Distraction

The countryside viewed by the back of a cart was so beautiful. Just sitting there watching it go back without having do anything. I could really get used to this way of traveling. Really made me want one myself, if I had money. But I didn’t trust myself to be able to properly control it. I don’t know how hard it was. They made it look easy, but I’d rather not risk it.

So I enjoyed the view while I had it.

The first day by cart went by quickly. Clena and Youwa continued to pepper me with questions. For having not been educated on Ministra and the temple, they had a deeper curiosity about it. Maybe it was just the unknown and they liked to hear about things. But it kept them occupied and me distracted from just staring at scenery.

It wasn’t a bad way to pass time.

By day two, they exhausted most of their questions. At least those that pertained to the temple or Ministra. My book however, still contained a great interest to them. I could appreciate their hunger, though I always thought I was an odd child for having more interest in Ministra than playing with others my age.

With the book opened, the early parts didn’t seem to interest them too much. It was largely historical texts. Though a lot of the details were assumption rather than fact. Something that Ministra would disapprove of. But it was hard to have perfect records when war wiped out the source.

Flipping through, I found a prophecy that I personally enjoyed learning about. “This was from eighty-four years ago.”

“How long is that?”

Explaining numbers and time to a child. I looked around for any sort of help. None of us could really be much of a reference. No one in the cart was alive back then. I don’t think there was anyone that I knew even that old. “A little further back than when your grandparents were born.”

They stared at each other for a long minute. I wasn’t sure if that made it any clearer for them. They likely had grandparents, though who knows if they met them, though it was probably likely that they did. Hopefully I didn’t stir up bad memories. They aren’t on bad relations with them are they?

As I worried over my potential missteps, Clena finally responded. “That’s a really, really, really long time ago!”

“Ancient!”

Not sure I’d call it ancient, but they seemed to grasp it. Well enough that they could appreciate that it was long ago. I gave them a smile for their understanding. “That’s right.” Looking back down at the page, I refreshed my memory of the prophecy. Though I had read and memorized many times. I didn’t want to present Her falsely.

“Announcement: Designation target: Corthean Gray Wolves. Perimeters exceeded. Removal as valid subject. Evaluation concluded.” It had been one of the more mysterious prophecies that Ministra delivered to them. But it became very educational.

Clena leaned in towards the book. She staggered a bit as the cart hit a bump in the road. I turned to let her see better, not certain what had her curiosity. “What’s ‘Announcement’ mean? You use it often.”

“Oh, it’s a greeting. Ministra always greets us like that, so as a sign of our respect to another we greet them the same.”

She nodded in understanding as she sat down next to me. Youwa stayed across from me. Not sure if she didn’t want to crowd the space or just keep distance from me. “She uses a lot of complicated words.”

“Yes, She does. It’s how we’ve learned and grown our understanding.”

“What does it mean?”

That was the part that made it an interesting prophecy. “They never solved it. At least in the year that it was given. They had ideas, but they weren’t certain about what was wrong with the wolves being exceeded or the removal.”

“You don’t know?”

“Being one of the unsolved prophecies, it has been studied by Priests and Speakers for a long time. Eventually, they came to the conclusion of overpopulation was harming the region. But because we were too late in knowing that, we couldn’t do anything about it. As a result, the balance of ecology changed and hunters had trouble for decades to come in the region.”

They both looked very confused. Which I guess was only logical. I can’t imagine the population rates of wildlife were very compelling stories for two girls. But they asked and I thought it was interesting. Perhaps I should have picked something more interesting.

But what would a child like? These were things that didn’t really impact them directly. The adults would handle the problem and they would live through it. If they were lucky, they would learn about it later, in a manner similar to this.

I flipped through the book pondering if there was anything that might be interesting to them. Ministra spoke to us on a myriad of subjects. But they were often in relation to events or conditions. Stopping at one, this might be better. They’d at least be able to follow it better. “Announcement: Atmospheric conditions in polar jet stream undergoing extreme fluctuation. Yearly temperature to lower dramatically.”

Clena remained a bit puzzled by all the foreign words, but Youwa seemed to follow a little better. “Temperature? It got cold?”

“That’s right. This was one of the coldest years and winters in memory at that time. The forewarning gave them time to prepare. Many people were saved thanks to Her words.”

“She sounds helpful.”

“That’s right. She wants to see us succeed.”

“Then why doesn’t she use easier words?”

“Because She wants to test us and force us to grow to meet our potential.” I’m not sure they were following it, but it seemed more productive than before. So I’m happy with that.

Our travel continued for another three days until we were about two days out from the capital. The road split and so it was time to say goodbye to the family. The girls remained in the cart while I stood at the fork in the road. “Thank you again for the ride. May Ministra watch your path.”

“No, thank you Eshikra. You did us a great kindness.” That was a little odd. I did babysit their children a bunch, but I don’t think I did that much. The tone of his voice had so much relief and weight to it. It was heavy and growing deeper.

I looked over to his wife for a little more hope of why they were acting like this. But she was nearly in tears. This only confused me more. What’s making her so emotional? “Ma’am? Are you alright?”

She shook her head trying to calm herself down. Her hands tried to wipe away the tears, but they were shaking so badly that she couldn’t properly reach. She just gave up in frustration, biting her lip and clutching her hands tightly. It seemed to help a touch. “We’re very grateful. It's difficult. As a parent.”

It was so broken that she couldn’t complete a full sentence. As I reached out for her, Clena poked up from the cart. “Announcement! Miss Eshikra!” I smiled, waving back to her.

Her father turned toward the cart. “Make sure you didn’t forget anything! We’ll be leaving soon!” His voice suddenly returned to the warmth and strength I knew the last few days. The switch was jarring. And then he looked back to me, putting a hand on his wife’s back for comfort. “What you did was important. Just remember that. Thank you.” And yet again, like all of the life drained from his voice lost all vigor and joy that he had a moment before for Clena.

I glanced over at the children happily working. My mind went back to what he said about the reason for their trip. “I understand. Please know comfort and joy in the rest of your travels.” There were two reasons all along. I bowed to them allowing them to depart. And I spun around to the horizon. Somewhere out there Berthon rested. A new sight to look forward to among other things.

After sitting in the cart for so long I think I actually looked forward to walking. Never thought I’d say that. But the road was ahead of me. And I got back into my exercise. Don’t know if it was rest or being more used to walking, but it didn’t feel as difficult this leg. I made pretty good time to the capital. It was still a full day and half, but I arrived at the gates.

An impressive wall of stone stretched beyond my sight around the city with a large main gate. The road even had neatly arranged flat stones as I approached. Though more surprising to me was that there were no guards posted. There wasn’t even anyone standing at the gate. “What’s going on?”

I stepped further in, cautiously like I might get caught in a trap. But no, nothing happened. There were at least people inside the city, but none of them seemed to notice me as they walked by. I tried to get in front, but they just sort of bumped into me until I stepped away.

What happened here? What’s wrong with everyone?