As the seasons passed, the tragedy that Anku avoided soon retreated to the inner depths of his mind.
However, he was still unequivocally curious about that woman, and the reasons why she was so keen on having him wield that sword.
Anku's petite body moved left and right on the straw bed, and brought his knees closer to his torso, preserving his body heat in this cold morning.
Although the weather was sunny year-round, it was still rather cold outside.
He now had a very pressing dilemma.
He could either remain in the hut all day long, which was preferable in the cold, or he could go out and meet up with Ura, Gilje, and Hamm, whom he had steadily grown closer to despite the events they endured on their first meeting.
His little brain consumed all of its processing power for a few seconds before he ultimately sighed and exclaimed, albeit internally, 'Let's just sleep some more...'
Feeling proud of himself, Anku covered his entire body with the sheepskin blanket and closed his eyes.
Unfortunately, however, reality wouldn't allow his idleness, as the sound of chatter rung like the awful whirring sound of a mosquito wing at the background of his mind.
After a few minutes of this, he could bear no more and spontaneously bolted out of the bed.
He speedily wore his leather sandals and exited the hut to see who dared bother him so much.
His anger, however, was short-lived, as a reassuring silhouette greeted him next to the entrance.
Tall, and bulky, his father, Babyl, stood there conversing with a few men and women.
They all had smiles on their faces, and as Anku snuck up behind his father, he eavesdropped slightly on their conversation.
"Babyl, how many pots have you prepared for the beginning of Addaru?" A nondescript man cheerfully asked his father.
"A few dozen clay pots for tonight's feast."
'Feast?' Anku inched closer to his father.
"Oh! Kubriq has blessed you with great molding ability, brother!"
"It's nothing that extrao-
"Dad?" Anku tugged at his father's clothes.
Babyl immediately turned around, though, seeing no one, he had a stunned expression until he looked down, and there, he saw his beloved child.
He took Anku by his armpits and brought him up to the same eye level, and he said, "You've finally woken up, my light, what do you want?"
"What's 'Addaru'?" Anku inquired his father on that unfamiliar word he heard.
Babyl put his son back down and began explaining, "Tonight, we'll be celebrating the new year and the beginning of the crop-harvesting season!"
"OH! And who's Kubriq, dad?"
"He's the God of Bronze and Ceramics, my light, we revere him along with Narth."
Like a sponge, his little brain absorbed all of that information, yet he still had one question.
"Will we see Narth and Kubriq tonight, dad?"
Babyl chuckled at his son's innocence, and shook his head, "No, Anku, they are there, in the sky."
Disappointment flashed through Anku's face, but he quickly recovered and asked, "Where is mom?"
"She's in the center of the village, where there are a lot of people, do you want to visit her, Anku?"
"YES!"
His father gave him directions, and the child excitedly left the premises.
"Is that your son, Babyl?" An adult man asked Babyl.
His pupils leaned in to observe the running child, and for just a millisecond, a look of disgust and disdain passed through his face.
Though like a chameleon, his expression soon went back to normal, and he conversed with the others, smiling.
_________
Siria was at a large gathering in the center of the village.
There were many fires around this place, and over each fire, a clay pot cooked various ingredients.
A dozen men and women split up into little groups to monitor the cooking in each pot and do their respective tasks.
Siria was in charge of preparing the sweet foods for the feast along with two other women.
She observed the interior of the pot, where hot syrup bubbled vigorously and changed color into a beautiful, thick caramel.
Siria collected the liquid caramel with a bronze ladle, and speedily poured it over a rectangular, oiled clay mold, with roasted almonds in the center.
The mixture bubbled as it came into contact with the mold and began cooling down into a solid.
As she finished this batch, Siria took a glance at the other women's progress.
One younger woman in their group seemed to be struggling with her timing, and the syrup mixture in her pot threatened to burn and turn bitter.
Siria quickly tried to salvage the situation, as she approached her and kindly assisted her.
However, the younger woman interpreted this as a condescending gesture and frowned.
Siria didn't notice this, as she ladled the caramel into the tray and advised the woman, "Don't stir the syrup too much, it can turn hard prematurely."
"I heard you broke your oath to Narth, why are you participating in the celebrations?" The other woman put her hand in front of her mouth in a dramatic way and gasped.
Siria paused, as the burning caramel bubbled in her ladle.
"You should be careful of not burning the syrup, as it can ruin the entire batch," Siria ignored the remark and continued.
"You so blatantly disregard our goddess, and still raise that devil's spawn, what gives you the right to still give tribute to the goddess?"
At the mention of her son in such a derogatory way, Siria frowned.
'Siria, you have hot syrup in your hands, calm down, calm down...'
'But she CAN'T speak that way about my light!' There were few things that could go below her bottom line, but her son was one of those.
Her ladle came near to the woman's face, which caused her to back down.
"Mom?" However, this voice interrupted her and prevented her from committing a crime.
"My light, what brings you here?" She poured down the syrup in a quick manner and focused her attention on her son.
"What are you making for tonight?" Anku asked her with big eyes.
Siria took her son into an embrace, and led him to her own pot, right under the vile woman's gaze.
Then, she cut up a piece of the finished product and gave it to her son.
Anku gladly grabbed the candy and bit down into it.
'So goooood...' Anku was in pure bliss.
The sweet and salty caramel had hardened, though it instantly melted in his mouth, while the crunchy roasted almonds in the center provided a satisfying textural contrast to the crystalline caramel.
In only a few seconds, Anku wolfed down the piece of candy.
Siria laughed and gently cleaned bits of almond from the tip of his mouth.
The mother and son ended up spending the afternoon together, and he would end up eating so many sweets he felt sick afterward.
And thus, the nightly celebrations of the New Year began.