Birgitta the Nun

Book 3, Part 38 - Settled Payment

The next morning the wizard whipped up some pancakes. It came with no grand gestures, just as she had served fresh bread the night before. She even offered strawberries and cream to complete the luxurious breakfast-dish.

The owl was munching on a fat rat. Birgitta shuddered as she watched the long tail go down its bird-throat. At least the cat and the bird had one thing in common: feasting on rats. Hopefully they wouldn't feast on each other. Birgitta wished the feisty animals would take a liking to spiders instead. She didn't have a problem with rats - rats were alright - but spiders made her skin crawl. The spiders crawled, her skin crawled, her mind crawled—and she would panic. If she ever were to lay her hands on that crazy cat again, she would give it a try and teach it to hunt for spiders.

There was a strong wind stirring in the woods, and the late summer reminded them it wouldn't last forever. The leaves were still green and strong, and held on tight to their branches, but in a couple of weeks they would start to shade and give in.

Charlie looked at her nest and tried to figure out how to prepare it for winter. It would be a struggle, but surely worth it. She would probably have to invest in a pair of thermal pants, and some lining for her hat—

The merchant went up to her, lifted her head and eyed the nest:

"What do you need?" she inquired.

"Except for a palace you mean?" Charlie replied.

"Everyone needs a palace." The merchant turned to look at the wizard, "A palace is the easy part. It's harder not owning a palace."

"You don't say—"

"You're doing a good thing, you know," the merchant continued, "being poor—not everyone can have a designer roof. Right now you are giving your riches to someone else."

"It was never my intention—" the wizard muttered. She wiped some tears from her eyes. Not sad tears, but the kind of tears that come with age, that old people wrestle with every day.

"If you own nothing, you owe nothing," the merchant continued.

"But people owe me stuff—like a lot of tools."

"Then be glad to be rid of them. It's just property. With property comes responsibility, and with responsibility you lose time. And with a palace, well—" the merchant laughed, "with a palace comes neighbors—probably needy ones at that."

"But I owe people money," the wizard said, a bit less confident now.

"Perfect," the merchant replied. "Then you're even."

"It doesn't work like that. You should know, being a merchant and all."

"On the contrary, it works exactly like that." The merchant waved an important finger, "Do you see me hanging around with a lot of stuff? I'm rich, sure, but only because I've decided to be, not because I've got anything to show for it—I'm the most average person you'll ever meet. I can do anything if I put my mind to it and make an effort, but nothing comes naturally to me—and if I'm rich, well—then the whole world is rich." The merchant dropped her finger and again lifted her head. "Anyway," she continued, "what do you really need? What do you actually miss?"

"Well—nothing really," the wizard replied, somewhat annoyed with her honest and spontaneous words. "But I could always use a microwave."

"To find the cat?"

"Sure. For a microwave I'll find that cat."

"Deal," the merchant offered the wizard her hand.

The wizard accepted the hand, squeezing it like she had never squeezed a hand before.

That settled the payment, and they started making preparations for the search. The wizard, not really up for a long walk, was to go with the cart and search low. The owl, with its capacity to soar, was to search high. The nag, with its none-capacity to protest, was to pull the cart—but that wasn't going to happen. Even the optimistic merchant realized there was too many of them, and she decided to go on foot together with the abbess. Birgitta was to go with the wizard, to keep an eye on her, and make sure she didn't go into exile with the cart. Nothing worth stealing was to be found in the cart - and it had only three wheels - but still, it was a majestic vehicle and the horse was a jewel.

The abbess and the merchant set off in some direction of the merchant's choosing. A path in the forest, probably stomped by cows or deers, seemed interesting enough and took the two wanderers away onto new grounds.