Vince

​


 

Chapter 25

 

Vince struggled to come up with something that would entertain the children. He’d never been very good with little kids, actually he never really had much exposure to them at all growing up. As the disgrace of the family he grew up a lot more sheltered than his brother, because he needed to prove himself first. “Ummmm… Okay…” He said, beating around the bush of awkwardness. “Ummm… Have you learned about the continents?”

 

“Uh-huh the biggy big islands,” Tama said proudly. Vince nodded.

 

“That’s not a story, it's a history lesson,” Conni whined.

 

“But have you heard the story of how they were created,” Vince asked, trying hard to get them interested.

​

They all nodded their heads in unison. Right, of course they heard that story before they were telling parts of it on his first night there in the little play they performed. “You told me half of it the other night, but you were missing a few details,” Vince explained gently.

 

“Our play?” Will asked, staring up at him quizzically.

 

Vince nodded again and opened up his sketchbook to a blank page. He wanted to show them how the story went in his head, with the beautiful images he grew up with painted on kirshe walls.

 

The pages started blank as he narrated the story. “There was once a time when there was nothing,” Vince said.

 

A long curved line traced the face of a man onto the empty pages. He was given long curly hair and a regal robe. The man stood strong but alone on the pages. “Then there was a lonely god. We call him Gahoren. He longed for life and companionship,” Vince continued. He liked the creation story because despite being a god Gahoren had very human aspects. It was very believable that humanity was made in his image. “So he shed two tears.”

 

Tears appeared on the cheeks of Gahoren. The tears fell to the ground of a new page and from them two men rose. One much larger with a thick beard and the other smaller and clean shaven. “From these tears, his two sons were born. He gave each of his two sons half of the world,” Vince said. The two handsome men stood arms crossed on opposite sides of a big circle. “Adra, the older, didn’t agree with this decision. He attacked his younger brother, Seinan. And the first war was born.”

 

“Yeah, we know all of this,” Will said in a very disinterested voice. 

 

“Patience, Will,” Fiu said, but Vince was too in the zone to care about the interruption. He drew a flurry of combat pictures showing the fight: Adra punched Seinan, Seinan attacked back, they devolved into a fist fight. Soon blood flowed from the bodies to the world below.

 

“From the blood of the world's first battle the sea rose, and soon the gods were not able to rise again,” Vince continued. Their bodies laid motionless in the puddles of blood. He tried his best to make their blood just look like the ocean water it had become. He didn’t want to scare the kids, not that they were complaining. “Upon their deaths Gahoren wept.”

 

Gahoren cried over their dead bodies. “He cried over the bodies of his children, and from his tears life was born. Plants, animals, and even man,” Vince said. Out of the drops greenery grew and creatures formed. A deer ran across Adra's shoulder. Man walked across Seinan’s belly. “And that’s how continents were formed,” Vince concluded and began closing the world within his sketchbook, but froze midway.

 

“Wait!” Will shouted, now very interested. “You can’t stop now. You were just getting to the good part.”

 

“After the brothers die-” Connie butted in.

 

“Lieba,” Tama yelled the best part.

 

“Uhh.. Okay,” Vince said. Vince sighed, but still opened his world back up to them. He couldn’t resist the hints of joy their interest gave him. 

Another tear fell from Gahoren’s eye, the last tear he had to shed. From it a beautiful woman, with long flowing hair rose up. “And from his final tear, his Daughter Lieba was born.”

 

She stood in the center of the sea between the chaos left by her two brothers. “He left his daughter to rule the seas, and to maintain peace where her brothers had failed.” Gahoren put his hands on his daughter’s shoulders proudly and then left to find his resting place. “He traveled to the other side of the world to watch over his new children, mankind. Where he lays now is known as the holy land of Gattis,” Vince said, finishing the story completely. He closed his sketch book and found the children staring up at him in wonder. The messy shack was a little more clean then before. Ayn had at least managed to clean the porridge incident while he distracted the kids. 

 

“Wow, so the contununets are the bodies of gods,” Conni said, rolling around with her legs crossed. Her hair was now wrapped up in a clean towel.

 

Fiu sat up in bed. His complexion was a little better after eating. “Continents, Conni. Continents,” Fiu said. He was at least feeling well enough to correct Conni again.

 

Will jumped up and stomped his feet on the ground. “Does that mean we’re walkin’ on the gods,” he asked. Tama copied him and jumped around with him. 

 

Fiu smiled as he watched them play. He leaned over the side of his bed to pick up a few scattered sketches that fell out in Vince’s drawing fury. He straightened them out nicely in his hands, treating them with care. “These are pretty good. If you hadn’t arrived here, you could have made a living off of them,” Fiu said.

