A Place To Bloom

The Gods

A massive totem stood before us, commanding the road to go around it. Tall as the trees and wider than my arms could wrap around, spirits faced us with menacing growls carved into their wooden faces: Wolf, Beaver, then Salmon, Rattlesnake, and just above Bear was Falcon, all freshly painted in red, white, and black. Crouched atop them all with diamond-tree stones for eyes and His jaws open with gold-capped fangs, was Cougar.

Somewhere near the border between Osenia and Ulum counties, we were never sure which side, was the village of Treanet. The road descended into a valley surrounded on all sides by steep, rocky mountains that reached into the sky like giant tombstones, earning its ancient Herali name, Graveyard of the Gods. Nestled beside a small, flat plain where a half-dozen bison grazed on bright green grass covered in mist, a cluster of stone buildings bustled with life.

Several children played around a small pond chasing ducks out onto the water only to swim after them. Women young and old gossiped as they hung up the wash. Off to the side, two men came out of the woods, with the younger man carrying a deer over his shoulders.

"Look!" Some of the children saw us and rushed over. A couple of the women turned to approach us as well. The young man carrying dinner waved a hand, and Davod waved back.

One of the children threw his arms around Geraln. My friend laughed and stopped for a moment to return the embrace. One of the young ladies approached Davod, her face beaming with joy.

He squinted for a moment, then his eyes popped. "Valya?"

She grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

Davod looked her up and down. "Wow! You've... grown." Then he looked her up and down again, a little more slowly while she giggled.

Two boys covered in mud took each side of me and gave me a hug. They soaked through my clothes—which was probably the point—and shouted for joy. They released me, and one of them grinned. "You'll never guess what we found!"

I returned their excitement and smiled back. "What did you find?"

One of the women crossed her arms and glared at the boys, clearing her throat. The boys ran to her and tried to give her a hug, but instead she ushered them behind her and glowered at me, boring holes into my soul with those evergreen eyes.

We continued towards the village, Davod talking with Valya, and Geraln quizzing the little boy on his lessons. Except the boy's little sister seemed to know a lot more than her brother did. An older girl walked next to me. "Hey Caleb! What brings you down this way?"

"Fabiana!" her mother snapped her fingers from the opposite side of our entourage. She held out her hand to call her daughter over to her, then glared at me with her jaw locked.

We passed by a small house where an old woman sat on a bench milking a goat who ignored her in favor of nibbling on the grass. A few more houses gave way to stone buildings three stories high with canvas awnings over the lower level that lined the main road with narrow alleys running off in both directions. All around us, merchants called out to passersby with tanned leathers, candles, and at the corner was a jewelry shop. A cobbler locked his eyes on me and frowned, stiffening his shoulders and pulling several pairs of boots from display.

Davod looked to one side. "Satie!"

An older man looked up from behind a counter in a shop across the street. "Davod!"

The whole place smelt of sharp, ripe mold, and he had several wheels of cheese on display. The man came to greet us as we walked through the open door, thrusting his hands out for an embrace. Davod smirked and obliged, and the man groaned out in my friend's smothering arms. "Gods, it's good to see you, man!"