The Pants Are Saved

The three were scared. They kept the lights off and the windows shut, but it was at the front door trying to come in. It knocked on the door twice, but no one answered. Mom signed for my siblings to keep silent. Then Mom answered.

"Do you want anything from our family? Step out and go away. Come back tomorrow!". A voice came from outside knocking on the door, asking to open. It had dad's voice, but with a strange tone.

"Clarice, it's me, Richard," said the voice behind the door. Alice and Jonathan looked happy and tried to rush to the door, but mom put an arm in front of them, stopping the two to go any further.

"It's something one would say to fool us. Richard will be here soon. I'm not opening the door. Speak what you want"

"Let me see… It's a little chilly out here, and I am stinky. I want to shower and have dinner with my family. But my top priority now, it's to hug my kids and kiss my lovely wife" said the person outside with a tired voice, which was clearly Dad's voice.

Mom nodded to my siblings to open the door. She held the bow and aimed at the entrance. Alice and Jonathan removed the wood locking the door and ran to hide behind Mom. The door opened and we saw a tall figure playing with an axe in his hand. It was too dark to see the person's face. Mom got scared and shot an arrow at the person's thigh.

"Ouch! What the…" screamed the person in agony, and dropped the axe on his feet in order to move his both hands to the place where the arrow hit.

Mom quickly ran and grabbed the axe and returned to the back of the kitchen. Alice ran to the stove with a candle in her hand. She blew the ember to get some fire to put on the candle. When she did, we all saw the man who was standing in front of us. It was Dad with an arrow in his right thigh in agony. My siblings ran to check on him

"Be the name of the gods, what you were thinking?!" shouted Mom. She placed the quiver and the bow on the table and ran to help him.

"You shot me, you explain", said Dad with a funny tone.

"The kids saw someone lurking in the woods! We got scared!", helping him to sit down on a chair by the dinner table. "Alice and Jonathan, go grab some fresh water and cloth", ordered her to my siblings.

"Oh… that's why. I guess I deserved the arrow…"

"Are you out of your mind?

"I checked the Wolfsbanes that we planted a few days ago. I also cleaned the weed out the farm, and I am tired from all my work at the woodshop too, and I wanted to avoid walking here and going back there. In resume, I did that because I'm running low in Mana. My apologies for worrying you all...".

"Richard, hold Henry while I'll take a look at your wound. Be careful with your dirty hands". I could smell blood, and Dad's hands were covered in it. He avoided touching me with his blood.

Alice and Jonathan got back with a clean cloth and a bucket from the nearby well. They placed the items near Mom and turned to light more candles. Dad looked at me with a painful face and smile.

"You could have hit my things"

"I'm glad I didn't put an arrow between your eyes!". Mom removed the arrow. Gladly, Dad's arrows didn't have a metal tip. Mom continued, "I didn't hit the bone because I am not strong enough to handle that bow"

"I'm relieved to hear that".

"I want to save the pants. We can clean the blood and fix the hole, but I prefer not to damage it more to force me to make a new one. Stand up, Richard". Dad looked at Mom. She was not saving him, but the pants. "Kids, bring more water and some blue herbs from the shack and a larger bucket too". Alice and Jonathan nodded and left again.

Mom helped Dad to remove his pants, and he sat down again. He was wearing his undershorts now.

"Happy? You saved the pants! Help me!", cried out. I giggled because he made it sound funny.

"Sometimes, I have no idea what passes in your mind!", said mom, punching him on the good thigh.

"My mind always has my love for you and my family"

"You can even make jokes while feeling pain!". She tied the fabric a few inches higher on the wound. Dad grumbled because Mom tied too tight and hurt him.

My siblings came back with the dried herb. Jonathan was holding the bucket with difficulty. It was almost the size of his chest and half of his height. They placed the objects near Mom and waited for more instructions. Surprisingly, Mom grabbed Dad's pants and rinsed them in the bigger bucket with water and the blue herb.

"Wasn't it for me?"

"Your wounds always heal fast, but it's a pain to clean blood stains"

"Your mom loves more clothes than me…". My siblings laughed.

After checking the pants in the water, she cleaned Dad's wound and the blood on his legs and hands. Then, she put the cloth together in the bucket with Dad's pants. Mom left my siblings to see Dad closer because he had his hands cleaned and would dirt my siblings' clothes. He looked at them and gave a smile.

