Spending Time With You

As Maya and I made our way from her house to the rest of Emmerberk, I found myself getting swept up in the village’s calming atmosphere.
The light breeze in the early morning smelled airy and pure. Even breathing it in, it felt like any kind of restlessness and unease could just be taken away on the gusts of wind. The sounds of the water flowing through the river and of some of the people that were already out and about, which were suprisingly a lot.
All of this just feels so… happy. It’s so incredibly peaceful here, that I can see myself living in a place like this. Rustic, idyllic and far away from the loudness and busyness of more densely populated cities. Even when you’re used to big cities, if you’re not good in big crowds, they can still feel… suffocating.
A place like Emmerberk on the other hand, feels like a place where I could truly be at peace with. Although it would be very far from where most people live, so I guess certain things will be a lot harder to acquire.

The two of us walked anywhere we could. Seeing everything that Emmerberk had to offer. We walked beside the river, watching the fish that swam through it. We walked over the village wall near Emmerberk Woods, getting a good view of both the forest, the village itself and the gate on the other side of the village.
We probably spent a couple hours with just walking alone, yet it never felt like that. It felt like time went by in the blink of an eye.

‘Over there lives Elize. She is easily the best sewstress in the village and she even made our straw hats. And see that wheatfield over there. That’s where Lucas lives. He makes the bread for everyone in town. Oh, and over there is the Solarian Academy.’

Maya acted like a tourguide would and told me about everything and everyone in the village. All while the two of us had fun with whatever we could find.
We often ran into the other villagers and we greeted them. The other villagers were both regular humans and bestiana. Some had dog ears, I saw someone with the horns of a goat and there was even one with wings on his back like a bird. But there weren’t an awful lot of them. The vast majority of people I saw, were regular humans.
The people here would often look at me weirdly though. Even when I introduced myself, they seemed to distrust me as the outsider.

We eventually found ourselves near the edge of the village at a lone house under the cliffs.

‘Here we are. This is where Johan lives.’ Maya pointed at the house in front of us.

The position of the sun at this moment in time, made it so the house is entirely covered in the cliff’s shadow.
The house itself was entirely made of stone. The house has an overhang with a big workplace and furnace under it. An older looking man was currently working at an anvil under that overhang on what looked like a pan.

‘Hey Johan. How are you?’ Maya said to him.
‘Hey.’ Johan said with a heavy voice, gave a quick look and nod and continued with his work.
‘He is a man of many words.’ Maya whispered to me.
‘Yeah, I noticed.’ I whispered back sarcastically.

Johan swung his hammer with a heavy klang each time it hit the metal on the anvil he is working on.

‘Johan, were you able to finish the bow by any chance.’ Maya asked Johan.
‘I did, you’ll find it inside.’ Johan turned to look at us again and he pointed his hammer at his front door.
‘Okay, thank you.’
‘No problem.’

Maya went inside and I was left alone outside with Johan.

‘Uhm, hey.’ I tried to be friendly and strike a conversation with a simple greeting.
‘Hey.’ Johan responded. He nodded at me and I nodded back.

Johan didn’t seem to mind that I was here.

‘So uh, what are you making?’ I asked him.
‘Just a simple pan. Elize’s was broken, so I’m making one for her.’ Johan told me.
‘Oh really.’ I said, fascinated with his craftsmanship.

I couldn’t help but look at the sparks flying off from the metal each time Johan hit it with his hammer. It’s genuinely impressive to me how someone can be so good at a job like this.
I heard Johan’s front door open up, which broke me out of my focus, and Maya walked out with a bow in hand.

‘Thanks Johan. Are you sure you don’t want anything in return?’
‘I’m certain. You’ve helped me before, so we’ll call it even with this.’
‘Well alright then. See you later.’
‘Yeah, later.’

I followed behind Maya, nodded at Johan as a greeting and we left him to continue on his work.

