Max went hungry that night as did most of the people of Vigilance. Hunger was a normal thing, like an unwelcome houseguest that visited all too frequently. His stomach churned from the lack of food. A familiar feeling.
He tossed in one of the few remaining branches of darkwood into the stone fireplace. If he couldn’t eat on a night like tonight, he’d at least be warm. The branch was gnarled and twisted and its bark rough and black. It looked like the arthritic hands of an old man, contorted into an unnatural shape by years of use.
Darkwood was one of the few florae that could survive the Wastes. It was a hardy, if not bizarre, tree that could live for over a thousand years. Cutting down such a tree was generally believed to draw down curses on a person and avoided except in matters of life or death. On the other hand, fallen darkwood trees remained buried in the desert sand and, while difficult to find, were in relatively abundant supply if one knew how to search for them. There were few insects in the Wastes to consume them and sand was an effective preservation agent, which meant there were ten thousand years worth of darkwood buried in the sand.
And they burned well. Slow and steady. A single branch could last a family the night. A few dozen branches could heat the town.
The fire illuminated Max’s small wooden house. It was a humble abode that had been barely big enough for Max and his parents–the entire living space was under 300 square feet. The family was confined to a single room with three small beds in one half and an eating area in the other.
Warmth emanated from a stone fireplace. The smoke rose up through the chimney and into the sky where it lost itself in the vast atmosphere. It wasn’t nearly as good as food but it would do.
Max huddled around the fire with his mother. Oren comforted them both. They sat in silence, eyes narrowed on the dancing flames. The only other sound was the gentle ebb and flow of their breaths.
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He didn’t know what to say and yet there was so much he wanted to say at the same time. Most of all he missed his father.
“I miss him so much,” Max said, eyes watering. He wanted to burst out in tears. His heart throbbed and his hands repeatedly balled into fists.
Marian said nothing but hugged her son. The boy would have to become a man now. To survive out here without a father would be a death sentence otherwise. She knew her son. He was just like his father, and that meant he would be strong.
“He loved you more than life itself,” Oren said quietly, eyes still on the fire. His curled hair was like a mop on top of his head. He sat on the hardwood floor, elbow resting on a turned-up knee. “Alex always talked about you, Max. How proud he was to have a son like you. In fact, he talked about you more than anyone else.”
Max’s heart leaped. The love of his father felt so real. Even now, after death.
“How did it happen?” Max said. “How did it happen?” He needed to know how. It was the first step to making sense of it all.
Oren was silent for a long moment. He hadn’t yet spoken of the fight that felled the beast. Perhaps it was too painful to recount his brother’s death? But he owed at least that to Max and Marian.
“He died bravely,” Oren said. “Courageously. He also died to save you. To save us.”
Max tilted his head to one side. “I don’t understand?”
Oren looked hesitant as if he was holding something in. Something Max dare not know.
“You can tell the boy,” Marian said. “You owe him that much at least.”
“It could destroy him, Marian,” Oren said, affectionately. “Alex would not have wanted that.”
“Tell me what,” Max said, eyebrows raised. Was Oren keeping something from him? A secret?
“Alex would have told him eventually,” Marian said. “And whether we like it or not he must grow up now. There is no more time.” She had a cool look in her eyes that pierced through the tears. Marian looked at Max the way only a mother could.
“Very well,” Oren said
Darkwood Tree [http://www.atticusandrews.com/wp-content/uploads/DALL·E-2023-01-23-20.46.30-gnarled-twisted-ancient-tree-in-shadows-digital-art.png]
Darkwood Tree