Scout Stories: Bruised Beginnings

Mist

Grandmother was off the bed. Some of the men had come in and moved her while Miach was out. It had taken her until dawn to be able to leave her corner.  She had run to the main hall and told the Rí. Brianna had cried with her. 

The woven stretcher that Grandmother now lay on was on the floor in the middle of the largest room. The beds of the clinic had been pushed back to allow for more space. Chairs from other houses had been brought in. The table was laden with food for people as they made their way through. The room was almost ready for the wake. People sometimes died in the clinic but it was the first time Miach had seen it like that. She couldn't go back there alone.

Three women walked back into the house with Miach. These was Shannon, Sarah and Sian-the midwives of the village. They were heading there anyway. Shannon was even older than Grandmother and had a large wart on her nose that scared some of the other children. Sarah was in her late thirties and had several children of her own. Those sharp brown eyes saw everything and made her one of the better mothers of the village. Sian was the youngest, new to the trade and only a few years older than Miach. She was supposed to be getting married soon to a tradesman that she had met at the last village meet. Every time someone mentioned it to her she blushed and stammered.

"Do you always do this?" she asked them.

"Yes," said Shannon. "We bring 'em in and we send 'em out."

As soon as they entered the house the women got to business. They first started arranging the room, putting flowers and other decorations around the place. It was meant to be a party, after all. They sent Miach into her own room to get the small side table for the bowl.  Then she was to set it next to the stretcher. The bowl itself was silver, old and tarnished. It had engravings on the inside of the rim and all along the outside.

"Come here child," said Shannon.

Miach stood before the old woman, who caught her by the shoulders and turned her so she was facing the other way. Miach wore her hair in a single braid, like most of the people in the village did. Shannon was careful not to take out the village bead as she undid Miach's hair. Then she pulled a piece of hair to the front. With this piece out of the way she started to redo the large plait at the back.

"Hold this," she told Miach.

"Is this part of it?" asked Miach.

"Yes," said Shannon.

Sarah knelt before Miach and stared to braid the small piece of hair.

"You have such lovely hair," she told the girl.

"Thank you," said Miach. She had a feeling Sarah was just being nice.

"From everyone else she'll get a small lock of hair. From you she will get a braid," said Sarah. "That way she's have another Iodáile to show off when she gets where she's going."

Sian sat next to the body and slowly started pulling her braids out from behind her head. That way everyone could see the many beads that Grandmother had worn. Miach had been trying hard not to look at her Grandmother, but her eyes couldn't help but look at all the beads.

"She already has enough to brag about," said Sian, gently touching one of the beads. "What are these for?"

"Saving lives, for the most part," said Shannon. "She'll have one for being a mother as well, and a Grandmother. There's at least one for delivering a baby when I had a cold. There's another one that's about cattle or something. I can't remember exactly."

Shannon started to twirl the large braid at the back of Miach's head into a bun.

"Do you have clips?" she asked Sarah.

"You do this every time."

"Well forgive me for being old and forgetful."

"You remember things well enough in an argument," said Sarah. Still, she pulled some pins from her pocket and handed them to the older woman.

Then she pulled a bead that Miach had never seen before from her pocket.

"Is that stone?" asked Miach.

"Yes," said Sarah. "Because you are her most solid connection to life."

Miach nodded, tears filling her eyes, and looked at the floor.

There was a knock at the door. All four of the looked to see Tegid standing there. Miach felt as if a rock had been dropped into her stomach. She didn't know why. Tegid might be eighteen, but he still spent most of his time in the clinic.  

"It's not ready yet," said Sian.

"Yes, sorry for disturbing you," said Tegid. "I need to talk to the girl."

"It can wait," said Sarah.

"Afraid it can't. It's about something the old girl would have left me-"

"-It can wait," said Shannon, with surprising venom.

Tegid carried on as if he hadn't heard her. "-concerning being the Healer of this village. I'm sure that you ladies, given that you have a small part in healthcare, might agree that it's important."

"Grandmother didn't tell me she was leaving you anything," said Miach. "Please go."

Tegid looked at her for a moment with a blank look on his face. Then he took a step into the room.

"Books, child," he said. "She would have left me her books."

"Those are mine," said Miach. "Grandmother told me. I'm the only one she had."

Tegid stood and glared down at her. "But she didn't give you this house, you little brat. It wasn't hers to give."

Miach glared right back at him.

"Now, I know you're in shock," he said, "so I'll give you some time to think. Just know that I will consider letting you stay here if you give me what is mine."

Sarah stood between him and Miach. "This is not the time of the place. You think you can come in here and interrupt one of our most sacred rituals with this childish rant? You should know that I'll be taking this up with the Rí. Now get out."

Tegid scoffed. "Oh please. We all know this is one of the Rí's little acts to get the girl on-side."

"Liar," said Miach.

"Wearing proud colours for the old woman's funeral and calling her Grandmother like she was special. She was a mediocre healer and a bitter old hag. I bet you most of them don't even know her name."

"Brigid," said Shannon. 

She said it calmly, simply stating a fact. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. 

"Her name was Brigid," she said. "Although she never did like it much. I remember that much. I also remember that that bitter old hag saved your life, boy. A sickly child with a bad attitude and worse infection. So you go about your business, Healer, and let us about ours."

Tegid glared at her and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Sian gasped and ran to open it again. 

"Closing a door on a soul. Is he well?" she said.

"He's horrid," said Miach. "I pity the girl he marries."

"Oh don't worry about that," said Sarah. "No woman will put up with him for all that long."

"Enough," said Shannon. "We've already wasted enough time."

She took a knife and cut the small braid from Miach's hair. She handed it to the girl and indicated the silver bowl.

"Will I really have to leave?" asked Miach.

Shannon tutted and cupped the girl's chin. "Worry about that after. All you have to do right now is honour your grandmother."

Miach nodded. "I'll try."

She glanced at the bedroom, where the books still were hidden under the bed. She couldn't keep them there forever.

She dropped the hair into the old, silver bowl.