “Yeah, yeah, eat up Charo.”
Charo: “Thanks mom.”
「Food’s great, as always. She really is a great cook.」
We ate our dinner while talking about what we’d been up to for the day. After we finished my mom got up and made us some tea.
Mom: “Charo, be careful on your trip but remember to have fun.”
Dad: “And don’t forget to bring us back some souvenirs!”
My mom smacked my dad on the back of his head.
Dad: “Ow!”
Mom: “Don’t mind him. We have something for you.”
She walked out of the kitchen and brought back something that was folded up. She handed it to me, and I unfolded it. It was a brown vest made of leather with golden piping and several pockets on the front. It was sturdy and I could tell that it was high quality leather.
Charo: “Thanks, you two.”
Dad: “We made that for ya, we figure it’ll be useful for you. You can keep your carvings in the pockets, and as a vest you won’t need to worry about the sleeves getting too short. With Spring coming, you won’t need to worry about the cold so much either.”
I tried it on and it was a tad large, but not by much. Just enough in case I kept growing.
Mom: “It looks great on you Charo. The brown goes really well with your hair and lovely eyes.”
She put her hand on my head and lightly ruffled my hair, with a gentle smile on her face.
Mom: “We made some more shirts and pants for you too, like we said we would. They’re on the counter downstairs, make sure to grab them.”
Dad: “Try ‘em on to make sure they fit.”
Charo: “It’s okay, you two are the best tailors in town. They’ll fit.”
Dad: “You mean the ONLY tailors in town!”
He let out a laugh at his own joke while my mom rolled her eyes.
After we finished our tea I went back downstairs to pick up the clothes and back to my room to pack them into a duffel bag. I didn’t have much, and I needed even less while I’d be on the road so it didn’t me long to finish. Once I was done I laid down.
「Leaving tomorrow, huh. Guess it’ll be a while before I see this ceiling again.」
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
