Faithless Memories

Part of the Family

Chapter 4

Later that evening, Kris was sitting at the table in the Fair's kitchen, wearing a chagrined look. Sarah had been fussing over her all afternoon, and once Zack got back, he hadn't stopped talking. Part of it had been telling them all how impressed the merchant had been and his excitement over the fact that they had managed to bring back more than a few measly berries. The rest of it was questions. He wanted to know, blow by blow, how she had managed to kill the beast. He hadn't been satisfied when she told him that it had been mostly luck.

Word traveled fast in the small town, and by the time she was awake, they already had several visitors to see if she was alright. It made her feel nice to know people cared, but she was still trying to find her place in their community, and the whole incident seemed to cause another uproar. At least most of the people that stopped by were happy that she had kept her head and had Zack run back. She managed to get him to finally stop asking questions with a promise that she would recreate it as best as she was able once her ankle was better. That made his night, and he didn't lose his grin until he fell asleep.

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It was two days later that Sarah relented and allowed Kris to go back to helping the young women that handled the toddlers in the morning. That was all she was allowed to do, though. It was more than five weeks before she could get around with more than a hobble using a makeshift cane. It probably wouldn't have taken so long if she hadn't abused it after it was sprained during the fight.

Zack hadn't let her forget about her promise either, and he tried to be patient, but she could tell that it was wearing thin. It didn't help that his birthday was only a few days after she had managed to start walking without help. She was still not up to climbing trees, but she renewed her promise to show him how it had all happened, or at least try to.

When his birthday rolled around, they had a small party for him. A few of the boys that were close to his age came, but they all ended up outside playing some game that involved a ball and makeshift goals. Kris couldn't remember seeing anything quite like it, but some parts of it tugged at her memories. Not enough to produce anything, though.

By the time the boys had finally started winding down, Sarah had called them in for dinner. She had made Zack's favorite dishes. One of them was a new one that Kris had introduced. She called it fajitas. She had no idea where the name came from, as no one else had ever heard of it, but it was easy to make, and most of the ingredients were readily available. It was only tricky if they used a rarer type of meat, which Sarah had made sure to obtain for the party. Zack's face lit up as soon as he entered the room, and he let out an exuberant whoop as he made a beeline for the table. The rest of his friends eyed the mixed selection dubiously, but once they took their first taste, it wasn't long until it was all gone.

Once dinner was finished, the guests finally made their way back to their own homes. After they were gone, the family got ready for bed. It was such a small house that they had rigged Zack's room up with a divider so both he and Kris could share the space and still have a little privacy. Most days, neither of them minded it much. It wasn't like most families that had more than one child weren't set up the same way. No one in Gongaga could really be considered well off.

It was as they were getting ready for bed that Kris finally pulled out her gift. She couldn't really explain why, but she had wanted to wait until they were alone to give it to him. "Hey, birthday boy, you decent?"

He laughed at her quip before answering. "Sure, what's up?"

She walked around the divider and gave him a big smile before she held out her hands. "I got you a little something. I hope you like it."