The King of Saminu

Chapter 25

"Rensker? Rensker!" I was shaken awake. Mams was staring directly into my soul with her wide eyes. There was panic. Something I rarely ever saw from my mother.
"What?" My voice was full of sleep. I couldn't feel the buzz of my hands that signified the moon had rose quite yet. Mams had woken me up when I wasn't supposed to be awake.

"Where's Ellsk?" The exhaustion I felt immediately disappeared. My expression must have matched my mother's, albeit maybe a bit more confused.
"He should be in bed with Gamm. It's early," I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Gamm said he got up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. He told me Ellsk went to sleep with you," I shook my head. Confusion dissipated, turning more into panic.

I rushed to get dressed, taking no precaution over my safety as I bound my chest too tight. It was easier and faster that way. Mams was missing as well, calling and searching for her youngest son. I rushed outside, the snow biting into my bare feet. Ellsk had a private spot, one that he had only ever showed me. Underneath the bushes, I followed, remembering exactly where he had showed me the week before. Yet, he wasn't there.

My entire being crashed to the ground as I stumbled back home to find Mams and Pappy still gone. If they were gone, Ellsk was gone. And that time, he had been gone for a month. We had mourned his loss after asking around town for a little boy who had gone missing. The townsfolk laughed in our faces, telling us that a five year old wouldn't last a day by himself in the wild.

He came back in the middle of the night, during dinner. The front door of our house creaked open, and a small boy walked inside. His shirt had a singular tear in it, but overall, he was fine. I had tried to heal him in the way that I healed my own self, trying to rid him of any malnourishment. There was none. Not a single injury. In fact, he had thrived.

"What were you doing out there for so long?" Mams yelled. Her voice could break down buildings when she was angry. Ellsk shrugged his small shoulders.
"The gods announced to me in a dream that I needed to rid myself of the tethers that hold me here. Praying had become too difficult for me and I needed a break from humanity," He spoke even more intelligent than I had ever heard from him. Mams smacked the back of his head.

"You don't ever do that again! You're gonna sleep in our room from now on! No more 'praying', no more of this game, Ellsk! We thought you died!" Mams started crying, holding Ellsk to her. She was able to life him up, holding him to her chest like a baby needing to be burped. Ellsk seemed uncomfortable.
"Everyone dies, Mother. What is so scary about that?" Mams put Ellsk down, her face completely surprised for a moment. She then grew angry.

"You-you... I can't do this with you right now, Ellsk. Come grab some food. You need to eat," Ellsk sat down at the chair that had been left empty for weeks. I gave him half of the food on my plate, and he looked up at me.
"Rensker? What is wrong with death?" He seemed genuinely confused. As much as he made us forget, Ellsk was still a child. He made me think. I didn't know what to say. Mams and Pappy were continuing their conversation with Gamm.

"Rensker?" Ellsk asked again. I sighed.
"I don't know, bud. It's like ... we couldn't see you for an entire month. I couldn't tell you about how my day went. Gamm had no one to be annoyed by - hey, you know I'm kidding. We want to spend time with you, hug you. We love you, and it's scary to think of you gone,"
"Rensker, you should not be afraid of death. It is common, equally as common as life. Death does not mean someone is gone, but merely elsewhere. And, as you can clearly see, I was not dead. I was... elsewhere"