Truthes kicked leaves and brush as he walked to his new counselor’s house. Kelep had talked to him immediately after the trail, giving him directions to his house and telling to meet him there tomorrow right after mid day. All morning Truthes anxiously complained to Mara about having to go see the dullest man he had ever met. Grumping, Truthes talked about how quite the man was all yesterday and how he will probably make him sit and meditate. Mara would interrupt every once in awhile commenting that some good meditation wouldn’t do him any harm.
However, Truthes wasn’t to be happy about any of it. He grumbled quietly as Mara gave him last minute instruction to be well mannered and try to not embarrass her to much. He stalked off into the woods, going over the directions in his head.
The whole thing was ridiculous, he was happy living alone with Mara and he didn’t want to go see some stiff man every day. What help would it do to talk to him any how? Mara had instilled in him her ways ever since he was born, he was already doomed to always be like this. Wanting to be like his people, he often tried to control his emotion, but it was so difficult. Oh if Mara had just taught him to control himself, then he wouldn’t have this problem. He went on, gripping about the situation till he came upon a little house with the trees growing right against the sides. The house was so well blended with the trees that if it hadn’t been for the light reflecting off the windows, he would have almost ran into it. Instead of a clearing being made, it looked like the house had just been wedged in between the trunks surrounding it. It was a very curious looking house. Truthes sighed and started toward the door. He tired to hide his disgruntlement, knowing it was something unacceptable. He knocked on the door. For a moment there was silence till finally a stern low voice answered from inside, “Come in.”
Still looking sulky, Truthes slowly opened the door and poked in his head in. Kelep was standing next to a high table bending over a large book with little print. He was quietly muttering to himself as his eyes scanned over the page. The room was lit by sun light shining in through a few small windows. It looked like a kitchen that had been over taken by the study. Books, papers, quills and ink bottles lay scattered over the tables and counters. A neat pile of clean plates and cups sat on a shelf above the counter. On the opposite wall an empty deep set sink laid in the middle of the counter beneath the largest window. The kitchen was connected with a comfortable sitting room devoid of the mess, however not devoid of books; two large bookcases, filled to the brim, flanked either side of a gigantic fire place. A few simple cushioned chairs faced towards the fireplace.
Kelep paid Truthes no attention, so Truthes stood at the door waiting for him to finish. When he continued to ignore him Truthes started tapping his foot on the floor and playing with his hands. He looked impatiently around the room, glancing at the weathered books sprawled on the table. With mild interest he studied the odd symbols on the covers. Finally, Truthes cleared his throat and said, “I am here sir, just as you said.”
Kelep’s piercing green eyes stared at him over small reading glasses. His pointed, oval face was tilted towards Truthes so he could better see him over his glasses. His spectacles rested lightly on the sharp tip of his nose and although he was young he had a far receding hair line leaving most of his head bald. Truthes squirmed under his hard stare, but said nothing. When Kelep could tell that Truthes was almost to the point of explosion he said, “Please have a seat in the sitting room and wait for me, I have some work I must attend to first.”
A little irritated, Truthes sat down and slouch a little in the seat. He rested his hands on his slightly protruding gut and started twiddling his thumbs. His thumbs worked hard chasing each other in circles, till he no longer found it interesting. With a heavy sigh, Truthes sat up resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes scanned around the room searching for everything to entertain him. A small piece of twin near his feet caught his eye, he picked it up and twisted it around his hands. Then he untangled it and saw how many other ways he could twirl the piece of string. When his fingers started to turn a little red from twining the string around them to much, he started tying little knots in the string, pretending that it was wrapped around Kelep’s feet and hands so he could escape this drudgery. Fidgety, Truthes threw down the completely knotted string and turned to look out the window behind him above the sink. He bent down trying to see the sun, but couldn’t, it probably wasn’t even a quarter after mid-day! This old man was taking forever! Truthes slumped back around in his seat, but Kelep paid him no heed. Finally Truthes grunted and turned back around toward Kelep, “How much longer are you going to be?”
With no expression or glance at Truthes, Kelep muttered, “However long it takes.”
Slowly the turns roved by. Truthes thumped his leg and changed position, and moved again the play with stray threads of his clothes. Then he laid his head back counting logs on the roof then moved on to counting logs on wall, then the next wall, then the next. He moved onto the books on the shelves, a harder task given the small sizes of some of the books. He pointed at each book as he counted them and whispered the number under his breath. Three hundred ninety four books on the shelves, one hundred fifty eight bricks in the fire place, two hundred and sixteen boards on the floor, and four hundred and five boards in the kitchen counters.
He sat back in the chair and looked around again, he picked back up the knotted piece of string and bounced it on his hands counting how many times he keep it going. Truthes looked back out the window bending again to see the sun, he could barely see it if he bent low enough, he figured it was 5th turn and a half. He had been there for two turns and half! Dejected he turned back to his ball of twin. After another game of bouncing it, he turned back to the window only another quarter had passed. Truthes sighed loudly again and tapped his feet on the ground. Finally Truthes could not take it any longer he stood up, “Are we going to do something or what?!”
Kelep looked up from his book, “No not today, you are free to go home. I expect you here at the same time tomorrow.”
Truthes gapped open his mouth in frustration and disbelief, but silently stalked out of the house. Truthes grumbled his whole way home about how stupid the past three turns had been. Truthes loudly rumbled into the house, “Mara you would guess what he did!”
