Emelyn

100 years later.

Mountain Town.

A young woman, carrying a wooden pot of clothes, was walking toward a stream slowly and with difficulty, because of either her slim figure compared to the huge wooden pot or her big belly which showed her pregnancy.

She was looking at it not as she walked but as if it were something far away in space. The stream ran through a small valley. It flowed over mossy rocks and fell into a deep pool where water slid on its way down, falling from the surface of its own accord like a long white sheet that could be pulled out by anyone who would take hold of one edge.

There were tens of streams like this one, most of them flowing into the mainstream Bland Creek, some into tiny ones that fed only themselves or their neighbors' yards. What they all had in common was their nature: they were pure mountain streams, silent and still except for the sound of the water passing among stones, cold as ice, and clear enough to see the fish swimming about below the surface.

The young woman moved along between them and stopped at an opening in the trees where a path followed the course of the stream. Her hair hung down behind her head, which was turned away from the sky so that her mouth formed a thin line of shadow.

When finally arrived at the spot, she pulled her skirt up above her knees and tied it in a knot to keep the hem from slipping into the water. She first stuck the toe of her little snow-white foot into the water--it was cold even in summer, then she went down into the stream. Her hands reached in front of her face, holding the wooden bowl, and she bent forward under the weight of the burden. She did not look around or say anything, for the moment she was concentrating on her task.

It was still afternoon, although the sun was hidden by clouds. A few minutes before the light had been brilliant, but now it was fading quickly, and the air had become dark. It seemed to fall from the sky and make the plants seem darker, while at the same time making the blue shadows deepen as if they had suddenly sunk deeper into the earth.

"Emelyn?" She suddenly heard someone calling her name. She straightened herself up, looking in the direction of the sound, and it was from her neighbor Eija, a few meters upstream of the stream, doing laundry too.

"Madam Eija! Good afternoon!" Emelyn greeted back. Because of some branches with dense leaves, between them, reaching up to the stream from the bank, she didn't notice her at first.

"What are you doing? You can't do washing or any manual labor considering your condition." Eija was not happy with what she saw.

"I'm ok, Madam Eija! Don't worry about me!" Emelyn smiled.

"Where is your husband? I'm going to blame him into tears! How can he let a pregnant woman do this?" Eija was a warm-hearted lady, her heart soft as butter, while her mouth sharp as a needle. She was always blaming and complaining while she was helping and working.

"Hobb is at work," said Emelyn, "as always. He'll come home soon, though."

"That man needs a lesson. Whatever for now, let me help you." Eija moved her enormous body toward Emelyn. Her age, 4o, doubled Emelyn, while her weight tripled hers, 120 kgs; all of which, plus her tanned dark skin, made her look like a tall strong man peasant.

"Thanks, Eija, but no. This will be done fast. I'm just bored staying home all alone and want to do something to enjoy myself." Emelyn was telling the truth. She worked together with her husband in her big brother's workshop until her pregnancy. She had not gotten used to staying alone even after months.

"Are you sure? Then watch your feet, and the pebbles are slippery." Eija was stopped on the way by Emelyin's words and waving hand. Emelyn's words did make some sense to her.

Eija turned around and walked back to her spot. "Men are like pigs, Emelyn. They don't know how to think about anything but eating and sleeping. And when it comes to children, they're always late. Men should have been born in the Stone Age, not in the world we live in today. Can't they understand our needs? They need a good slap, that's what they need!"

Emelyn smiled and didn't answer. She stood up straight and gently beat her sore back with her hand, while suddenly she felt the sky spinning, her eyes went black, and she fainted in the water.

Eija was washing, while she continued her talking endlessly, like the flow in the stream. "The title 'pig' is even a compliment to my husband. I'd rather call him that than 'the lazy one.' But then again, there are times when he really does behave like a pig at the table, and.... in bed." She smiled to herself secretly, as she thought of something delightful.

"Emelyn? Are you still there?" Eija felt somehow it was too quiet. She looked up and saw no one except her clothes on the slab, and Emelyn was gone. She walked to the side of the slab and looked around.

Suddenly she found something floating on the water, drifting away with the flow, tens of meters away from her. The white clothes on it were just the color of Emelyn's.

"Oh, my god! Emelyn!" Eija screamed, "Somebody help! Help!"

Eija ran towards her and slipped, which reminded her that she didn't know how to swim.

It was already half an hour later when Eija called someone for help, and they finally found her dead body floating on the surface of a pond.

Hobb, Emelyn's husband, was working miles away from his home, sweating all over in the workshop, without knowing what had happened to his pregnant wife back there.

This workshop of herbs, where he had worked for years, belonged to Emelyn's brother, and it was where he first met Emelyn.

