Contract with a Star (On Hold, Possibly Forever)

The Contract and the Star

      Epilogue/Prologue    

           “Somebody catch that brat!” Aiden yelled as he jumped over the crates the horse had knocked over. The little girl laughed and pulled harder on the horse’s mane, urging it to go faster, even if she did not know the dangers of it. Before it could leave the market and possible hurt itself and its rider, it was stopped by a command it had been trained to obey.

            “Eleian, halt!” Eleian stopped before his mistress, ignoring the pain in his neck that was creating a pain in his neck. Tanya took the girl, who had stopped laughing and was now chewing her nail nervously, down from the animal and handed her to her father. “You shouldn’t leave your daughter and your horse unattended.”

            Aiden took the seven year old and bopped her on her head, managing to mess up the straight black hair. “Oh, I see. When she does something bad she’s mine, but when she does something good, you’re the one that bore her for nine months.” Aiden pouted, and the child mimicked him.

            “You know, she’s a lot cuter when she pouts than you are. It must be because she has my eyes.” Tanya turned and sauntered off, having won that little fight. She won all the fights, really, but that didn’t stop Aiden from trying.

            Aiden went back to the place he had dropped his bag and retied it to Eleian’s saddle. He did not let his daughter get back on the saddle, as punishment for running away, so she had to walk with her father as her pregnant mother waddle in front of them.

            The people of Green River Valley did not call out a greeting. They knew this was a special day for the young family; it was their day to say thanks to someone no one really knew, not even them. They watched as they walked up the river, to where the old border used to be; when they got back, maybe they would have a drink or two, it just depended on what they remembered.

            Aiden set up the blanket and food while the girls rested under the apple tree. It may have been only twelve years old, but it looked much older. It was the only tree in all of existence to have red and green apples. Any child born from its seed was just another red or green apple tree. When he was done, Tanya and Aiden sat on the blanket and let the child do what all children do, play.

            “Hey Rena, we’re back.” Tanya started off gently. “It’s been a while since we last came, hasn’t it?” That was a silly statement, as they always came on that day, every year for the past eleven years. “I’m pregnant again, a little brother or sister for Nari. I wish we could have brought Cheval with us, but we still haven’t found him since Miv died.” The two continued talking to the tree, but Rena stopped listening. She went to play with little Nari.

            Nari was singing the song Rena had taught her last year. When Rena started to sing along, Nari stopped, turning to her friend. “Why are mommy and daddy talking to a tree?”

            “Because they’re sad.” Rena crouched down next to Nari as she looked back at the river, masking the conversation with her back.

            “Why are they sad?” Nari didn’t like simple answers. She wanted to know everything.

            “It’s a long story.” Rena didn’t expand on her answer, and that irritated Nari.

            “How come nobody tells me anything?!” The indignant girl pounded a fist into the water in a quiet outburst. Her mother and father grew concerned when she talked to herself.

            “Do you really want to know everything?” Rena inquired, and started a new conversation about Nari’s curiosity rather than her own past.

            Many hours later, Tanya and Aiden had exhausted themselves of topics. They called to Nari, who had been sleeping behind the tree. Both Tanya and Aiden were hurting and tired from the memories, but they still managed to be surprised when they saw Nari. She was wearing the belt around her forehead; but before they could comment, an apple hit Aiden right in the back of the head. When he looked up, he saw a very angry squirrel with a tail that looked squeezed, squeaking at him.

            Tanya and Aiden took that as a very obvious sign from Rena that they were no longer welcome at her tree. It didn’t really matter though, because Rena was leaving with them. If they had only taken that belt off Nari’s head before the mark that matched the belt faded away, they might have realized Rena’s story was far from over.