On a sunny day, clouds cast a deeper shadow. But the shadow itself is the most pleasant shield against the heat. I don't see how anyone would find it unpleasant.
It's probably the most mellow feeling out there.
"Oi, El! Lunch's ready!" Mom waved her hands from across the waterlogged field.
"I'll be there after getting the last batch in!" I yelled back, shoving a rice shoot into the field.
"Elyan... Say goodbye to your food if you're not here in a minute."
I briskly wiped the sweat dripping from my forehead. Welp.
Farming could go screw itself over if there's food on the line.
"Coming!" I started wading my way toward the shed. Every step left a small wave in the field.
It was so hot out that if there wasn't this cold water and sombre shadow I would've passed out already.
A few times over.
My older sister, Linda, was standing at the edge of the field with a jug.
"Here." She poured water onto my hands and the mud-caked on started to flow away. "Hurry it up, ya idiot. If the water runs out I'm not going back for a refill." She shook her head.
This woman was a pain in the ass, but she meant well. It was just that our relationship was a bit immature. All on her side.
"Ehnenenehenne~." I tried to mimic her voice but all I got was a slap on my shoulder. Even though the impression was nice.
"Just sit down already, you two. The food's already cold." My mother was an authoritative but kind figure. A much-needed mediator in our squabbles. No one was scarier than her when she was mad though.
Anyways, we sat down on the cloth underneath a tree where a meal befitting kings was placed. The other two already started feasting on their meal. My sister a little more barbarically than my mother. Side dishes upon side dishes. All cooked with the finest ingredients and the best hands in town.
These meals were indeed a luxury. Only accentuated by the umbra and the gentle breeze roaming around the mountainside.
But it wasn't easy getting here. This ideal life that I was a part of felt almost like a dream. Hell, it was my dream a couple of years ago. Back when nothing worked out and our lives spiralled down infinitely.
Life wasn't forgiving at all. Especially because my household was made up of two women and a single man- me.
After Father's passing, our family did struggle but we finally managed to pull ourselves up. Well, by we I mainly mean my mother who basically ran around seventy per cent of our finances herself.
Last year, she set up a small food stall which took off thanks to our Dad's acquaintances, luck, her skills and this town's kindness. With that money alone, we got a house in the town for ourselves.
Of course, my produce earned us some money too. That was how we got the money for the stall in the first place. I would say that my earnings were plenty, or at least enough for us to be able to sustain ourselves for years had the stall not worked out, granted that we give up on some of our indulgences.
Back then, I took Dad's final will to heart, I started to work on the rice fields he left us on the side of the hill. Free rice for the stall and surplus to sell elsewhere. We were better off than when Dad was alive now and our emotional wounds were almost all healed too.
"Is Luno not coming again?" My 20-year-old ageing unmarried sister took a slurp from the bowl of soup while taunting me for my missing fiancee. Well, missing from this particular table that is. We were all quite aware of where exactly she was.
"You know she has her saintess training." Of course, my sister's attempt at taunting my lovesickness didn't work, because she herself had been single for the 20 something years of her life, waiting for her prince charming. Which was a shame, because with her looks there wasn't a doubt that she would have been able to enchant a man or two for herself.
Of course, she was nowhere as pretty as my Luno who fashioned her golden flowing locks, long lashes, and skin that looked like a baby's bottom- all of those made her the most perfect girl in this world. Add to that the prestige of a saintess? She was the entire package.
It was a shame that I wasn't able to show her off more.
Wait what was I talking about again?
"But she should at least show her face sometimes." Mom raised an eyebrow.
"It's not that she doesn't want to, just that she can't. You already know about this!" I complained. In the first place, I was the one who missed her the most here.
I was this close to throwing a tantrum.
Luno was gifted with strength. Out of our town, she was the only one who earned the opportunity to join The Crusade. Needless to say, I was proud of her. But it would be a lie if I didn't think that it would have been better if she came back from time to time.
'Wait, I can't give up so soon! It had only been a few months.'
"You should pay her a visit." Mom slapped my arm noticing the look on my face. "You should cherish love before you can't anymore." She said a little melancholically.
"But if I'm gone, who would work on the fie-"
"If it's only for a week, I'll take care of it." Sis said in her usual sarcastic manner.
"Can you even do that? Aren't you pretty usel-"
"Finish that sentence and you die."
"Eek." Point was... I didn't want to burden them too much and a part of me was concerned about the fields too. All my sister was skilled in was waiting the tables and managing funds.
"It's fine… Just live a little. You think too much. I'll help her out too!" Mom put a thumbs up for me.
'Is there any other family as supportive as mine?' Moved, I fell in for a hug. But my leg got caught in the gravy and a quarter spilt all over the cloth.
LOOK I WAS HUGE ALRIGHT! BIG PEOPLE AREN'T THE BEST AT CO-ORDINATING!
"You clumsy little-!" Sis hit the back of my head and grabbed my ear.
'Okay, maybe they weren't all that supportive when I messed up like this.'
"Sorrryyy!" I closed my eyes to ease the pain, but that demon of a sister wouldn't leave me.
Needless to say, the rest of the meal was spent apologising and cleaning the burning curry off my thigh.
###
Days passed and I was standing outside in front of our eaterie's door. There was a bag on my back, hands on the straps and a box of food around my fingers.
"Tell Luno that Mom sent love." Mom tried to caress my shoulders but could barely reach my biceps. Even on her toes. But her youthfulness forbade her from giving up, so she dragged me down and kissed my cheek.
"I will!" I gave her a bright smile. Partly because I was in a good mood and mainly because I was over the moon.
"Hehe, that's how it should be. Ah, you should get going, Mister Gern is waiting for you." She turned me around and started gently pushing me out of the eaterie. I bent a little and got out through the tiny door.
Despite my tender age of 18, I was quite a large man. Nearly 2 metres in height and built like a house, mainly because I laboured all day. Add to that unbecoming facial hair, and I looked like an adult.
Which wasn't a good thing. Having 6-year-olds calling me uncle stung a little.
'I should have shaved.' I thought while looking at my reflection in the window.
"Come back soon! I won't take care of the field for too long!" Sis shouted from inside.
"I will!" I waved at her as my cheeks started to hurt.
"Kahhh… Look at that smile on his face. Still such a kid. Have fun!"
"I will!"
After waving for a while, I took off on my jolly way to the city, Rottheim.
A city for new adventurers. The city furthest away from the frontier. The city where people trained and grew before they joined in the battle against 'the darkness'.
That was where Luno was. In such a sanctuary.
As I went along the path, I reminisced about the time I spent with her. From our childhood, when she promised to marry me to the time when I got on my knee to fulfil that promise. From the time she lost her family and her way, to the time she stood up for me when Dad died.
I remembered her smile when she got the opportunity to become a saint. It was all so beautiful.
As I left through the town gate, I remembered the starry night under which we swore our marriage. The bond we would forge after her return. I still felt butterflies in the bottom of my gut. It was only a couple of months ago, but the nostalgia it gave me carried on thus far.
I hoped it would carry me throughout the period of her Crusade as well.
"Still 2 years, huh?"