Blinding light

"What brothers name?"

He looks at me with a questioning scowl, I'm already starting to wonder how I could have seen Brother Goba as such a threatening monster. His questioning scowl is just the right part of his monobrow frowning a bit less than the left part, it looks so weird that I need to keep myself from smiling at his face.

But his question is a bit tricky, because I've never even had a name, not even one to reject, the only thing I have is a date. And I've always thought it was my date of birth, and as it's one of the only things that I do have, does make it all the more special to me. It's the only thing other than the seasons that makes me connected to the date, something to count down to.

"I don't have a name Brother Goba, not even one to reject. Maybe you can give me one?"

He moves his hand to his chin again to think. In the meanwhile I move to a bench that almost disappeared in the growing branches and plants.

Just as I've settled myself in a place where I can sit with not too many branches poking my flesh Goba's hand falls from his chin to the side of his body.

"You brother now, name later, later me give brother good name."

He nods his head with a serious look on his face. And I honestly think it's better to wait with naming, at first I thought he wanted to name me Brother, that wouldn't have been good. So I nod back at him with a similar scowling serious face, I hope I won't start scowling all the time like he does. But Goba seems to like my scowl, his eyes almost shine the moment I mimicked his expression.

"I think I'll just sleep here tonight, it'll be dark soon, so finding another place before then might be hard."

I was thinking aloud apparently because Goba suddenly starts taking his head.

"No, brother with me, sleep in hay, in shed, me alone."

Now it's my time to let my eyes shine, sleeping inside is something I haven't done in ages. In this city sleeping outside is safer than sleeping inside, it's more often than not that no matter how many people enter a place like that abandoned building that only one exits. Or at the very least one group. Places outside aren't as favored, so it's a place better suited for me.

I'm not strong, just quick and dexterous, but not that quick that I can go against the street hardened kids that are older than I am. Especially not when they're with more than one.

I bow my head to Goba.

"I'd really appreciate it to sleep in your shed brother!"

Goba lifts my head by placing his fingers om my forehead and lifting them up, I can feel his sharp nails almost piercing my skin. He really isn't build to do labour, his body is build for fighting.

"Brothers not bow."

His scowl looks like a proper scowl, displeased by my actions.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

I say rather timidly, but I don't see his scowl disappearing.

"Brothers not apologise."

How do I respond on that? I can't apologise for apologising! I'll just nod my head. And it works, his scowl looks a lot less displeased now. He nods back at me, grabs my wrist and turns around.

"Now go."

And so we start walking, I'm kind of worried that Goba might go on a main street. The main street doesn't like wanderers like me, and I don't think they like a goblin slave either.

"Goba, where do you live?"

He points south.

"Master farm south, master name Prinove."

I almost stumble hearing that, Prinove is quite well known here. I heard he came from the army, he got a small piece of land here for delivering great services. But the whispers say something else, people whisper about him being a soldier, a soldier that fought in such a way that even though he killed 4 times as many enemies as any other soldier in his squad, he still got an early honourable discharge and a piece of land in the middle of nowhere. The whispers say that they did that to get him as far away from everything as possible.

Maybe sleeping over there isn't as great of a plan as I originally thought, I could lose my life if I get caught and Prinove feels like ending me.

No, wait, calm down. He isn't expecting me to be there, he wouldn't suspect Goba to take someone with him and hide him.

"Goba, what would happen if Pridove catches me?"

He actually has to stop and think about it, I think he would have put his hand on his chin, but he can't. He has me in one hand, and his scythe in the other. Soon after he has a scowl of epiphany on his face.

"Teach brother, teach hide."

He nods to in confirmation of his own idea, and he continues with.

"Teach fight too."

He says this with a more bitter determination, but I can't wrap my head around why he needs to be determined to teach me, so I ask why.

"Brother weak, brother slow, brother bad fight. Me teach, brother good fight. Even if brother weak, slow."

"I can't help being weak and slow! I'm not even 10! Any adult man is stronger and faster..."

After losing my temper and falling out to Goba I realise that I really shouldn't do that, he's trying his best for me. But he actually looks glad when I did raise my voice at him.

"Good brother, good soul, good fire."

He puts his hand on my shoulder as he says this, nodding his head at me. I can't help giving him a smile when he praises me, has anyone ever praised me?

"Okay brother Goba, teach me, teach me to be strong and fast, teach me so I can protect my freedom, teach me so I can protect my brother!"

My fists tighten as I'm saying more than I planned, I never had a wish to be strong, I just wanted to live another day. But I think my wish to be strong just sprouted.

Goba nods at my expression, he doesn't say anything else and we start walking again, to the farm, to a hay bed with a roof over my head and my brother close by. A brother I now feel like I need to protect, a brother I want to give a good life, just because he opened my eyes to the possibility that there's more to life than living another day, just because he opened my eyes to a blinding light that is the future after tomorrow.