On the Path of the Giants

Chapter 10: Lydia

        The more the column advanced, the sparser the trees got. The air grew progressively warmer as the day advanced, and the absence of clouds in the sky made the ground lighter and the shadows darker. The humidity in the air was growing with every step, as the first days of summer peeked ahead of time. As the column progressed, a gust of wind sprawled between the trees, and caught them in the rear.

        In that instant, it had been very easy to differentiate the Sharpmen from the villagers. Some of them cried out, growling curses in their breaths, and one even fell to his knees, knife in hand, a gasp of despair hanging upon his lips. By looking at the way the Sharpmen reacted, Lydia understood that there was nothing to fear, but it was apparent that not every villager thought so. Some of the Sharpmen began to laugh out loud in the booming voice they were wont to use, and Lydia felt her cheeks redden, even if she had merely flinched, and unperceivably.

        “It is only the wind” some of the soldiers growled, as their laughter rang louder and louder across the plain, at the edge of the forest. “Afraid of a wind! How would they react in battle?”

        Ron Sharp, who had been leading the column, came galloping back. Lydia could see in his eyes the frustration, although there was also a shade of amusement. But as he spoke, his words rang in angriness.

        “Stop mocking and advance. I do not tolerate this kind of behaviour. Get back in line.” He looked at Lydia through the corner of his eye, the way a man would do when trying to flirt with a woman. Lydia answered with a smile, but her heart was not in it. She feared that, by being given this much attention, she would put herself in danger, and yet she knew that if she did not return his affection, there would be no way for her to survive in the hostile environment she had been launched into. She tried to remember the words of her grandmother, and put as much niceness as possible inside of her smile. But doing so only reminded her of Joshua, and the way that he would do the same thing before leaving for a hunt.

        It had been three years since Lydia remembered having feelings for Joshua. Of course, everyone knew everyone else in the village, and the notion of “stranger” was very much unknown. Lydia and Joshua had grown up in different groups: the boys separated from the girls. While the boys were taught how to sharpen metal pieces into arrowhead, and how to attach them to sticks and feathers, the girls were taught how to prepare meals and take care of the gardens. They were taught how to make leather, how to take care of the infants, and how to care for the refuse. Lydia had always been skilled at her tasks, and did them with great pleasure.

        One day, while she was tending the gardens, she spied the men taking the boys out for a hunt. At that time, she had been 13, and so was Joshua. Her father was in front of the group, making sure every boy was standing in line, handling their bows properly, and securing their knife so that they did not risk falling out of their trousers. Joshua was the last in row, and was well prepared. It was not his first hunt, as he was one of the eldest amongst the boys, soon to become a real man, with the full status of hunter. While Lydia’s father was too occupied fixing the postures of the smaller boys, Joshua had taken to peek at Lydia from the corner of his eyes, stealing a glance here and there. She had appreciated the attention, and played along in his game.

        Lydia had been waiting by the gate after they had left, trying to look busy. Some of the women had noticed her and Joshua earlier, and silently encouraged her from afar, making sure that those who could try to stop it did not know. When the boys finally came back, Lydia beamed at them. They had successfully killed and brought back a deer, with antlers bigger than she had ever seen, or so it seemed at the time. Joshua was one of the boys carrying it back, and gleamed in joy. Arrows were still hanging out of the carcass, and Joshua was pointing to one of them, lodged directly in the heart of the animal. “I killed it. I am the one who shot that arrow” he said, prideful, to anyone who cared to listen. Lydia imagined that it was only addressed to her, and that the kill was a proof of his love. She blushed shyly as she slowly started to fall in love with him.

        They had shared their first kiss several months later, as Joshua stole away from his hut to come and meet her. It was a risky thing to do, what with Lydia’s father being so high in the hunter hierarchy, and the actual lead hunter living right next to them. It could have cost Joshua’s status as a hunter, and yet he still he did it. They had sat on the cold damp earth, and he had leaned towards her with anticipation. Their lips touched for the first time, and Lydia felt as if the world was melting between the two of them.

        The thought hurt Lydia, and tears began to swell up in her eyes, but she managed to prevent them from falling. Thankfully, no one in the rear of the column had seen it, and Ron Sharp had already gone back at the top of it, sounding his thunder to mark the beginning of the march. The booming sound rang through the skies, and through the emptiness of the plain ahead, as birds that nestled in nearby trees flew away from them.