Canya's guilt, pain and misery did not cease. She did not know that a time would come when she would dearly miss Eddie. She did care about him but to her, there was more to life than love. Therefore, when she was told to take Eddie's life to save hers, she did not hesitate to make an attempt. At this time, she was sure she had succeeded. She knew there was little she could do to change what had happened but a visit to her grandfather would provide a consolation, if Priscilla was right.
It was afternoon when she boarded a train to Old Town. In Woodland, transportation was more than efficient. A distance of hundreds of kilometers would be covered in minutes by any ordinary flying vehicle. Trains which were much faster would take shorter durations. The fastest mode were the flying ships but such were expensive and needed large spaces to land considering their colossal sizes. Their stations were only found in large towns and cities. Old Town was a small city in the central parts of Woodland; it had no spaceship station, making railway the fastest means of transport there.
Old District as its name suggested was a place that had been inhabited for thousands of years. It was said that at least three in ten Woodlanders had their ancestries in Old District. While it was one of the smallest districts in terms of land area, it was known to be the most populated in the country. Its capital, Old Town, was a city unique with primordial buildings of Woodland. It was probably the only city in Woodland that had city walls still standing around it. Majority of people there even used carts pulled by horses as a mode of transportation.
It took Canya about six minutes to arrive at Old Town which was not too far from Noya. She chose not to explore the city as she would usually do when she arrived at a place she rarely visited. She boarded a taxi and flew to the interior parts of the district. The countryside had an atmosphere no different from the capital. Residences were comparatively old and farming was the main economic activity.
In the remotest part of Old District, there is a small old house standing conspicuously amongst trees and crops of different kinds. The house has stone walls and a grass-thatched roof. Embedded on one of the walls is a stone chimney that extends beyond the roof. It emanates white smoke as a pleasant aroma covers the ambience. Not too far away, an old man in a black apron, green helmet, yellow gumboots and a pair of orange gloves holds a hoe with long handle weeding his crops. A few meters from him, an old tune is playing from a radio cassette. The old man whistles alongside the tunes as lumps of soil are turned and weeds thrown far from his crops.
Of a sudden, a feminine voice is heard singing the the same tune. He stops his work and turns to look. Upon seeing the intruder, his grip on the hoe involuntarily loosens and for a moment, he stands there with his lower jaw on the ground. Tears start rolling down his wrinkled cheeks. He tries finding words but they are all lost.
"My child, you have finally visited." He runs towards the incomer and showers her with the warmest of embrace. Canya's eyes wet and a load that had been weighing on her although not all, is lifted from her. She heaves a heavy sigh and a teardrop finds its way on her grandfather's shoulder, "I missed you grandpa."
"Let us get inside child. Your heart bears a burden and my vegetables can help." He leaves her embrace and beckons her to his small house. The interior is as simple as the exterior, just a living room in front of a small kitchen and two bedrooms. The intruder can only see the living room though, and it has a wooden table and three couches. A medium-sized screen rests on a small table on one side of the walls, where no seat occupies.
"Welcome home my child. You need to eat, lest your heavy heart devours you." The old man says with a face full of pity as he rushes to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, he walks in holding a tray with different bowls and two plates. After spreading the table, he opens the bowls letting a pleasurable fragrance insult their noses. Giving a beginning signal, the meal is devoured and Canya cannot help but close her eyes in pleasure.
"Grandpa, your craft in the way of medicine is as excellent as ever. When will you teach me?" When half of her plate is cleared, Canya gives a mischievous smile.
"As soon as you finish whatever it is that is holding you back at Noya." The old man nods seriously.
"I am left with a year, grandpa. When it is all over, I will be all yours."
After the meal was over, and when the pair of grandfather and granddaughter were busy resting on their couches, the old man finally looked at his granddaughter and with a heart as heavy as lead he asked, "I can see that something is weighing down on you, my child. What is it?"
He hated the fact that his granddaughter, he could tell was not here to see him but for some other reasons. However, he also understood that school held her tightly and in the middle of the semester as it was, he should have been thankful she had at least tried and came.
"Grandfather, is it true that my mother and her mother were witches?"
"Why should it worry you, child. Since your sister died, you have practiced magic more than once. If you can practice, what makes you think that they couldn't?"
"Grandpa, I was made to believe that killing a man would somehow save me from dying in his hands in future. He is already dead and when I asked, the fact that mother was a sorceress came up. I wonder if there is a connection."
When he heard what she had just said, he gave a dry chuckle and poured himself a glass of water. After a long sip, silence drifted in the room for a minute before he spoke.
"My child, if killing him was so easy, he would have been dead long time ago."
"What? You mean he is not dead?" Canya rose to her feet, hoping that her grandfather was right.
"I cannot confirm that but there is something you should have known a long time ago I need to tell you."