Willow | The Wayfarer Series

Chapter 6

The first bones of our town were build on top of the hill I had crossed with Gareth. Aldred had decided that it would be the best spot, we could see across the meadows for miles around us, all the way to the forest which had our backs covered. If I were to guess I'd say it was about a forty minute walk to the ocean. 

The first thing they build was a pen for the cattle. It was still summer, so the nights were doable in the open air. However everyone felt the pressure of the upcoming fall and winter, which caused the men to work even harder.

I was put with the other two women, together we were assigned various other tasks. We went fishing in a nearby lake at least four times a week, as well as generally just taking care of the cattle while the men were building. Aldred had told the group this numerous times. Everyone would be builders for the first few weeks. Everyone except the women.

There were several times a day where I wanted to speak out for us women, having lived in the twenty first century and definitely not being used to this amount of misogyny. However as days turned to weeks that I spend with the group, I learned to keep my mouth shut. I also learned to see the little things that made Jetta and Alodie, the other two women, happy. They enjoyed taking care of their husbands, but it wasn't their sole purpose in life as the history books had made it out to be. They were far more flexible, even taking up hunting and fishing when the men couldn't.

After a few weeks, the first house stood proudly on the hill. We could all sleep inside it, if we were cramped up. For the first few nights this worried me. I was the only single woman in the village, whereas Jetta and Alodie could lay close to their husbands for comfort and safety, I could not. So I made sure to lay next to the wall, with Gareth on my other side.

"Do you remember them?" Gareth asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Your family?"

"Not a whole lot." I lied. The entire group had accepted my amnesia story, though they obviously did not know what amnesia was. Only Aldred did not seem to buy into it, which caused Ned, his right hand man and second pair of brains, to also be sceptical of me. Aldred was the official leader of the group, but he never spoke to the women, so it was fine by me. 

"Me neither." Gareth answered. There were still some conversations going on around the room, though a fair few people had already fallen asleep. "My mother died giving birth to my brother. My father never returned from the war." The young boy I had met my first day here was Gareth's brother Rowe. I quite liked him, he had a sense of carelessness about him, which contradicted the serious and solemn vibe most of the other men had nicely. 

Rowe was already knocked out asleep next to Gareth, who fondly gazed at his sleeping brother. They were best friends. Rowe had followed Gareth without question when they left their previous town. 

Gareth fell asleep soon after that, but I couldn't. I was physically exhausted from the rough day we had, but mentally I was wide awake. I thought back to my sister Rosemary, wondering how she was doing. I died right during her exam period. Would she be excluded from it? Would she be okay? 

I fell asleep with my mind in a whirl wind of memories and overall sadness. I was surprised that I even could fall asleep. What surprised me more, was what happened when I woke up.