Chapter 55 - No Place Like Home

The rustling trees above whispered into his ears, full of sweet promises and half-remembered dreams. They were playful things, these silent words, and they skittered across his consciousness like the caress of an early autumn rain washing the face of a sun-baked crag.

“Skyle.”

The name meant little to him, for he had forgotten such meanings in the face of more profound truths. How odd that he should have once placed importance on such things, an errant thought skittered across his mind. The meaning of names and their significance faded into dim obscurity, for how can one perceive the vastness of the world when stubbornly clinging to the notion of self?

“Skyle.”

A momentary sense of discomfort intruded upon this moment of bliss. It was a rude gesture, like a finger poking his arm when he did not wish to be disturbed. Still, it was impossible to feel such, for he knew this voice, and it meant the world to him. This he knew beyond doubt, though how was a question he did not even think to ask.

“Skyle, wake up.”

Slowly at first, but with dismaying momentum, the world began to fade around him. Instead, a suffocatingly sharp sense of contrast flared within his consciousness. It began with lines being defined with increasing clarity from areas that had only been delightfully hazy mists before. Borders were swiftly erected thereafter, and for the first time he became fully aware and cognizant of this alien concept: the self.

He looked around, and he saw a world that was fading from brilliant light into darkness. They were oddly familiar, these looming shadows steadily creeping into place behind every object around him. They fed well, though he knew not on what. They grew tall and strong, eventually ushering the question, just which was the shadow of which?

Skyle could not tell, just as he was not sure why he should suddenly find this name so familiar. Neither did he realize why upon finally opening his eyes and seeing for the first time, he felt a distinct absence that nearly brought him to tears.

“Don’t be scared, Skyle.”

He was disconsolate, without a clue as to the reason for his grief. It was only the voice that comforted him, and kept him company in the growing darkness encroaching upon this once bright and airy place.

“I am with you.”

Skyle nodded, not in gratitude but acknowledgment.

Names flooded into his mind in a bewildering torrent, quickly filling voids where there had been none mere moments ago.

“We are here.” These words from the voice sounded like a gentle reminder. Skyle instantly realized they were instead a farewell.

“Don’t go,” Skyle pleaded in spite of himself, knowing better yet unable to help himself. “Don’t.”

“Silly Skyle. I will always be with you.” The words were said with a smile, but the words were steeped in sorrow.

It was at that instant, right as the final vestige of this sanctuary was lost to the demands of the here and now, that Skyle knew this to be true. Both the words and the sorrow, he understood them completely. Only now did Skyle truly understand, and silent tears pooled in his eyes.

Then the moment was gone, swallowed by shadow.

Skyle ran a hand across his eyes and wondered, had it been raining just now?

As he looked up, the darkness was upon him and he knew no more.

***

A gentle touch brushed an errant lock of hair away from his forehead. The warmth exuded by this touch melted away the deep lines in his forehead.

As though afraid of losing something precious, Skyle desperately knocked on the doors of his consciousness. The gates slowly parted underneath his pounding fists, and at last a sliver of light peeped through the widening gap between them.

Cracking his eyes open, Skyle blinked to clear his vision.

He immediately recognized his own bed. An unfamiliar weight lay upon his right side. With great effort, his turned his head and recognized the disheveled mass of golden hair to be the top of Kass’ head. She was sleeping next to him, her body tightly curled up against his arm. Her tiny eyes were puffed up as though she had been crying, and a tiny bit of drool dribbled from her lips.

Skyle tried to speak and poke fun of her condition, but found that his lips seemed to belong to someone else.

“Sky?” came the soft call from his other side.

“Ma?” Skyle instantly recognized the voice.

He turned his eyes, but at that instant he felt a sudden headache pounding mercilessly against his skull. His vision went black and struggle as he might, he couldn’t open his eyes again.

“It’s alright, little Skyle, you’re safe now. Sleep. Shh. Sleep now.”

Skyle relaxed under the soothing words, and soon felt into a dreamless sleep.

***

The next time he opened his eyes, the only candle burning in the room glowed like a halo around the beautiful face of a woman Skyle had longed to see for a long time.

“Ma?” Skyle stammered, finally able to open his mouth.

The placid cornflower blue eyes of Adrienne Farrow gleamed with emotion as she silently nodded to her son. The depths of her gaze were an overflowing mixture of both joy and relief.

