A month passed by and Lia often came with her friends. Every time she came with one boy, and we hung out. It was always from that group I met at her little brother’s party.

Lia was cute but I didn’t think she’d have those boys wrapped around her finger like that. That girl was still young but I had a feeling she’d grow up to be a Manizer (Playgirl?), assuming that was a thing. Isn’t she like barely 6 though?

We hung out, and it was somewhat fun. A break from all the grinding. She never brought more than one guy at a time. She was young, but she was a pro, that was for sure. I hit it off with the guys. At some point, the boys came to hang out with me on their own. Pretty weird. We did have a lot of fun though.

“And then, and then, he started rolling around!” Lia said. Her speech had improved significantly and I could finally understand the phrase- look how fast they’ve grown!

Mack had come to hang out and we were just walking around the rice paddies when a wild Lia had shown up. In these past few weeks Mack and I became fast friends. We had much to talk about. He was often fat shamed and so he felt somewhat relieved to be talking to me. Now granted I wasn’t fat by any means, but when everyone around you was thin as a branch (super fit), even if you found someone just a tad chubbier than the rest, you’d be relieved. But Mack was probably just worried for nothing. He was barely six and kids around that age tended to be on the chubbier side. Especially when their mother would force feed them boundless soup and meat. ‘No, that’s just your mother…’

“Maybe not let the newborn roll around?” I said.

“He’s a man, he’ll be fine,” Mack snorted. And he scowled at me ever since Lia came.

I got the feeling that he just wanted to be alone with me? I didn’t peg him to be the jealous type.

It’s a baby dude… No seriously, this world had awfully weird standards.

“Yeah, by being dead,” I snorted.

His face kind of crumbled at the word ‘death.’ Lia stared at me quizzically. “Why would rolling on the ground kill him?”

“Because he’s awfully young, doesn’t have a developed immune system and can die from virtually anything. Even eating honey. Especially eating honey.”

“Mama says honey is good for you.”

“They’re terrible for babies though,” I said. “And young children. That’s why Mom doesn’t let me eat any.” And totally not because we couldn’t afford any….

Lia was quite confused and Mack too but they just shrugged off my comments as facts. They apparently regarded me as the guy who spent money frugally to buy books. I was known as a stupid but knowledgeable boy. I still didn’t know what to feel about that though. I only bought one book folks, one book!

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

***

I had to make regular offerings in the cave. Once a week. Every time I went there, a group of white lizards awaited me; the big one never showed up. I didn’t go alone of course. Den took me and made sure to carry me the whole way, so I didn’t get lost. I found it a little funny how he always carried a large pitcher in case we did fall into that aerated water stuff again. We never did though.

“Not today either huh?” Den wondered, sighing. We watched the little lizards devour all the meat and then made our way out.

All in all, life was fun. Life was slow. And life was… good.

But good times hardly last.

A few weeks later, in the middle of the night I heard a thud and walked out of the room. Mom wasn’t on the bed; kind of dark. Did she fall down or something? It was a really loud fall and I might have even heard a groan.

I came out and well… there was someone on the floor but it wasn’t Mom. It was a guy in a robe of sorts. And mom was standing next to him. The robbed fellow was passed out and bleeding. Wait no… he was dead.

My teeth shook, my blood cooled down as though the temperature just dropped by twenty degrees Celsius.

“Mom…” I mumbled.

She didn’t look at me. She didn’t even face me. “Go back and don’t come out for a while.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t question her. I didn’t have the guts to. I didn’t see any weapon. And I honestly didn’t want to.

I considered Mom many things. Cook, hunter, tailor, farmer. A warrior… many things. But never a murderer.

I couldn’t stop my shivering body, and neither could I stop my rapid breath, but even so- ‘It’s just a nightmare. It’ll disappear the moment I wake up tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, definitely just a nightmare!’

But that was a person Sol, a person! ‘No, it was just a nightmare.’

Someone died! ‘Nightmare.’

Someone died!!!

Argh! I grabbed my ears, somehow forced my thoughts to die. “It’s just a nightmare…” I mumbled to myself, reassuring everything would just disappear in the morning.

Yet… the shivers didn’t stop. The pounding didn’t stop. And neither did the tears.

***

The next morning, I woke up all groggy. Suffice to say, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Not even when Mom had come back. Not even when I felt her warmth.

There wasn’t any spot of blood or any scratches on the floor. Everything was clean as though nothing even happened. Mom didn’t mention anything and I didn’t find the right time to ask either. Before breakfast Den showed up and exchanged awkward glances with Mom.

“It’ll be tough but I think I can convince him. I did save his life,” Den said; a bag on his back and he was geared pretty oddly. He was ready to leave?

“Are you going somewhere Den?” I asked.

“A little out of town,” he said. “Be sure to practice… oh and don’t go out till I return. Zena will come by and take the offerings.”

“Be careful,” Mom said.

He left just as quickly as he’d arrived.

“Is this because of last night,” I said.

Mom shook her head. I wasn’t sure if that was a yes or no, but she didn’t talk. What had she done? Bury the body? Maybe burn it? Or had she thrown it away in the cave for-

No, that was just a nightmare, forget it, forget it!

I proceeded to erase all my queries. Things between me and mom were starting to get real awkward so- “Did you escort that man out tomorrow?” I asked, innocently. “Did he come to check on us or something?” I said.

Her eyes opened wide for a second but she managed to keep a normal face. “Yes.”

And that was the end of the conversation.

Den didn’t show for the next two weeks. And my training more or less stagnated.

Mom kept an eye on me always and for the next few days Serec offered to guard our place at night. But guard us from what, that I didn’t quite understand. Did the church… want me dead? But hadn’t Mom already sorted that out and… ‘Then what?’ The insignia? But I was keeping it wrapped in bandages and… and… then what?