A new dawn breaks redly over the mountains, its rays slowly tracing over a small wooden hut on top of a grassy plateau.
The wind gently sweeps over the grass and the flowers, as the sound of waves can be heard over the west.
Once every two weeks, your mother loads up the cart with the ceramics she has crafted and travels to the nearest settlement, where she barters her work in exchange for other goods. Today is such a day and Gaia is already outside, loading the cart.
It might not seem like a very special day, but it’s actually your 16th birthday. It’s that day of the year, when mother prepares your favourite food and tells you your favourite story and of course you can always expect a nice surprise from her, in the form of a gift. If you are really looking forward to these, you’ll have to wait until you are back from your visit to the village. For now, it might be a good idea to help out mother.
Hurval sitting there on the mountain he so much loves feels the wind flowing through him feeling a comfort.
He walks back home and sees mother preparing for our 16th birthday. “Oh mother haven’t I told you that you should leave the cooking for me you know your cooking’s always leads to disasters”
Hurval takes care of the cooking using the hearth to make soup and let mother make the bread. Hurval made his well known Vegetable soup with tubers and some meat. “Mother the soup is ready let the others know.”
Phoenix watched the flames flicker from the fireplace. The light catching in her blue eyes. She loved to watch the fire dance in front of her, feeling a connection to the heat and the way it moved.
She was pulled out of her trance by her brother speaking to her mother. She dragged herself away from the fire to help their mother.
Loading the items into the cart, she couldn’t help but think of the evening ahead. They were now sixteen, adults in the eyes of the community and she was ready to take on the world.
She had always been a little more rebellious than her siblings and intended to go to town today and find her future. She didn’t know what yet but she knew she had a lot to learn about herself and the only way to find herself was to push her own boundaries.
“Here, I can help!”
Nadira fastened her cloak around her neck as she half-walked, half-ran to her mother and sister. She could smell the grass and the sea, a promise of a day full of excitement and discovery.
As she smiled, the sun on her face, her foot got caught in her cloak and she went tumbling, face-first, to the ground.
“Oh dear.” Nadira sat up and made and frowned, making sure all of her face muscles still worked. She seemed to have gotten by with a single stinging scrape on her cheek.
She started to get to her feet, “I’m sorry mother…”
Suddenly, Nadira was pulled into an embrace. She relaxed in her mother’s arms.
She took a deep breath and stepped back, looking her mother in the eye. “I’m fine. What do you need me to do?”
Gaia smiled at Nadira’s words letting her take the distance she needed “You should make sure to eat your breakfast before we leave, if I am not done by then you can help with loading the wagon”
Gaia turns her attention towards the other two “The same goes for you too, there is no need to tire yourselves my starshines”
Gaia slowly lifts up another of the ceramic pots she had brought close to the cart, placing it carefully on wagon. She stays silent, with her back turned for a couple of seconds, staring whimsically over the distance.
“Hmm… has any one of you seen Yvonne?”
“I’ll get her,” Nadira called, already heading to the hut.
Yvonne couldn’t be far. She was sweet and wonderfully strong, but not the most ingenious beast. The trick was carrots.
Nadira flung open the door to the wooden pantry where the roots hung. Orange, crisp, and irresistible. Nadira grabbed an extra one for herself as she headed out the door. That would do for breakfast.
The wind caught her hair as she walked over the plateau, and she looked back at her brother. Hurval was always happier on days like these.
“Yvonne!” Nadira pushed her hair away from her eyes. Sometimes she wished it was as long as Nix’s so that she could tie it back properly. “Yvonne! Where is that donkey?”
As she mounted over the ridge she spotted a familiar grey shape. “Yvonne? What are you doing down here?” She held out the carrot. “Come on girl, we’ve got to go.”
Yvonne reached for the carrot, seeming spooked. Nadira gave her a scratch behind the ears. Yvonne had always liked her. But while she seemed more relaxed now, when Nadira tried to convince her to go back up towards the hut Yvonne dug her hooves into the ground.
“A little help here?” Nadira called up to the rest.
Phoenix rushes out with a couple of carrots and a rope tied for Yvonne so she can lead her in.
“Come on, Yvonne.” She shoves the carrot to Yvonne’s mouth distracting her while she throws the rope around the donkey’s neck. “That’s a good girl. Come on.” She winks at her sister and leads Yvonne back to the cart.
“Mother, Yvonne is here.” Gaia rushes out to harness the donkey to the cart.
Hurval watching his two sisters having a hard time taking care of Yvonne minds his own business and helps mother loading the wagon with the newly made ceramics pots.
He then feels the wind blowing on his face. For a moment he feels as if something is trying to call him but just for a moment so he doesn’t think of it as something much and continues lasting the ceramics pots.
He tells the others “We are done lasting all the ceramics pots here, great you guys found Yvonne”
Hurval sees as Phoenix is harnessing the Yvonne to the cart so he sits at the back and just looks out to the beautiful sky day dreaming of flying up there.
Noticing that Hurval is done with loading the cargo, Gaia gets on the Cart. She notices Phoenix and Nadira over the distance, approaching with Yvonne and she relaxes back to her seat as the donkey gets tied to the cart.
“I knew she wouldn’t have gone far.” she comments as she turns towards Nadira and Phoenix
“Are you all ready to go? Phee you better take your sweater with you, it’s a bit windy today and you might catch a cold”
“I’ll be fine mother. The sun is still out, I’m warm enough.” She gave her mother a quick hug and prepared Yvonne for the journey. “Shall we?”
Hurval ready as ever gives Phoenix an helping hand. He then suddenly feels the same feeling as last time and a lot more he now knows this isn’t just something normal. He leaves the group to find this unknown source as he can feel the wind just like guiding him.
Before leaving he tells the others that he will be doing something will not take too much time.
Hurval follows the wind and find himself back at the hill he loves to sit and think on. He looks around but can’t seem to find anything.
He then comes back to the others and they finally make there way to the Village.
After all of them boarded the Cart, Gaia took hold of Yvonne’s leash giving a loud shout as she gently whipped at her “Forth!”
Without much of a delay, Yvonne started pulling the cart, following the usual trail to the city. With the cart descending upon the ramp, they eventually lost sight of Gaia’s hut, now venturing towards the village.