“Is it really you? Am I - is it really you, ma?” Skyle.

Adrienne nodded once more, her hand settling above Skyle’s brow with a reassuring touch.

“It really is me.” The smile on her lips was subdued, but the faint trembling visible at their corners was as much as a shout of joy from the usually imperturbable mistress of the Farrow family. “You’ve returned to me, my baby.”

Usually, such words would have prompted an automatic protest from Skyle along the lines of his merits as a young adult and first born of the house, and the great dignity and decorum such positions entail.

Now, however, it was all Skyle could do to simply throw his arms around her waist and squeeze for all he was worth. He clung to her like a shaking leaf, desperately drinking from the warm comfort of her presence and the unshakable weight of her unconditional love.

At first taken aback by Skyle’s abrupt reaction, soon Adrienne’s smile deepened. Her hand patted the little boy’s back as she gently rocked him back and forth within her embrace.

“I came back to you, mom. I promised I would,” Skyle mumbled, his voice trembling with emotion.

“Welcome home, little Sky,” his mother whispered in his ear, and suddenly everything was alright in the world again.

He had finally come home.

***

Moments later, a much more composed Skyle followed his mother as she led him out the door of his own bedroom where he had been resting.

“How’s Leon? And what about Emil?” Skyle asked softly.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re still recovering in their rooms, they must have been through a lot. You can visit them later.”

That set Skyle’s mind at ease.

“Was there.. Anyone else with us?” Skyle asked tentatively.

Adrienne tilted her head to the side, then shook it in the negative.

“No. Should there have been another person?” His mother asked, concerned.

“Ah, no. Never mind.” Skyle shook his head, trying to hide his consternation.

Adrienne brushed the back of her hand against his cheek. When he looked up, she smiled at him encouragingly.

“I know a lot of things must have happened. How about we get some hot food in you first? Food first, worries later. I cooked all your favorites for you. I had a feeling you’d be waking up hungry.”

Skyle smiled his thanks and nodded, swallowing past the lump in his throat.

As he followed his mother toward the dining room, Skyle relished in the cool feeling of smooth wood against skin as his bare toes stepped on the all-too familiar grain of the planks laid across the short hallway leading to the dining room.

Embroidered tapestries hung on both sides of the walls. Those on the left were eyesores, the stitching uneven in most places and even coming nearly undone in some. Those abominations had been the product of Skyle’s forced tenure as an embroidery apprentice under the long-suffering tutelage of Mistress Farrow - his mother. Clumsy and reluctant as he was, she had never once lost her temper or her patience. It had taken a good two years before Skyle realized that the lessons learned during those hellishly tedious winters had been about far more than mere needle and thread.

The tapestries on the opposite wall formed a stark contrast, each stitch artfully placed upon another until they formed a harmonious whole. A clear progression could be seen. It began with simple yet elegant letters. These became flowers, then plants and animals, until whole forests were depicted in the last few. They were vast works that must have taken countless hours of meticulous, masterful work.

Produced, of course, by the gifted little hands of Kassandra and Reikard Farrow. The twins had excelled where Skyle had failed ruinously, their deft little fingers weaving in and out with astonishing speed under the smiling eyes of their mother. Minute differences could be found in their work, of course. Kass’ patterns tended to be elegant and complex - grand on a scale that teetered on the edge of ostentatiousness. Reik’s, in the other hand, displayed disarmingly simple designs that were put together with meticulous care and attention to the finest detail. They might not be as showy or dazzling as Kass’ work, but the deeper the examination, the stronger the fascination would grow towards the artfully humble talent shown.

The worst of their works outshone Skyle’s best by leagues. Only by age ten had Skyle finally earned a barely passing grade and graduated from long evenings spent by the fire snarling under his breath with thread and needle on hand.

Reik had hung his last tapestry just last year, at age eight.

As for Kass, the little empress of the Farrow clan had solemnly declared her time with needles was done by her seventh summer.

As usual, no one had disagreed.

Now, walking with his mother past these familiar sights, Skyle’s heart ached deeply as he thought of the long, painful road he had walked to arrive here.

It seemed a mere instant before Skyle finally arrived at the end of the corridor, and once again he was assaulted by a sight that had haunted his dreams for what seemed like ages, but had in reality only been a few days.