At that time he was busy working hard every day and had no time for women until he met Emelyn. Time passed quickly, and their love bloomed. He proposed marriage to her, and she accepted. The two of them were very much in love, and Emelyn was soon pregnant. Someone was not happy at all though; Emelyn's big brother liked Hobb but not enough to marry his sister to him.

Hobb's brother-in-law was a simple man. He had a strong body, a large chest, and a beard covered with thick hair, which helped him to be known as hot-tempered. After he knew about Emelyn's pregnancy, he beat two teeth out of Hobb's mouth. However, there was nothing else he could do except for seeing them getting married in front of him; besides, he had to keep Hobb working in his workshop because "That son of a bitch was so poor that he couldn't even afford to feed Emelyn," as what he said.

At the moment of then, he was handling the herbs his brother-in-law bought back from the herb traders in the market. For different herbs he had different handling methods; like the leaves, stems, roots, seeds, or bark, he dried, ground, prepared, or mixed them to get the most benefits from them.

In a small closed room, in front of Hobb was a metal shelf, about a meter high, above was a layer of metal mesh, covered with sliced plant roots; below the mesh was a thin layer of metal plate, on which Erno placed sulfur; then, below the metal plate, he began to build a fire to heat the sulfur.

As the temperature rose, the sulfur on the metal plate began to emit a thick white smoke, which he wanted to use to smoke the herbs on the mesh. Although his mouth and nose were covered with cloth, the strong and irritating smell still smoked him out of the room.

He closed the door behind him and breathed in the fresh air greedily outside. After about half an hour, he covered his mouth and nose with the thick cloth, opened the door, and rushed into the room to check the herbs being smoked.

After repeating this several times, he was already sweating profusely and coughing incessantly. Fortunately, this operation was not performed necessarily every day.

A significant number of people, like Hobb, worked in the preparation of herbal medicines, earning their living that way, because not only these people who grew up here knew how to prepare herbal medicine from their parents and grandparents, but also Mountain Town was rich in various herbs considering its special geographical location and climate. In fact, it was already the largest herbal trading center in the south.

The town was surrounded by mountains that were the natural boundary between the coastal plain and the basin. From the top of the highest peak, the mountain range in the west of it stretched out for endless miles. Every morning, the fresh air coming from the forest blew into the town, and the wind blowing from the south brought the moist air from the sea. Thus, the air in Mountain Town was constantly filled with sweet smells of flowers, herbs, and forests.

Although the land was rich in medicinal plants and was a paradise for all kinds of vegetation, it was not possible for everyone to grow herbs in their own yards. However, most of the herbs grown in the town were gathered from the surrounding areas such as forests, rivers, and fields. People cut the grasses growing wild, collected the flowers blooming on the hillsides, dug up the roots of weeds or planted shrubs, and picked fruits from trees. When the plants were harvested, they were sold in the markets of Mountain Town to the merchants and buyers. These people were mostly outsiders from all around the country, even some from other countries.

Herbs that grew on the hillside, like yarrow, nettle, mint, sage, wormwood, and coltsfoot were considered to have more advantages than the ones planted in the field. For instance, yarrow, a plant that grew in almost any place, had many uses, including for healing purposes. If it was taken internally, it could cure stomachaches and diarrhea. Nettle was also a useful plant because of its ability to stop bleeding, heal bruises, and treat infections. Besides, it was used as a tonic for the skin. Even the leaves of mint were used for tea or cooking, and the roots were used to make medicine. Wormwood was a plant that cured headache, bronchitis, and cough, and the dried leaves of coltsfoot were used against fatigue.

It was safe to say that Moutain Town's economy and development were built on herbal medicine trading, although it had hunters, peasants, fishermen, and other workers as well. And it was not developed by luck or by accident. Over the past 100 years, the people of Mountain Town had learned how to process herbs and make medicine from them. They were not only aware of the benefits of each kind of herb, but they also knew how to extract and preserve, and how process them. The town was making money through its trading in herbs; moreover, Mountain Town was unique compared with others, which meant that it had a good reputation.

Finally, Hobb finished his work, walking out of a small wooden bathroom after he took a thorough bath.

"Uncle Hobb!" He heard the voice of a kid, calling his name. It was one of Eija's boys, the youngest one, around ten years old.

"Hey, big boy! What are you doing here?" He, smiling, asked the boy, who ran urgently towards him.

"My mom let me bring you a message!"

"What's it?" The smile on his face faded away, as he felt something unusual.

"Come back to your home as quickly as possible," the boy copied his mother's words, panting.

"Do you know what's it about?" His heart had begun to pound.

"It's Antie Emelyn."