Chain Breaker

Part 2

The next morning Enso awoke up to shouting coming from the village.  He plucked a couple edible wild berries from a nearby bush before getting up to go investigate. Whatever was going on, people seemed angry. Once he got to the village, Enso heard Anjan's Voice rising above the crowd. He quickly ducked behind a wall to see if he could make out what people were saying.

" i'll bet everything I own it was that cripple Enso!" One woman snarled. " we all know he hates his name. He's lashing out!"

"That stupid beggar has stolen the original Line of Enso!" One man cried.

" We must hunt him down and punish him the way the ancient law instructs us to!" Shouted Anjan. "If I get my hands on him, he won't even be able to do the life of slave labor he's just sentenced himself to."

Enso stifled a gasp.  Someone had broken into the house of Enso where the original document was kept and stolen it, and he was the prime suspect. As villagers dispersed in various directions, he made a mad dash for the safety of the brush as fast as his crutches could carry him. With relief, he realized that the villagers weren't following him; they were running in the direction of the tree where he'd slept.

No one's going to miss me anyway, Enso thought. I should have run away a long time ago.
He continued through the cover of the bushes not daring to look back until he was out of sight of the village.  Enso felt adrenaline coursing through his body, prepared to whip around and knock an attacker unconscious with a well aimed crutch swing. He was determined to get as far away from Raasi as possible. For a fleeting second, he wished he wasn't crippled so he could actually run away.

After what felt like days, Enso noticed the sun beginning to set. He was exhausted and hungry from his long trek.  He had been walking for miles and had not stopped for food, rest, water, or shade in fear of being captured. Now he was truly on his own, out in the wilderness.  Enso felt weak with hunger, fatigue, and dehydration, as if his crutches were the only thing holding him up. At last his good leg gave way, and he fainted onto the grass. 

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"Wake up, hon," an unfamiliar voice whispered in Enso's ear. "You been sleepin' for awhile."

Enso's eyes fluttered open and he startled at his strange surroundings. He was in a large hut, lying on a clean bed with clean clothes on. He looked down and realized his crippled leg had been rebound with clean cloth bandages. His crutches were propped at the side of the bed where he could reach them. And strangest of all, a tall, muscular, dark skinned woman stood over him with a cup of water and some fruit.

"Ya need to eat, honey," the woman said. "Don't ya worry yourself 'bout gettin' up right now. My name's Layeba."

Enso hesitated, then took the cup in one hand and the fruit in the other. "Thank you, Miss Layeba," he stuttered.

"Ya don't need to call me miss," Layeba replies. "Where's your mama?"

"My parents abandoned me," Enso said sadly. "They didn't want a lame son."

Layeba shook her head. "Then I'm your mama now," she declared. "And it don't matter that you be lame.  Layeba's gonna take good care of you. You safe with us."

Enso wanted to ask what she meant when a girl about his age walked into the hut, carrying some wood.

"Layeba, is he awake yet?" The girl asked nervously.

"Come over here, Sholta, and meet your new brother," Layeba said. "He's gon' be fine."

Sholta strode over next to the bed and hugged Enso. "Welcome to the family, brother," she said warmly. "What's your name?"

"I'm Enso," Enso replied. "And please don't make fun of my name. I've been bullied by everyone every day for the past seventeen years. Don't ask how I got crippled, either."

"Enso, no one is gonna make fun of your name here," Layeba said. " we ain't gonna ask how you got a lame leg. You is from Ensoia, ain't you?"
Enso nodded.
"You're in Ayano now, remarked Sholta. "You're in your neighbor to the east. And you're safe here. How'd you end up in Ayano?"

Enso recounted the previous day, from finding out he'd somehow acquired a criminal record to his mad dash for safety. He didn't remember anything between when he collapsed in the wilderness to when he woke up in Layeba and Sholta's hut.

"That Line's a terrible thing," Layeba commented. "Kids ain't supposed to be raised like that. Makin' mess ups from time to time is what makes ya a person. And your parents decided to impose that on ya from day one. We gon' keep you safe here, Enso. They ain't gonna find you here." 
Enso managed a smile.  "You're the first person ever to be nice to me," he said. "Thank you both." 

Layeba sat down on the bed next to him and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "You is quite welcome, honey. Now, we do quite a bit of travelin'.  We make baskets and other crafts to trade for what we need in the market. We also grow our own vegetables. You gonna be comin' with us from now on, so we gon' need to get ya your own horse."

"I can walk," Enso objected. "I'm just slow. As long as my crutches hold up, I'll be fine."

Sholta smiled. "Layeba and I share the mare out in the yard," she said. "We don't expect you to limp your whole way to the marketplace. We need our mare to help carry our goods, but we've got enough good quality trading goods to get you a decent horse to carry you around."

"She's right," Layeba chimed in. "You gon' need them crutches for the rest of your life, honey. You gotta make sure they last as long as you can make 'em. We'll go down to the market today and look for a nice mare for ya. This'll be the only time you gotta walk all the way there.

Enso felt overwhelmed by the woman's kindness. She was the closest thing to a mother he'd ever had.

"Now, Enso," Layeba added. "You all set to go get yourself a mount? It's fine if ya want to rest longer, you've had a big journey." 

Enso tucked his crutches under his arms and slowly stood up. "I'm ready," he said. "Thank you both for being so nice to me. By the way Layeba, can i call you Mama sometimes?  You're the closest thing to a mother I've ever had."

Layeba lovingly ruffled his messy black hair. "Son, you go right ahead and call me Mama whenever your sweet heart desires it. Remember, I'm your mama now. And Sholta is gonna be your sister." 

As they headed  out the door to load the mare's saddlebags, Enso felt all the stress of the previous day melt. Maybe this was his chance to start over.