A wide mahogany table dominated the center of the room, piles of hot, steaming plates heaped upon it like a small mountain. The great Farrow family lay spread out around it, attacking the food with relish.

Reik was perched upon his usual spot on the corner, his entire face sunken inside a drumstick that was bigger than his head. Rich gravy dripped unheeded from his chin and onto the napkin tied around his neck.

Kass sat at the middle of the table, within easy reach of the best parts of the feast. Her back was straight and her graceful demeanor was only ruined by the helpless roll of her eyes as she glanced periodically towards her twin brother.

“Must you swallow all your food like a pig at the table, Reik?”

“Mm-hmm, mmhm, hmmmph!” came the joyous reply, completely oblivious to his sister’s dissatisfaction.

Kass could only let out an aggrieved sigh before delicately cutting into the chicken breast on her own plate using the immaculate filigreed fork and knife held in her dainty little hands. She cut out a tiny slice of the white meat and lightly dipped it into a separate miniature bowl containing her own individual portion of gravy. Only then did she carefully bring it to her mouth. Little Kass looked like an exquisite doll as she chewed slowly and deliberately, putting down her dining utensils. After swallowing, she dabbed a fine white linen napkin across her lips, and followed it with a sip from the only glass cup in the entire household. It only held grapejuice, but Kass still closed her eyes as she swirled the liquid in her mouth. Only then did she pick up her fork and knife to start the process all over again.

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The dining utensils were small and thin, but were made of steel coated in silver, and had been given to Kass as a gift from the blacksmith’s son. They must have cost a good half year of his apprentice wages, but the lad had practically begged for Kass to accept the gift. When she had reluctantly agreed, the boy had a grin on his face that could have lit the town for a whole week while all his friends had groaned and cursed at the fact that they either hadn’t thought of it first.

The napkin, it was part of a set of twelve included in a gift package from the weaver’s two boys. God knows how many months of savings that must have cost them, but the brothers had been positively exultant when Kass had finally relented and accepted the gift. She had immediately thrown the package to the back of their wagon as though it were a cabbage or a carrot, but the boys had not cared one whit. Their gift had gained the little empress’ approval, and that was enough to earn them the envy of every boy in town.

The same story repeated itself with everything else. The plate was part of a set from the potter’s daughter. The glass cup came from the glass blower’s son. The grape juice was part of a steady supply from the tavern’s three daughters, who offered a weekly tribute to their little idol.

Kassandra Farrow could be said to be a minor celebrity in Sunny Meadow, and her every action reflected this fact. She was like a diminutive version of her mother, all composed grace and flowing elegance. Of course, the little brat still snuck to his room when she was too scared to sleep alone in the dark and her temper tantrums were the stuff of legends in the Farrow family. Still, those small, lovely imperfections aside, Kassandra could truly be said to have been born in the spitting image of her mother.

Her beauty reflected this fact. Though she was only nine this year, her crystal blue eyes, lovely dimples and flowing locks of gold were already the stuff of local legends. Rumours about the exquisite beauty of both mother and daughter had spread to every border of Lacrima Province. Even the province’s capital, Glory Peak, held a substantial fan base. This was largely thanks to the Aegis Academy, the local branch of which both Kass and Reik had begun to attend a year ago. It wasn’t rare for students to be transferred back and forth between the main facility in Glory Peak and the branch in Sunny Meadow. In truth, Skyle more than half suspected the unexpected popularity of the Sunny Meadow Aegis Academy Branch had more than a little to do with his sister’s disturbingly high popularity. In fact, with every new student attending the academy, girls and boys as young as 7 and as old as 16 or even older had begun to join the ranks of this growing club.

Still, at home Kass was more akin to Skyle’s little kitten. She was liable to hiss and scratch from time to time, but mostly she just wanted to curl up by his side and receive the occasional pat on the head and scratch behind the ears. Well, that and candied corn.

“I’m back, Kass, Reik.” Skyle whispered in his mind, his chest filled to bursting with joy.

Reik burped loudly, and Kass hissed under her breath but went completely unnoticed.

Indifferent to all of this was Kendric Farrow, who sat at the head of the table. His casually slouching figure did not inspire any of the paternal presence he ought to have projected. Instead, he lay elbow deep in grease as he dug into a piece of grilled thigh with great enthusiasm. In fact, he seemed oblivious to the scene of the new arrivals.