"I'm glad you were on guard". Dad pet Alice's and Jonathan's heads, but they were too angry at that to enjoy the compliment. He continued, "Tomorrow, I'll have to be on my way to the woodshop before the first bell, and I wouldn't have time to do that before leaving… I also crossed the river before sunset… I was nearby the entire time. I'm sorry".

He didn't have anything else to say, despite being sorry. When things calmed down, he asked why I was almost naked. Mom asked my sibling to set the table for dinner while she spoke with dad.

"Henry is still feverish. I had to leave work earlier because he vomited on my clothes and passed out"

"That explains the smell''

"Richard! I'm serious. Sadly, your tongue is not hurt. I'll hit it next time"

"I'm glad he is better now. He even giggled"

"Mrs. Hubson said I could use some herbs and a cold bath to help him… But let's have dinner, and we can talk about it later"

Dad played with me until Mom finished dinner and bathed my siblings. I was still not better, but I could do little things like holding Dad's beard and pulling it. Later, my siblings helped Mom to clean up the mess in the kitchen. They put their swords and Dad's bow and quiver away. Mom placed the heavy axe near Dad for safety.

The dinner was as always. Dad prayed and dinner was stewed deer-rabbit meat with wild vegetables. With all that commotion from earlier, dad commented how Mom was good at hunting, and how she know to cook feyplants and feyanimals in the dinner stew like the golden cow meat.

"Dad, what is the difference between a feybeast and a feyanimal?". Jonathan moved his chair closer to dad to listen to him.

"Feyanimal is a more general term. Feybeasts are used for dangerous ones". Dad gave a gentle smile and patted Jonathan's head.

"And Feyfolks?" said Alice, interrupting them with a sad tone.

Everyone stopped eating but Alice. Mom looked at Dad, and Jonathan looked confused. Dad took a deep breath and answered her.

"We've already talked about it, Alice". Jonathan looked at dad, waiting for an explanation from him. Dad continued. "People use it because ones like me, Alice, and Henry have different hair colors".

"I know we talked but… It feels a bad word when people call me that…". She stopped eating and looked at the plate. Dad stood up and dragged his chair by Alice's side. He hugged Alice.

"Alice, there is nothing wrong with you. Never forget that. They are stupid and dumb. It's their loss. They are losing to meet a wonderful girl"

"I'm your little brother, but I can kick their butts too", said Jonathan, kicking the air. Alice smiled at us, and she changed the topic.

She went rampage, explaining how amazing it was weaving fabric with mom. Dad and Jonathan made funny faces, indicating that was a boring topic. However, once she started explaining how embroidery was outstanding and how she had a best friend called Gigelda. Mom observed her with a funny face and whispered to dad that Gigelda was an old lady who was.

Once dinner was over, Jonathan helped Dad to stand up. He could walk, but he was limping, trying to avoid putting weight on his hurt leg. Mom asked Dad to clean himself with a wet cloth. Otherwise, the wound would open again if he bathed in the bathtub. Meanwhile, Mom breastfed me in our bedroom at the same low pace as before. My siblings said good night to us and went to sleep. Dad looked defeated in his white pajamas.

"I've been using too much of my Mana… on the farm, the flowers, at work…". Dad sat down and looked at mom. His face was pale, and his lips were colorless. It seemed his life had been drained away.

"Richard, you should only use your Mana for the blessing at the dinner, and a bit on the flowers…"

"I know, but I don't want to repeat what happened to us last winter... I want to sell more crops and use this time I am working at the woodshop to get as much money as possible"

"And now you have a wound to take care of… Don't overdo too much. You will get hurt…"

"I deserved the arrow. Also, you are still good at using the bow", he complimented her. Mom helped him to lay down on the bed. Mom and I lay down on his side.

"The blessings you give us during dinner, are they not working, Richard? They are supposed to protect us against sickness, no?"

"They do work. If they didn't, Alice and Jonathan would have fallen ill a long time ago. Our food is not nutritional good to keep us healthy all the time"

"I know… But Henry is sick. What could it be then? He started feeling unwell since we brought the flowers here… does the goddess dislike babies?"

"Some rumors say people sacrificed children and even babies in her name… she might like children, not alive though…". He sounded like talking to himself.

"Stop joking, Richard". Dad looked at me and put the back of his hand on my forehead.

"The flower might have taken a bit of his Mana, but it would not be capable of making him feel sick like this", he put his hand on Mom's cheek and asked. "How are you doing, Clarice?"