Mara was kneeling on the floor in the main room with a half done, brightly colored, quilt spread across her lap, “What was that?”
Truthes threw his hands up exasperated, “Nothing! I came into his house and he was reading a book. He had me sit down for three turns while he read, then he told me to go home.”
Mara smiled, “Yes that sounds like something he would do.”
Truthes continued on not really hearing what she had said, “What was the point? I thought he was supposed to teach me something, not just have me sit there?!”
Mara sighed, “Patience Truthes, have some patience. He will teach you when he thinks you are ready to be taught.”
Truthes scrunched up his nose confused, “What is that supposed to mean?”
Mara looked up at him from her work, “Don’t worry about it. How about you go hunt a rabbit or something for dinner?”
Truthes slumped his shoulders and tilted his head, “Mara you know how bad I am at hunting, I hate it.”
Mara went back to her work, “Well, practice makes perfect.”
Before she could finish, Truthes started shuffling to his room to get his bow muttering, “yeah, yeah,” as he went.
Mara smirked as he left the room he had been more talkative and friendly to her today then he had in a long while. She supposed he felt guilty for the fiasco of the past couple days and was trying to make it up to her. Or was just bitter and really wanted to vent no matter who it was to, either way it was nice.
This talkative mood toward Mara lasted over the next few days, but his contempt for Kelep grew ten fold. The next day that he went to Kelep’s, he sat there for threes turns and half and did nothing but try to entertain himself. The day after was four turns when Truthes finally asked what they were doing and was told to leave. Truthes begged Mara let him not go the next day, but she would not call for it. Kelep was doing what he thought was best and he had to keep going. This time though, Truthes knocked on the door, staunched in and sat down without a word to Kelep. Not even a third later Truthes stood up and hotly said, “Are we doing any thing today or can I just go home?”
Slowly Kelep took off his glasses. He placed them on his book and stared looked up at Truthes. He stared hard and long almost piercing into Truthes’s very soul. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes. With another deep breath Kelep looked back at Truthes and murmured, “You are free to leave,” Truthes started toward the door when with impressive speed Kelep cut him off, thrusting his arm between him and the door. His face was uncomfortably close to Truthes’s, “but you will come here at fourth turn tomorrow and bring your bow and arrow.”
Truthes stood a little awkwardly, “Alright. Am I… free to leave now.”
Kelep gave him another penetrating stare and Truthes muttered, “I will be here at fourth turn tomorrow with my bow and arrow.”
Without another word and never shifting his gaze Kelep slowly let down his arm and Truthes hesitantly walked to the door while trying to keep his eyes on the staring Kelep, causing him to stumble on his way out. Truthes felt like he was a tiny mouse staring at a gigantic lion, watching for his next move, or when he would pounce. It was all very unnerving. Truthes finally made a few paces a way from the house, but Kelep remained standing at the door looking at him. He started walking hastily trying to get out of his sight but even when he was far enough away to no longer see Kelep’s looming figure blocking the door way Truthes could still feel his incriminating stare surrounding him. He tried to shake off the ire feeling. At least next time they were going to be doing something different then just sitting.
When he came through the door so soon after leaving, Truthes tried to explain it away with that he was told to go home as soon as he got there. Mara gave him a disapproving look, “Well since you are home so early you can help with the chores I have left. There is a basket of laundry outside the door ready to washed, take it down to the river and I will be down to help in a bit.”
Truthes jerked his head and wined, “Mara, this is girly work, can’t I cut fire wood or something?”
Mara stood up, “No, I have done that already and this is what I need help with. I will be there in a moment, you go ahead and get started.”
Muttering under his breath, Truthes ambled out the door and picked up the basket a little rough disturbing the clothes inside and knocking Mara’s socks to the ground. He groaned and picked them up throwing them in with the rest of the clothes and stamped toward the river.
The next day a little before fourth turn Truthes ate a lunch of cold stew from the night before and some bread then packed up his bow and arrow and started for Kelep’s house. Mara was out front tending to the garden, “Where are you going?”
Truthes shifted his bow and said, “Kelep told me to come earlier today and to bring my bow.”
Mara pursed her lips slightly and said stiffly, “Well it is a good thing you hate hunting so much otherwise I would think that you would sneaky off from your counseling. You’re finally going to do something today?”
Truthes shrugged his shoulders, “I am not sure.” and went on his way. He didn’t know weather bringing his bow was an improvement or a digression. In hunting he not only had to sit still, but if he didn’t then he lost his game and had to start all over. And he didn’t think that Kelep would be very forgiving if he kept startling their prey.
He dragged his feet along the forest floor, dreading the rest of his day. Before he even realized it, Truthes was standing before Kelep’s door. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Kelep’s droning voice answered, “Come in.”
Truthes expected Kelep to be at the door with his bow ready to leave, but just as the first day that Truthes was there Kelep was sitting at his kitchen table bent over another large book. Truthes stood at the door for a moment not sure what to do. After another moment of being ignored he dejectedly shuffled over to his chair. After a moment more he took off his bow and slumped into his seat. “It was a trick,” thought Truthes, “he just wanted me to think that we were doing something.”
He went back to his same activity of counting; today he started with Kelep’s feathers
yeah I stopped in the middle of the sentence I know it's wrong and devilish but what can i say?
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