“Pretending he can’t see me. Typical.” Skyle almost rolled his eyes.

The first to show any sign of having noticed was, invariably, Ash.

The young snowblade tiger cub lay curled at his usual spot under the table, right where Skyle’s empty chair laid. Ash raised his head as soon as Skyle stepped into the room. After a lazy glance in his direction, the little tiger’s whiskers shook for a moment before turning away and padding towards the door. There, it lifted a paw to push open the door, glanced back towards Skyle with obvious irritation, and stepped outside.

“Oh great, he’s angry at me again. Of course he would. Worst of all, I do deserve it this time.”

Skyle let out a great sigh, but at the same time his chest churned with warmth. He was back. This was his family.

At long last, he was back where he belonged. No more life and death struggles. No more nightmares looming beyond every corner. He was finally back to the life he knew and loved.

“Well, what are you standing there gawking like a dumb turnip farmer for? Come sit and eat before your mother’s food gets cold. We’ll never hear the end of it, else,” Kendric chuckled in between mouthfuls.

Immediately, the room froze as everybody stopped. Then the thin clatter of metal echoed in the room as Kass let her prized silver utensils drop heedless from her hands. She immediately sprang to her feet and became a streak of motion that buried itself deep into Skyle’s embrace. Her tiny fists repeatedly struck his chest as tears began to flood her eyes.

“You stupid dummy, where did you go? Why did you leave me? I was so worried, wuuuu. I was scared I’d never see..”

The rest of it collapsed into fitful sobs, her back shaking uncontrollably as her cries filled Skyle’s heart with warmth.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry Kass.” It was all that Skyle could keep repeating, over and over.

The next instant, Reik had also thrown himself into Skyle’s arms, adding his sobbing voice to Kass’ in a growing chorus.

“Big bro, what happened to you? We couldn’t find you. I wanted to go to the forest, but da wouldn’t let me. I’m sorry I couldn’t help. We missed you so much,” Reik sobbed, his tiny face scrunched up in guilt and relief all at once.

Skyle found himself patting their backs much the same way his mother had done for him. After all, while he was his parents’ little baby, to Reik and Kass their older brother was the dependable brother who always knew exactly what to do whenever they needed help. It did not matter that Skyle had never felt as young and helpless as he had during these past few days. Though he himself felt lost and confused, for their sake Skyle couldn’t help but put up a brave front. His smile was one of a confidence and calm that were nonexistent within his own heart. He desperately hoped that this mask he had donned would be enough to assuage their worries and lend them comfort, even if he himself felt slightly guilty at his own duplicity.

As he tried to comfort his siblings as best he could, he wondered for the very first time whether his parents ever felt this way. Could Kendric Farrow’s light-hearted banter and teasing smirk be a front to set his children at ease and lend them confidence when confronted with the devious tricks of fate? Was Adrienne Farrow’s stately calm and everflowing kindness a necessary balm to water her children’s hearts in the arid wasteland of this world?

Only now did Skyle begin to think about many of his parents’ lessons. Words he had previously taken lightly, and others he had disregarded altogether. Louder still were their actions, which had instilled the values by which Skyle would now live and die.

“If they knew I only have five years left to live, would that change anything at all?” Skyle wondered in his mind.

This thought, which fluttered into his mind as though by chance, clung fiercely and refused to leave throughout the evening. Though he was starving, he couldn’t find the appetite to gorge himself the way he usually would. Instead, he forced himself to eat under the beaming gazes of his family.

They spoke little, and most of it was taken up by little Kass and Reik as they recounted their fears and deeds during these past days while Skyle had been gone.

All the while, Skyle bravely tried to soldier on and put on a smiling mask to assuage the concerns of his family.

At the end of the evening, the huge banquet was gone and the children were tucked into bed against their many complaints otherwise. His father had stepped outside with smoking pipe in hand while his mother tactfully busied herself with the affairs of the kitchen. Left alone within the room, Skyle blinked his eyes while his gaze followed his mother’s figure as she tidied up the kitchen. The dishes had already been washed by Reik while Kass had cleaned the dining room. The children of the family had long been trained to do such chores, and thus there was little else for his mother to do. Still, she managed to busy herself in one task or the other, all the while never leaving Skyle alone.

After a while, Skyle finally seemed to understand something. Standing up, Skyle approached his mother and hugged her back.

