Wern, Fir of Marla: 28 Xiven

At the first appearance of Dania and her mother, Kayin thought that Aunt Aayin cut the story short because it was about Cigam, and Dania’s mom hated stories about Cigam. But now that he saw Aunt Aayin pulled them both into hugs, he rose to his feet and approached, quiet and tentative. He looked to Dania first, but she stared at the floor, arms crossed.

“…so he’s resting,” Dania’s mother said to Aunt Aayin.

Kayin gently poked Dania in the shoulder to get her attention.

“Why aren’t you in line?”

She glanced up to him, then to the kids that were definitely eavesdropping in the background.

“Oh. Um, we were getting my dad. We were told the war was over, so we went to the edge of the forest to try and see him coming home.” Kayin’s eyes widened. He couldn’t even remember the man’s face, really. It had been so long…. “And he’s—alive,” she added, staggered. She glanced up to the whispering women beside them. “But I guess he’s sick from an arrow that hit him. Poison? I guess Wakino poisons all their weapons?”

He let out the littlest, “Oh.” What did that mean, though? Was it a poison that would pass? Was it like the seasonal sickness that Aunt Aayin would get? When he asked this aloud, Dania shrugged.

“Mom says he will probably get better. He just looks like he’s in pain, and he’s really tired.” That could have also been because of the literal war he was just fighting in. “The doctor is looking at him now.” Kayin frowned with her.

“If your mom says he’ll get better, he probably will,” Kayin said. Dania nodded.

“I think he’ll be fine. But….” Dania shrunk a little, turning away from the women. “I think…. I think I need to say sorry to you.”

“Huh?” He looked stupid, he knew, questioning her like that. But what could she possibly have to apologize for at a time like this? They hadn’t even seen each other yet.

“For, um—” Dania glanced to the kids behind them, whose chatter fell away as the line moved just a little further. The four of them took a few steps to the side to keep up, but didn’t return to the larger group. “I always made fun of you for being a foreigner,” Dania continued. “But I—I didn’t know that…. I didn’t know my parents are foreigners, too.”

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“What do you mean?” And why was this important now?

“When we were collecting my dad, the farmers—the farmers on the other side of the river were being rounded up by the Wakino soldiers—because I guess that’s where they live now—and they kept spitting at us, throwing rocks and stuff. They were saying all sorts of things, but they called out my dad, and they yelled at him, saying we lost because foreigners would never fight hard enough.”

“They were what?” Kayin gasped.

“I mean, the Wakino soldiers were trying to stop them from all that, to where, I guess they were all being arrested or something. But it was—it was so loud, and they kept screaming at my dad, saying he was too much of a foreigner to be a good warrior. And I guess—I asked when we got home. I guess my parents came here just before I was born.” She shrugged slowly. “And I thought, well, it was mean for the farmers to yell at my dad for it, after he fought for us. So I—I guess I should be nicer to you about it.”

“Oh,” was all he managed to say. Was that why her mom and Aunt Aayin were so close, because they were both foreigners? But then why did they let people talk like it was so bad? When he looked at them now, they were hugging again, and Aunt Aayin’s face was swollen with sadness. Even though Dania said everything would be fine, his stomach churned.

Dania’s mother sniffled and pulled away from Aunt Aayin’s hug, then reached blindly for Dania as she wiped at her face with her free hand.

“Time to go, Dania,” she said.

“Why can’t she stay here?” Kayin asked with a pout. Dania’s mom went to say something, but stopped at her daughter’s sudden movements. Dania straightened her back, cleared her throat, and then clearly stated, “Don’t question my mom, Kayin.” Almost immediately, he understood what she was doing, and tried to cover his look of realization.

“Y-yes, Dania.” He glanced at the floor in a way he hoped looked submissive, but he couldn’t tell if it was convincing enough. When he looked up to Dania, she just shrugged at him. Aunt Aayin looked at him as if he grew a second head, and Dania’s mother seemed far away as she ushered her daughter to join her.

“I guess I’ll see you later,” said Dania as the two started their way back from where they came.

“I guess.”

When they were far enough out of earshot, Aunt Aayin hummed at him.

“What was that about?” she asked. The line moved forward just a little bit, and Kayin shrugged.

“I’m gunna pretend to listen to her so she stops getting in trouble,” he said quietly, so that the other kids wouldn’t hear. He didn’t expect the wrinkles on his aunt’s face to lift in delight. He half expected her to tell him not to do that, that pretending was too close to lying.

“Oh, my Kayin,” she cooed, laughing and sniffling, “I think you just learned a very valuable life lesson in that.” She patted his shoulder as he stepped back onto the compressed dirt road.

“What?”

“That some people pretend to avoid trouble.” He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, or how that would help him with life. But now, he could see, the line of Yatoran children shortened and the castle grew so close that he had to crane his neck to see the top, how Rinesa burned a little less brightly now that she bent back down to kiss the mushroomtops. Soon this would be all over. At Aunt Aayin’s sniffle, Kayin’s stomach flopped again.

“Is Dania’s mom pretending?” he asked quietly without looking up. “About her dad?” But as he asked this, he didn’t need Aunt Aayin’s confirmation. He knew.