Siblings of Sol: Destruction of a Planet

Chapter 23

Adam wakes to a knock on the door to his house situated at the back corner of the village. He gets up and sleepily goes to see who it is. Nel smiles sweetly as he opens the door. "I have been instructed to come and get you for the noon meal."

Adam looks past her to the Sal high up in the sky. "How did I manage to sleep so long? I guess I was more tired than I thought." He looks to Nel, who seems quite taken by him, even though she is probably half his age. He smiles at her as he thinks about Marie at Jarl's village, who had taken the spiced water, so she could feel grown up for Evian and tell her how she felt. "I wonder if Nel did the same thing."

Nel sees him staring slightly, as he thinks to himself. "Her movements confirm what I have been thinking." He smiles at her, as he steps up to the doorway. "OK, lets get to the main hall before Anne sends out the search party."

Nel tilts her head to the side. "Search party!"

He just smiles at her. "Just a figure of speech. Lead the way, please."

Nel turns and heads back as Adam follows a short way behind her, working the kinks out of his joints as he crosses the lawns and bridge to the main hall.

Anne is waiting for him at the same table as the period before. He sits down and grabs a piece of fruit from the bowl in the center of the table. Nel had gone to the counter at the back to get their food for the meal. "So, did you sleep well? I did not want to bother you first thing in the morning, because I know that you had a stressful time the period before, and thought that by the noon meal it would have given you enough time to recover."

"Thank you," he adds cheerfully. "I feel much better now."

Nel arrives and sets the two bowls of vegetable stew on the table before stepping back to let them talk, but close enough to respond quickly if they need something from her. He can feel her eyes on him and smiles to himself. "So, what has been happening here in the village since Tar left?"

Anne goes to stand but stops. "Why don't we save that till after the dedication for the meal. Maybe you would be so kind as to give it as the new elder of the village?"

Adam looks around at the other tables to see the expectant looks on everybody's faces, which are turned to face him. He turns back to Anne, who is waiting for him to answer. "I would be happy to do that."

Adam stands and spreads his hands out as he turns around to address everybody in the main hall. "Thank you for recognizing me as your elder. I will endeavor to replace Tar and continue on in his place as we prosper as a village making it one of the best in the valley."

Everybody claps their hands and then drops their heads for the dedication of the food. He lows his head also and starts. "I will give the dedication first, then you can repeat it after me. Oh, great one, guide the Shrils as they take care of our needs, and provide us with what we desire most. We submit ourselves to your will and that of the Shrils, who do your bidding. Please let this meal add to our ability to please you."

The gathered people all repeat the well practiced dedication and dig into their meal as the noise level increases in the hall, as everybody starts talking and eating noisily.

Adam returns to his piece of fruit and then to the stew that is so thick, with its many flavors that somehow seem to stand on their own as well as mix into the most delicious full flavor meal. "This stew is amazing; how do you manage to get so many tasty sensations from a single stew?"

Anne smiles and shrugs her shoulders. "It is something we have been doing for ever. The secret to its ingredients has been passed down from generation to generation. Only a few of the cooks know the full list. Do they not have something similar in your original village?"