16 Summer Gifts

The following day, I learned why they threw a party, and who the important guests were. The previous day was the birthday of Senty. She became eighteen years old. As for the guests, they were the people from Grasshill Village. Moreover, they were the future husband of Senty, and his family. Though not my problem, there were positives. Both Senty and her grandfather left the village to visit the fiancé's family.

That meant she wouldn't bother me for a while. Her lackeys were still in the village, but not a real issue. I could easily escape them, and they didn't even bother me while Senty was gone. Because the Village Chief himself left the village, I noticed a guy watching me closely. He seemed a bit older than me, and wore leather clothes, just like hunters.

Thankfully, he wouldn't bother me about anything. He was simply keeping an eye on me. The few days went by peacefully. I could fish without a worry, and practice my throwing in the evenings. I always made sure that guy wasn't around, and it wasn't difficult with the house positioned in a relatively opened area.

Thanks to the farmers, I also learned the Village Chief's name. He was called Rand, but his second name was still unknown to me. At least this meant, I could curse him and his granddaughter by name. A few days later, I received a surprise upon their return. Rand decided to change my tasks a bit.

I'd still carry the water in the morning, but didn't have to go to the Woodcutter's Lodge anymore. Right after my water carrying task, I'd go to the smithy. After these two tasks would be my break, and breakfast as usual. My next task was new and a bit peculiar. Rand told me to help out the doctor in the village. Only for a few hours, until my work in the fields.

I wasn't sure why he chose me to help the doctor. I knew nothing about medicine, or how to treat patients. Nonetheless, this was a great opportunity for me. I could learn some basic knowledge from the doctor, which would help me in the future.

My first day with the doctor was a bit weird. His house had a large room as one entered. That's where the patients would wait for the doctor to see them. There were chairs for the patients, and a table with a cloth and pillow on the side. The doctor's room was at the back, where he'd normally sit in his rocking chair until patients came.

Besides the chair, there was a bed, a sturdy desk with some papers, as well as loads of stuff on the shelves. Some plants, jars and bottles. I wasn't sure what these were, but most probably medicine. My job was to let him know once the patients came, and assist however he told me to. Because there were no patients, I wasn't sure what to do. "Just clean the room or something. Don't disturb me otherwise", he said before returning to his room.

'Doesn't that mean I can take it easy?', I asked myself. Throughout my first day, only one person came to see the doctor. The guy who came in was quite surprised to see me there. He ordered me to call the doctor, which I did. "What's the problem? You seem alright to me", the doctor asked. "I'd like to speak privately...", the guy replied before turning towards me. "You, leave for now", he demanded.

'Whatever, more free time', I thought and headed for the door. "Who told you to leave?", the doctor said out of nowhere. I was confused at that point, "Then what do you want me to do?". The doctor turned towards the guy, and said, "This is my helper, you will not order him around. If you don't want to be treated, leave. I don't have time for this".

My jaw hit the floor from the shock. Though the doctor seemed cold, he was the only person who didn't care about my status or such. While at his house, I was working for him. He made it clear that if the guy didn't like it, he could go elsewhere. "... Fine. I have a problem with... you know. It stings, do you have something?", the guy asked quietly. This made sense why he wanted me out, but it wouldn't matter, since no one really talked with me.

The doctor grabbed his face, and shook his head. "Wait here for a moment", he left to his room to get something. "You, if you ever tell anyone...", "And who would listen to me anyway? No one talks to me. Besides, I'm not interested in your junk", I interrupted him. "It will be in your interest to make it stay that way", he replied.

Though his face told me how embarrassed and angry he was, I couldn't stop laughing internally. 'A shame no one else will know about this. I'd like to see his face when people call him weird stuff', I thought. The doctor returned shortly after our exchange, and handed the man a bottle of some sort of liquid. "Don't drink it, just apply it to the area. This bottle should be enough for four uses. If that doesn't solve it, I'll have to examine it", he said. The man nodded and swiftly left the house.

"Kid, if anyone tells you something like this while you work here, ignore it. I'm not going to explain this every time. Understood?", "Yes", I replied with a nod. The time slowly passed and there weren't any other patients arriving. "Doctor... My task in the fields is about to start. I need to leave now", I announced. "You don't have to tell me, leave once you are done here", he replied from his room.

My work in the fields passed as usual, albeit the horse got a bit more used to me. I was learning how to bargain, instead of fighting it all the time. This worked simply on one principle, 'You do something for me, I'll do something for you'. No one really cared for that horse. It stank, and the flies would annoy it. I decided to wash it after my work in the fields, which was my free time.

"See, I'm not like them. You help me, I help you", I said. Whether the horse understood or not wasn't important. The gesture was, and the horse would remember that. After a proper wash, I took it to the small shack in the field, where only this horse lived. 'This guy is just like me. They treat him like shit, and don't really care what happens to it'. That made me want to help it out, because we were in similar situations.

The time slowly passed like that. My medical knowledge got better, but the doctor didn't explain much. Nonetheless, watching him bandage people, apply medicine and in some cases deal with broken bones, somewhat gave me knowledge about such things.

There was something he refused to do though. He wouldn't say the names of plants or liquids, when he send me for them. He'd say how the plant looked like, or what the colour of the liquid was. He probably didn't want to tech me how those things were called. I was only his helper, not a student. That didn't mean there was nothing to learn. Just because no names were mentioned, I knew which plants could be used for specific treatments.

Another difference was the arrival of summer. Thanks to summer, berries and even fruits began to grow. My work in the field also changed to watering certain areas only. Other areas were ready to be harvested, but of course they didn't let me do that. That didn't mean much to me, since the field was big. There weren't enough farmers to see everything. I'd steal some vegetables and share them with the horse. He especially liked carrots.

Moreover, I didn't have to go fishing as much, because fruit trees and berry bushes grew outside of the village. I could eat to my heart content, and the best part was that the trees were wild. No one could tell me anything about that. Easier tasks together with greater quantity of food, allowed me to recover a lot. My skin wasn't shrivelled anymore, while my arms, legs and stomach were full of muscles. Though skinny, it wasn't as bad as when I arrived at the village.

At that point, even Senty would be hard pressed to catch me. I had to act though, there would be no benefits once they learned about my recovery. On the contrary, they'd assign me harder tasks. The easier it was for me, the more strength I'd gain. 'Once the one year passes, I should be ready. Even if Rand remains stronger than me, it shouldn't be to the point where escaping will be impossible', I figured. Of course that was in case they went back on their word, but I wouldn't leave that to chance.