2 A Boy Named Xen
At the corner of the Ignis village, a small house made up of woods and mud stood still.
Rather than a normal building or a house, it would have been better to call it a small hut.
Usually, this hut was used by the guests or some wandering souls who find their way into the village.
But currently, this hut was being occupied by a young boy.
Inside the hut, was a single room. A table, a chair, a clay pit and a small bed were placed there.
Currently, a small boy covered with thick blankets was sleeping peacefully on the bed.
The young boy who held no emotion on his face in front of others or who perhaps didn't know how to express himself was currently sleeping soundly with a smile on his face. The reason for his smile unknown. Maybe it was the dream, or perhaps a distant memory. But either way, the scenery there remained quite a sight.
As time passed, the gentle rays of sunlight falling from the window slowly woke him up.
Opening his eyes Xen saw the wooden ceiling. The smile of his was now gone, and all that was left was an emotionless face.
"Sigh!"
After taking a deep breath, he begins to stare outside the window.
He heard a hodgepodge of wild noises, most of which were birds and vermin, echoed in the air and were backed by the trickling sounds of a gentle river stream.
After getting up, he didn't even bother to make up his own bed.
Walking up to the clay pit, he took out some water to wash his face. In this extreme weather, the cold water from the pit didn't bother him a bit.
After wearing his fur clothes, he made his way towards the tavern.
.
.
.
.
"Ah! You are here. Good very good."
A middle-aged woman said to Xen while carrying some heavy baskets.
"Mmm."
Xen nodded without any expression.
"Okay. First, you need to clean up the tavern. These shit heads made a mess here. Then deliver the breakfast to the village chief."
The woman was still speaking while carrying the heavy baskets.
Without saying a word, Xen picked up the broom and begin to clean the floor up.
"Oh, and don't forget to eat your breakfast after cleaning."
After working together for a month, both of them have a basic understanding of each other. For the lady, the kid was a quiet one. He keeps his interaction limited and only talks when there is a need for it. Other than that, he has basically stayed silent.
After he finished his breakfast, Xen looked at the lady one more time. She was still busy carrying those heavy boxes around.
He then picked up the packed food and left for village chief's home.
.
.
.
.
Even though the weather was sunny, the ground and the buildings were still covered in snow.
Walking for some time, he finally reached his destination.
In front of him, was a small house made up of evergreen trees. Even though the size of the house was small compared to the others, it looked more exquisite than the other houses. Hanging on the wall was a small lantern.
"Knock, knock,"
With his hands, Xen gave a small knock on the front door.
After waiting for some time, the door opened and an elderly man came into his view.
The man looked to be in his 60's. Grey hairs on his head with a tinge of white on the side, a long grey beard and a thin moustache. He was wearing long, loose robe whose colour was beginning to fade after washing many times. In his right hand was an old ring with some faded engraving on it, probably due to the passage of a long time. Supporting him was a thin stick with flame marks. He was the Village Chief of Ignis, Thane.
After seeing a familiar little figure in front of him, Thane lets out a smile.
"Elder, your food."
Xen said to him while pushing a bag towards him. The village chief was the only person with whom he was willing to talk for a little longer than others.
"Come on. Come inside and have a seat. I just made some tea. Have a cup."
Village chief replied with a smile. His voice containing a trace of warmth in it.
The interior of his house was very similar to Xen's, in a sense that both of them didn't have anything besides a table, chair and a bed. Even though he was a village chief who could live in comfort, he prefers to live his life in simplicity.
Both of them sat on the chairs, facing each other. The village chief was busy gulping down his food while Xen was busy drinking tea. Both of them sat there in silence, seemingly forgetting about everything else.
"So, how do you feel nowadays?"
Village chief asked in a gentle tone while wiping his hands with a cotton cloth.
"Good."
The reply was short.
"Hmm."
The village chief took a deep breath and looked at Xen gravely.
"I know it is hard for you to go back to your normal life after all you have been through, but I wish you could share some of your pain with others."
Xen didn't reply. Seemingly lost in a memory. It was one month ago when the village chief rescued him from the aftermath of bandit attacks.
The people he was travelling with were all killed and the carriages all looted. 3 days after the attack, the village chief found him amidst the pile of rotting corpses. He then took him to the village and gave him a place to stay, for which Xen was grateful.
"You know, living all these years I have found that if you love life, life will love you back. The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
Village chief took a sip of tea after saying this. Looking outside his window with an expression full of sorrow and longing.
Except for the deep breath of two people, there wasn't a single sound in the room.
"Mmm."
Xen silently nodded his head. There wasn't a change in his expression except he now seemed to be more relaxed. As if a burden has been lifted off his shoulders.
"I have talked to May. You can have a week off. Now that the winter is over and the spring is almost here. We will be holding a spring carnival in the village 4 weeks later. Next week you should go with Uncle Jim and Sam to the town of Helio. It will be a good distraction."
The village chief told Xen while sipping tea. His expression serene and calm, though he was still looking outside the window.
"Thank you."
Two small words, which seemed to contain a thousand emotions.
.
.
.
After walking out of the house, Xen took a deep breath and walked in silence through the village street. He passed the greengrocer with his window full of apples and oranges, and the butcher with his bloody lumps of meat on display and naked chickens hanging up, and the grocery store, and then he came out on the other side of the village in front of the tavern.
The population of the village was roughly around 60 people, or 63 including him to be exact. There weren't any children in the village as all of them were sent to the town of Helio for studies.
The village chief was the one who came up with the suggestion. At first, the villagers were reluctant to send their kids away, but after thinking about the future prospects of this decision, they decided to send them.
This was one of the reasons why the villagers respected and trusted the chief so much.
After entering the tavern, what greeted him was a sight of a middle-aged lady preparing food and drinks behind the counter while the people were waiting to be served.
In this familiar scene; for the first time in a month, with a slight smile on his face, Xen went back to work.