‘Man, the two of you looked like you were talking up a storm just now.’ Maya said to me.
‘Uh, yeah.’ I responded, not knowing what to say about her comment.

Is she serious? She has to be joking right? Johan talks about as much as I do, which isn’t a lot. I think he has as much trouble speaking to others as me. Maybe that’s why his house seems kinda secluded from the rest. Or it could be to not be a bother to everyone else, because of all the smoke coming from his furnace.

‘Hey, come with me. There is one last place I’d like to show you.’ Maya said as she ran ahead of me.
‘Wai-Wait up.’ Surprised by her sudden jog, I ran after her.

We ran for maybe a minute and stopped at the top of a hill with a lonely tree on it. I noticed it has apples growing on it, ready to be harvested.

‘Look.’ Maya pointed back at the village.

I looked behind me and saw the entire village. All the places we visited and most of the people we saw today were clearly visible from here. Still going about their daily lives.
The cliffs casted a shadow above some of the houses and the clouds that covered most of the sky, let out a few rays of light.
A plume of smoke could be seen from Johan’s house. His furnaces are still fired up for that pan he is making.
A giant golden field of wheat near a small house would move with the wind. That’s probably Lucas’ house then. He is the local breadmaker after all.
The wall and gate I came in from yesterday is to the right of us and we were just high up enough to even see the forest right behind it. I tried to look for the waterfall as well, but couldn’t seem to find it.

‘I thought this was the right place to end today with. A full view of the village. Pretty cool right?’ Maya asked me.
‘Yeah, you bet.’ I felt the sides of my mouth unconsciously going upward. Making me smile from the view in front of me.

I heard Maya sitting down next to the tree and she patted the ground beside her for me to do the same.
I sat beside her, but still with a little distance between us. We looked at the village in silence.
The wind blowing and the faraway noises of the other villagers being the only sounds we heard.
I could ask her so much right now, but I don't want to. The view in front of me is so magical that I don't want to ruin it by saying something.

‘I love this place.’ Maya said to me softly, breaking the silence. I looked back at her to listen. ‘There are so many things I love about it. From the people, to simple views like this. But… I know that there is so much more out there. This kingdom… has so many more people. So many more places to go to that I can’t even imagine. Resilia has so much more to offer that I would love to see.’

There was a strong sparkle in Maya’s eyes when she was talking. Her desire and excitement of travelling is so strong that it was infectious. Even I, who doesn’t know anything about this world, got excited by her enthusiasm. It was hard not to. So far I had only seen this place and the forest just outside this village. But hearing her enthusiasm got my mind racing at the possibilities.
Yet I still had to wonder. Someone as energetic and outgoing as her would’ve most likely gone to travel already.
‘Then… why don’t you?’ I asked her.
‘I-I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I love it here that much, or something. I-I really don’t know.’ She turned to look back at the village and I did the same.

I would sometimes turn my head to look at Maya. She brushed her hair behind her ear and the way she looked at the village seemed lonely and uncertain. Uncertain of whether travelling was really such a good idea or not. Uncertain whether it was smart in general.
It’s a feeling I know all too well. The feeling of uncertainty whether something is the right decision or not and then struggling to follow through with it.

‘Oh, we still haven’t gone to Lucas yet.’ Maya said as she stretched and stood back up again. ‘Let’s go get that bread and call it a day.’
‘Yeah you’re right.’ I stood up after her.

As we got ready to leave, a strong breeze made the leafs of the tree rustle loudly. It made me turn to look at the tree again. The red of the apples really caught my eye this time in contrast to the deep green of the leaves.
Those apples sure do look quite tasty. …Apples? Wait. Of course. Why didn’t I think of that earlier.

‘Maya, can you help me get some of these apples?’ I asked her in a hurry.
‘Uh, yeah sure. But what do you want to do with them?’ She asked confused.
‘I think I know what to give Casper for a gift. And I think you might like it as well.’