The Gift
Edward's Storyline, Chapter 4.5
copyright comidacomida 2018
I picked up my bowl and wandered into the living room; although there were still four bowls sitting on the counter, all four Spirits joined me with their not-physical versions of what I had made. Tom and Medved ate their dinner with a fork while Treboada had no qualms about picking out a few pieces of various foodstuffs one or two at a time. The Ancient One, however, could easily have eaten the whole bowl for as quickly as he demolished his meal. Fortunately, the bowl remained intact, and completely clean.
He held his talon up and the spirit bowl faded away. Green declared what I thought was as close to 'thank you' as I could expect. "It was not as bad as most plants."
Red was much more pleasant about it. "A fine new experience, Edward. Thank you."
Ch'upikaq was also quick to add "I am thankful for your effort, and have enjoyed the fruits of your labor."
Green snorted. "I preferred the fish of his labor... but the apple was not horrible."
Tom and Medved were also SURE to convey their thanks, each offering it with heartfelt Enthusiasm; the Rhino was even very clear when he stated that he was surprised that it was not horrible and he was glad that I encouraged him to try it. Treboada, despite being a Wolf, had definitely not 'wolfed' his down, and was, at the end, the very last Spirit still eating.
With all eyes on him, I waited until he put the bowl down and I prodded him for feedback. "So... how bad was tuna and apple together?"
The tip of his tail started to tap against the sofa again. "Surprisin'ly not-bad... ah ken't remembeh th' last time ah had somethin' with apple in it that wasn't sweet."
I couldn't really argue with that; most everything I'd ever had with apples in it was sweet too. "What kind of foods have you had with apple in it?"
Tom collected the dishes from everyone and brought them back to the counter, carefully placing them right back into place where the physical ones were. "Spirits do not eat as often as Humans, Nehed. Despite our age, I doubt that any one of us has eaten as many meals as you."
Treboada waved the objection away. "Bah... when ah was at th' height o' mah day wi'th' tribes o' the Caledonii or even th' Kingdom o' Alba ah had all sorts o' foods... mah favorite apple dish comes from back then."
Until that point I hadn't really heard Treboada speak much about his life in ancient Scotland. "Oh? I think I read something about ancient Scotland... weren't the people who lived there called the Pict?"
He flicked an ear at my question; something about it seemed to annoy him, but the emotion didn't carry over to his voice. "Nay, lad... th' name 'Picti' came from th' Romans. Even 'Caledonian' was a name used by th' Romans."
I took the correction in stride and pressed further. "Okay... so what did the people of ancient Scotland call themselves?"
The soft Emerald glow of Treboada's eyes seemed to completely eclipse the faint purple flecks that were normally more obvious there. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly soft. "A Spirit's mem'ry be tied t' 'umanity, boy-o... all those people're dead an' gone, an' now ah can't remembeh."
When I fell silent everyone else did as well. Nobody said anything for a long time; it was quiet enough that you could have heard a pin drop. Eventually, when I couldn't stand it any longer, I brought the conversation back to something the Wolf had said. "Hey, Treboada? You said something about your favorite apple dish-- which one's that?"
He didn't even hesitate with his answer. "Apple an' Bramble Crumble."
It sounded like a rather strange name. "Bramble? You mean, like, viney thorns?"
Treboada let out a snort. "They grow on viney thorns, boy-o. Large, black berries... th' people 'ere call em--"
Despite the humor I found in the statement I managed to deadpan my interruption. "Let me guess: 'blackberries'?"
His only response was another flick of his ear; I could tell that I wasn't wrong. Walking back into the living room, Tom changed the subject with a simple interruption. "Dinner is complete, and you work tomorrow, Nehed. Would it not be wise to consider what you wish to accomplish before bed?"
Green, who had been surprisingly quiet during my focus on Treboada made his presence known in no small, uncertain manner, exclaiming with certainty "He will spend time devoting himself to us, of course."
Medved snorted. "He has a life outside of Spirits, Ancient One. Edward has gifted us with food twice today. You should make no more demands of him."
To be honest, I usually wasted my evenings doing nothing much in particular, especially when I had to work the next day. Sometimes I'd just sit and watch random videos on YouTube; on other nights I'd do random searches for pages, posts, and discussions on cars; if it wasn't either of those things it was usually porn. The thought of actually sitting down and spending some time with the increasingly cooperative spirits didn't sound like such a bad idea. "Actually, I still have several hours before I'm gonna go grab some rack... hanging out with you guys seems like a good plan."
Tom nodded in agreement. "If you enjoyed hearing of the Wolf's time long ago we could all tell stories of our experiences in ages long past."
When none of the other spirits objected I made up my mind that it sounded like a plan. "Alright... in that case, Tom, why don't you go first?"
The two hours were taken up by four spirits taking turns relating a story from their past with Humans who, unlike in this day and age, knew about Spirits, respected them and, in some cases, lived alongside them. They each had different approaches in what they told and how they told it, and it made it all the more enjoyable to learn more about them. I was surprised by what they had to say and how interesting I found it all.
Tom stared, telling me about the ancient Israelites and, unlike what little I learned in church, it didn't put me to sleep. He told me from the perspective of someone who lived it rather than someone studying it hundreds (or thousands) of years later. He told me about the people, and about the ways they spent their days, how they venerated spirits as messengers and servants of God. Although he'd told me a little during our time when he taught me a few prayers several days prior, he spent his story time focusing more on the people and less on the mysticism.
Medved, who went next, told me about the 'Old World', and about Russia. He told me about the founding of the first united Eastern Slavic state called Kievan Rus, which was a collection of Slavic and Finnic tribes. The Bear talked about Vladamir the Great, and how he introduced Christianity to the people of the ancient kingdom and then, eventually, its downfall when it was sacked by the Mongols. I'd heard about Mongols in ancient China, but in Russia? It blew my mind. From there he spent a little time discussing the Grand Dutchy of Moscow, the Tsardom, and, ultimately, the Russian Empire.
Although I'd learned a little about Russia during my world history classes back in high school the only thing that helped with was getting a degree of perspective on the life that Medved had lived. According to him, the 'Real Russia' ended with the revolution around World War I. His narrative slowed down to a stop after that and he concluded things with "And then there was the revolution, and the civil war... and from there the world continued and left what was once something special in the past for the sake of modernization."
The night continued on with another story from Treboada, and about the 'ancient times' that he seemed to think of so fondly. Red was also willing to add in some stories of his time in the various nations of ancient Asia, and Ch'upikaq told some tales from Central and South America and of the people who once venerated him as a god. All of the spirits at that point had told their stories, and yet, from the Ancient One, I still hadn't heard anything from Green . As the evening came to a close I actually called him on it. "What about you, Green? You haven't said a thing about your history."
The Ancient One had been in the form of a feathered Serpent, but as soon as I called upon Green he was once again the pine-scaled Dragon. "It is in the past. That time is gone and it will not come back. There is no reason to speak of it."
I wasn't willing to let him 'pass'. "Come on. Everyone else told me about their past."
He turned and locked gazes with me; for a split second just meeting his eyes brought out some kind of primal fear response and my heart rate picked up; my breath was caught in my throat; it passed just as quickly as it appeared as his eyes slowly lowered. "Then I will tell you... some time in the future... when it is quiet... and there is no... audience."
His hesitance struck me as out-of-the-ordinary for him. Despite how well I was coming to know the Spirits around me and how well they were finally getting along I guess I'd kinda hoped that everyone was past that stage, but Green still seemed to be interested in keeping his distance. One reason for that became apparent the next night.
WHY would you cliffhanger me like that!? If I send you a picture of my tears, would you stop!?