 

Vince looked at the papers sadly. He had never even considered that. With his entire life drawn out for him by his father, he hadn’t bothered picturing a different future. “Never.” Vince said. Would his father have even allowed him to walk a different path? If he returned he’d be back where he started.

 

Fiu put the pages down in his lap. “Sorry. I should not have…” He trailed off.

 

Ayn dropped her rag. The floor was now clean and cleared completely so she walked over and joined them. The kids froze and ran back to the bed where they sat obediently. She looked down at the map sketched on the pages, her gaze wandered to the center of the sea between the two continents. “So that’s where we are.” She stated, deep in thought. Ayn pointed at what would be the Lishmere ocean on the map. She looks up to Fiu. “You said your family was traveling across Lishmere, right?”

 

Fiu’s expression soured at the memory. “That’s my best guess. Yes,” he said.

 

“I was traveling across Lishmere too. We can take any route out, since there’s land surrounding us on all ends,” Vince said almost instinctively. This is the first time someone on the island had so directly shown interest in leaving.

 

Ayn looked back at the map as she contemplated what he said. “So we can go any direction, once we get off,” she said. 

Fiu glared at her. “Ayn, I’m feeling better. So I think it’s best that you leave,” he said sharply with that business man-like smile.

 

Ayn ignored him and kept talking to Vince. “Do you know how to navigate?”

 

He hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. Him trying to leave was even more misguided than he realized before. “No, but-”

 

“I can.”

 

“Ayn! That’s enough,” Fiu shouted. 

 

Conni went to sit with her brother, clinging to his arm. Tama held Will’s hand fearfully as the tension in the room grew. Only Yeshua played with him a small carved bear oblivious of the situation.

 

“Get out,” Fiu commanded. 

 

They glared at each other for another second, but Ayn soon succumbed to Fiu’s deadly glare. “Fine,” she said to Fiu but then turned to Vince. “Come talk to me, if you’re still determined to leave after your little hike. I don’t need deadweight.” With that she left taking a hood with her out into the pouring rain.

 

Fiu faked a smile for the younger kids. “Why don’t you three come up with another play? This time with the continents,” Fiu said.

The children reluctantly get up and go off to a corner where the bunch of fabric waits. Conni clings to her brother for a moment longer before running off with Will. They whisper to one another as they fiddle with the fabrics. Yeshua stayed by their feet playing in his own little world.

 

Fiu’s smile disappeared as soon as the kids were no longer paying him attention. “How long has she been planning to leave?” Vince asked.

 

Fiu leaned back against his fluffy pillows. Sweat dropped from his brow. “I don’t know. She’s been on a rebellious streak for a few years now. Since…”

 

“Since Chiyo? Ludz told me,” Vince said solemnly, realizing he did it again. He couldn’t seem to stop bringing up bad memories for all of them. He didn’t even know under what circumstance they arrived with. Some of them may not even have a place to return to even if they wanted to and if they did want to leave what dangers would they all face?

 

Fiu let out an exhausted sigh. “Yes,” he admitted. He watched his sister play. Vince followed his gaze. She held up a long green piece of fabric against Tama’s body as Will cut it. They laughed.

 

“I’m sorry for before. You know... When I first arrived. I should have known there was a reason you all didn’t leave,” Vince said. He needed to stop bringing up leaving, unless he found a safe way to get off the island. 

 

“Don’t. We all make false judgements, at least you’re taking the time to correct them,” Fiu said with an understanding smile that melted Vince’s heart. He hadn’t realized how much tension he’d been holding just by wondering how much he could have upset Fiu with his thoughtless comments. Being forgiven by him so easily felt like magic. Fiu was one of the few people who had shown Vince actual concern in life. He could count the number of people on one hand. He couldn’t imagine losing one of them for something as thoughtless as his own prideful ignorance. He’d already gotten used to Fiu’s worried looks, his thought filled compliments, even his little lecture smile that he had whenever Vince got hurt. 

 

As they watched the kids play, Will got a little bit too close to Conni’s long black hair while cutting. “Will, be careful!” Fiu shouted as he tried to get up, but he faltered. His eyes looked disoriented as he fell back, Vince managed to catch him by the shoulders and helped him sit back down. His body was hot to touch, his fever was still strong. Fiu scowled at himself. “Maybe I shouldn’t have sent Ayn away,” he said under his breath.

 

“Don’t worry about it. You have me here too, and I’m at least not leaving anytime soon," Vince reassured him. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if he never left. He could get used to these peaceful days drawing pictures to keep the kiddo’s entertained while Fiu complimented him. It wasn’t all that bad when he didn’t think about his fathers wishes. Maybe he could even let them go.