“Thanks, ma.” Skyle whispered, his face pressed tightly against the comforting warmth of her back.

Adrienne’s hands stroked her son’s arms.

“Of course. I love you, little Sky.” she whispered back.

“Me too.” skyle murmured hoarsely.

“I know, sweetheart. Now, go outside and drag your dad in before he catches a chill. You know how he gets sometimes.” Adrienne laughed softly.

Wordlessly, Skyle let go and headed for the door. Upon stepping outside, the cold air from the nearby mountains hit him like a splash of water. The worries and burdens he had not even noticed were upon his back suddenly dragged at him as he took a deep, shivering breath.

He found his father sitting by the porch, surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke.

“You know ma doesn’t like you smoking that stuff, da.” Skyle murmured, leaning his shoulder against a nearby post.

“I don’t like me smoking this stuff, but sometimes we do things and we just can’t help ourselves,” Kendric scoffed.

Skyle glanced sideways at his father and smiled bitterly. “Liar.”

Kendric squinted at his son with a dark scowl, but after a moment he burst into a great guffaw instead. “Hahah, reckon’ I can’t deny it. Love this stuff, ain’t ever gonna change. Heh, my little boy’s getting all growed up.”

Skyle smiled in response, but after a moment his smile wilted away.

“I don’t feel growed up. And if this is what it means to be all growed up, then I don’t ever want to grow up.” The words were filled with bitter conviction, and they gave Kendric a pause as he looked thoughtfully at his son.

A great sigh escaped Kendric’s lips after some time, and he nodded wordlessly to his son.

Skyle was surprised at this reaction, for very seldom was Kendric Farrow left without a witty remark of one sort or the other. Tonight, his father seemed strangely vulnerable, somehow.

Perhaps, Skyle reflected, it wasn’t his father that had changed, but rather Skyle himself. This left him pondering deeply in the silence while the acrid smell of the pipe filled the air around him.

“Da, what’s it mean to be growed up?” Skyle finally asked.

After a moment of silence, Kendric removed the pipe from his mouth and exhaled a great cloud of smoke, watching as it drifted up into the air.

“It means you can make tough choices.”

“That could take you down an awful shady path, da.” Skyle noted.

“Ain’t that the truth, son.” The dryness of his father’s voice concealed a deeper layer of meaning within that Skyle couldn’t sound out.

“What if the tough choices ain’t good choices, da?”

“Often ain’t. Don’t matter, son. Times are, you gotta be willing to do things you ain’t proud of for the sake of the things a man ought to be proud of.”

“You ever have to do that, da?”

At this moment, Kendric Farrow took one final drag from his pipe and closed his eyes for a long moment. Just as Skyle was wondering if his father wouldn’t answer, he removed the pipe from his lips and turned his head to gaze squarely at his son. There was an earnest light in his eyes that spoke of fierce emotion, barely held back by an iron will.

“I have, son. Times for the wrong reason, times for the very best of reasons. One day, mark my words, there will be the devil to pay. But I ain’t scared. A man can only do his best, and that’s that. When my time comes, I’ll take that against anything the world can throw at me.”

As the smoke drifted up into the night sky, Skyle wondered if he himself had the right reasons in his heart.

“How do you know what the right reasons are?”

“Hell if I know boy. Like I said, all you can do is try your best.” Kendric shrugged, leaving Skyle speechless.

Upon seeing his reaction, Kendric sighed through his nose.

“Look now, this here is my own method. Maybe it ain’t the smartest, but so far it’s what has worked.”

Skyle nodded eagerly.

“When you feel lost and confused and don’t know which way is heads or tails, you close your eyes for a second. Take a deep breath and clear your mind. If you can do that, you oughta be able to look through all that useless crap clouding your mind. If you can manage that, you oughta.. Ah, well,” Kendric coughed uncomfortably, clearing his throat before continuing. “You oughta hear a voice. I know it sounds mighty silly, but you will-”

“I already heard that voice,” Skyle nodded firmly, and Kendric’s surprised expression seemed to mirror his own.

“Well then, that makes it easier. You see, then all I do is listen to your ma’s voice inside my heart. She can be a right down mean tyrant in the house sometimes,” Kendric said, but suddenly stopped at this part. Visibly flinching, he seemed to glance surreptitiously over his shoulder towards the house at his back. Surely not, Skyle thought. Still, Kendric’s whole expression seemed to sink as he swallowed hard.

