Breda thought she might faint from surprise. Ever since Jamie's boy arrived, she had received one blow after another. From Arc's antics involving his presumably high intelligence, to Nofafi's early return, to Ering's newfound interest in speaking, she was unable to keep up with it all. And now to top it all off, her husband was outside watching the other three kids while making more of those wooden blocks for Arc. She couldn't wrap her head around why he wanted to do this for Arc, he said he wanted to "See what Arc can come up with" when he first saw one of Arc's little towers. She knew that in the past while raising their first child, Jamison, he was greatly saddened by the fact he didn't play with the blocks. He was saddened about the rest of his kids indifference to them, but the effect was not as bad.
She couldn't have possibly known his reason for reacting that way was because of a custom of the town he grew up in, Nofafi never thought to tell her. He explicitly remembered the explanation his mother had given to him in the time leading up to her disease's victory.
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"Nofafi my beloved baby, when you have a child you must promise me to pay attention to what toys they play with, as it will help you determine their path in life. There are nine toys that children will tend to play with. The doll, the cart, the sword, the link puzzle, the knotted rope, the shaker, the ball, the bouncer, and the blanket. Each of these represents something different.
The doll tells you that they are good with people, and they will likely find success working with people. They may be bartenders or priests, or any other occupation that involves people bringing others their sorrows.
The sword tells you that the child will find themselves better suited to fighting, be it as a soldier or a guard.
The cart will tell you your child wants to move around a lot, so they will find themselves as couriers and merchants and all other sorts of jobs that take them on adventures. You played with toy carts all the time, just so you know.
The link puzzle, though rare for kids to solve, denotes that they may be well suited to using their brains when they are older. They might be bureaucrats or strategists.
The knotted rope signifies their interest in the mundane. They often find themselves better suited to menial tasks such as farming or fishing.
The shaker shows their interest in noises and arts. This often means they find employ as musicians and performers.
Any child that finds interest with the ball is to be watched with interest. They find the pursuit of something their only goal, and they are bound to be excellent in whatever field they pursue with their attention. Your brother, may he rest in peace, very much loved the ball. It is only a shame that he died doing the very thing he loved so much."
She showed a face sadder and more depressed than before upon mentioning her first-born. How sad it is for a mother to bury her own child. She continued after a short pause.
"The bouncer is to be watched just as much as the ball. They are very much the opposite of it after all. They will be unable to focus on any one thing, instead bouncing around and gaining experience in many different fields. Your father told me he had spent the most time as a child playing with it. I'm sure you are aware of how your father was."
She was sadder still after reminiscing about her husband. Today was turning out to be a very sad day for the both of them. With a tear still coming down her face she carried on.
"The blanket represents a person's comfortability and desire to be home. It represents that the person will likely be a homebody when they grow up, very good at taking care of the house and good with children. I was told I played with my blanket the most as a child, and if I had to bet, I would say that sweetheart of yours, was Breda her name, played with it as well."
At this point Nofafi also had a tear coming down his cheek. He knew her time was drawing to an end but still felt the desire to impart this one last bit of knowledge to her son about his future children. It was so like her to do so it brought him to tears. He thought she was done, so as he moved to hug her one last time, her unspeaking mouth once again opened to impart him with one final bit of information.
"But there is one toy you should hope for above all else when rearing a child, the building blocks. A child who is interested at a young age in creating something new is bound for greatness. They will find success in just about everything they do as long as they focus on building up the most important thing." She paused before drawing her last breath, fully determined to perform this last motherly act before her end. "Themselves."
She used her final word to finish her advice instead of telling her child "I love you" one last time, not because she didn't love him, but because she knew he knew she loved him. He acknowledged this and kept hers words to him close to his heart, careful not to forget. In the future he would find that kids who played with blocks were exceedingly rare, never getting to meet one who had, sparking a fierce curiosity within him to see what one who did would grow up to be.
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After he finished carving the blocks of varying sizes and shapes, although a little bit more uniform and smooth this time, he brought the hundred or so chunks of wood in front of Arc and watched on expectantly.
"So what do you think of him?" Breda asked, curious of his opinion.
"At the moment I'm not sure what to think of him, all I know is that he is a very smart baby."