Motley (#Wattys2016)

17: Whiskey for Herring

FOUR YEARS AGO

That night was particularly dark and stormy. This usually meant better business for the Red Willow tavern, since sailors wanted to get out of the rain before they had to set sail again. This was why Nori hated the rain; it meant more dirty dishes to clean, and more drinks to serve. Lightning crashed outside the Willow's windows, that Nori periodically shined. There were a couple of chairs and tables, plus a small bar in the back and a staircase to the right that lead to the rooms for rent. The place was lit by oil lamps hung on the walls, and dripping candles stuck to the tables with melted wax.

But tonight was a different kind of night. Someone came inside that was not a usual customer; a boy about Nori's age. He was out of breath and soaking with rainwater, like he had swam to the tavern rather than walked. He staggered up to the bar and ordered a whiskey.

"How old are you, kid?" Nori asked skeptically.

"Come on, please?"

"Beat it. We don't serve underage kids like you. Go home and drink some milk."

"I'm your age!" he said, outraged at this injustice.

"Yes but I live here," Nori said matter-of-factly, leaning over the counter to get a better look at him.

"I've got money," he said. "I don't need a whiskey, I just need a place to stay."

Nori raised her eyebrows. "Okay... Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Not anymore," he said dully. "I ran away from home."

"Oh, sorry," Nori said, not sounding sorry at all. She was used to people's sad stories that slipped out when they came to drown their sorrows in liquor. "Listen, I'll see what I can do."

Suddenly, a soldier burst into the tavern. The boy dove behind the counter with Nori. "Hide me!" he whispered.

Before Nori could ask him why, the soldier answered her question for her. "Have any of you seen a boy pass through here?"

Nori ducked behind the counter with him. "The militia is looking for you?" she exclaimed in a whisper.

"Shhhhh! Just hide me, please?" he said. "I'm not a criminal or anything! My parents just called the militia to find me!"

Nori sighed. There wouldn't be any harm in hiding him for a while. "Take the door behind the counter to the kitchen and hide in the cabinet or something. I'll draw them off."

He gave her the silent thumbs-up and ran into the kitchen, still staying low to the ground.

"What is going on here?" Ms. Todou was coming down the stairs. She was a heavyset woman in her forties. Never married, and as far as Nori was concerned, had run the tavern her whole life, giving her a stern face from shouting at so many drunk customers. Nori thought she looked rather like a hog; ugly, plump, but fierce.

Ms. Todou glared at Nori. "Nori!" she barked. "What-"

"No, I don't know anything about it, ma'am," Nori said in a bored voice. She hoped that if the soldier left quickly, he wouldn't listen to the fourteen eyewitnesses all sitting in tables or at the bar claiming they saw a boy at the counter. Not that any of the sailors cared what happened anyways.

"We're looking for a boy. We think he passed through here," the soldier said to Ms. Todou.

"I never saw a boy come through here," Ms. Todou said stoutly. "Now leave. You are disrupting my customers."

"Madame, please, I have orders to search-"

"Do I make myself clear?" Ms. Todou boomed, swelling up with irritation.