“Ah, what I meant is your beautiful mother can be a trifle hard to deal with sometimes,” Kendric continued, but then the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. This time the glance he threw towards the house was definitely not Skyle’s imagination.

Strange, Skyle thought. His mother was the nicest, kindest and most angelic being he could think of.

“Forget all that boy. Just ah, just know that your mother always knows best,” Kendric finished, fat beads of sweat shimmering on his forehead.

“Uh, ok,” Skyle murmured, still confused.

“Skyle, ain’t ever anything free in this world. Always a price to pay, make no mistake. Maybe you, maybe not. Hell, could be no one you know. But somewhere, someone always pays the price. So, just remember that if you have to pay, make sure you do it for the right reasons.”

Had those prisoners who had been butchered by the hands of those cultists been paying the price for their own actions, or Skyle’s mistakes? Did Fierro Latimus' final, accepting smile mean that he had been ready and willing to pay a price that had been long overdue? Had those children slaughtered by the dracolings been paying for their parents’ sins? Did Leena die at Skyle’s hands because she wanted to pay a price for someone else? Last but not least, would Skyle die in five years in order to atone for all the lives he had reaped while trapped within Sanctuary?

As all these thoughts flooded his mind, Skyle found tears overflowing his eyes and spilling down his cheeks, though no sound escaped his lips.

Before Skyle even knew it, his father’s firm hands had grasped his shoulders and pulled his little boy into his embrace. There, Skyle finally was able to give voice to his grief with a great, heart-rending howl.

“Shh, it’s alright boy. Let it all out. You let it all out,” Kendric comforted while patting his son’s back.

"I.. I.. Da, I did.." Skyle tried in between fitful sobs, but couldn't get the words out.

"Shh, it's alright. Don't you worry none, boy."

Skyle didn’t know how long he cried, but when he was finally done, his eyes were swollen and his throat was raw.

The night had grown cold enough that he began to shiver, even through the warmth of his father’s embrace.

“You feeling better, you little runt?” Kendric’s voice asked teasingly.

Smiling for seemingly the first time in a long, long time, Skyle nodded.

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good, then get off me so I can wipe some of this snot off my shirt,” his father grumbled good-naturedly.

Skyle chuckled in spite of himself, and self-consciously tried to gather some of the wetness he had left on his father’s clothes.

This earnest effort was rewarded by a playful knock on his head.

“You’re making it worse, you little beast. Leave it alone, it’s fine. It’s been a long time since you’ve cried in my arms, and I finally remembered why I had you stop,” Kendric moaned disconsolately.

Skyle laughed at this, and it felt good. Truly good. So he laughed some more, and his father soon joined in.

“Da, you think..” Skyle suddenly stopped laughing and began with a subdued tone, then hesitated before continuing. “Can you forgive me?”

Kendric turned to look at Skyle with somber eyes that had lost all humor.

“Of course son,” he answered with conviction.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Good, because all this time, I was mighty afraid you were gonna flip out when you found out I lost your knife,” Skyle breathed out, then ducked under the inevitable knuckle to the head he knew would be incoming.

Surprisingly, there was none. Instead, his father nodded smilingly to him.

“Uh, da?” Skyle murmured, starting to worry.

The smile only grew wider, and Skyle began to sweat in earnest.

“Ah, you’re starting to scare me, da.”

“Aw, don’t you worry none son. Ain’t no big deal, losing that rusty old knife of mine.” Kendric grinned at his son, putting an arm around the boy’s shoulders and patting his back reassuringly. “I got my son back, and that’s all that matters.”

“Truly?” Skyle asked, moved.

“Truly.”

“Thanks da,” Skyle whispered, smiling.

“Welcome son,” Kendric chuckled, and it was at this moment that Skyle felt a shiver run down his spine. Turning his gaze to look at his father, he saw the familiar devilish grin return. His heart instantly sunk to his feet even before he heard his father’s next words.

“Don’t ya worry none son, it is all coming out of your wages anyhow. I reckon, you’ll be mighty busy for the next, oh, five years or so? And here I’d been worrying sick about my poor old back and who would plow the new field, wash the hoghouse, dig the new latrine ditches, shovel the manure carts..”

The list was endless, and so were the depths of Skyle’s black despair.