"Dad!" Erland got downstairs and yelled out.
"Hm?" Erik took a sip out of his cup of tea as he gazed on the paper on the table.
"I want a puppy! Can we get one?"
"You want a puppy? That will be a lot of work. Can you handle it?"
"I will do anything!"
"Alright then."
"Does that count as a yes?"
"No. You will not get a puppy until you learn and be old enough to take care of one. Everyone in the house stays busy all day. You pretty much stay alone in the house. What if something grave happens to you or the dog? It will be a big problem. You may know about at least something to do when a puppy gets in trouble but the puppy lacks the minimum sense of it. What you want is a puppy and not a mature dog. I can't afford to put you in danger."
Erland looked down with disappointment. He slowly tilted his head high and acted as if he has been gravely wounded from the inside.
"Oh...no no no. Don't be sad. Okay look, daddy promises you to take you somewhere. It's called a pet store. It's in the northern Gaion so I think that Frode will be able to accompany you as well. What do you think?" Erik lifted Erland up.
"There will be puppies in a pet store?(Of course there will be puppies. Oh...I'm getting excited. I've never got a puppy of my own. I did have a cat though...it used to screech at me and then it mated with some other cat and ran away...)" Erland put on a happy face even whilst recalling the memories of a rather unpleasant cat he had.
Erik nods. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing. When will we go there?"
"When I'm not busy."
"You are always busy!...Can't you deny orders sometimes?"
Erik puts Erland down. "I cannot. I'm loyal to my customers."
"Ugh...fine...I'll go play then-"
Randi rushed in front of him and looked at him as if he's a rat caught in a trap.
"Who will do the homework?" said Randi calmly.
"Uh...I already did." Erland backed away a little bit.
"Some numbers aren't written well. I need them all neatly written."
"Y-Yes ma'am..."
Afterwards, Erland redone his homework. He slowly remembered the horrors of school. Days after days he reminded his father of his promise but each time he refused.
By the time, autumn came. Soft cold wind was howling from the north.
Erland, like a fancying bird, stared at the morning sky. He got off from the stool and approached his mother.
"Mommy, can I go out alone?"
"No baby, you are still little." said Gunhild. She was sewing a shirt of Erik and didn't pay any heed anywhere else.
"Mommy you all are always busy. I get bored like this."
"Why don't you go play with Hilda?"
"She is downstairs working...can't I just go and play with the neighbors kids?"
Gunhild looked at Erland "Okay then. Let's go. Mommy will sew daddy's shirt outside and watch you play."
"(That was easy...Why didn't I try this before?...)"
They both headed outside. Erland wore warmer cloths and his mother wore a normal red scarf. They both went outside and saw leaves falling.
Erland started playing with the leaves. He collected the ones he liked and gave them to his mother, as if he is a child in heart.
"Look, what a weirdo. He's taking leaves. Is he a stray or something?" said a boy holding a stick, looking at Erland and his mother from a distance.
Erland paid him no heed. He smiled it away in silence which pained the boys' pride.
Both of them went towards Erland and grabbed his collar. Their appearance wasn't anything too eye-catching neither was their attitude. Erland hinted his mother by showing his hand not to get involved in this. "Mom...stay away."
Gunhild approached the boys either way with a cold face- "Has your family not taught you any manners little boys? Or is it a lacking you've made by yourself?..." Gunhild stared at them with a grim face.
"Hah. Momma's boy. We'll see you soon-" One of the boys spitted on the ground whilst the one who was talking made a threatening face.
"Get out of here, will you?" Gunhild made her voice even grimmer.
The boys became anxious, seeing the nice lady snap. They rushed off from the place as if they have seen a ghost.
"Wow mommy, you were so cool! (Only if this was okay in England...Dan wouldn't have to live with fear that much.)" Erland went towards his mother.
"Erland Hephaestus. I will shower you with all the love I have. But you have to promise one thing to mommy. Don't turn out to be weak. I am not talking about the power you hold in your body. I am talking about the power you hold in your soul. Always fight back when needed." Gunhild got down and looked at Erland in the eye.
"(Did I disappoint her by not fighting back?) Did I make mommy worry because I didn't fight back?"
"No honey. You did great. You shouldn't bark at a barking dog. At least, not always..."
Erland nods.
"Let's go to the park then."
"Mommy! I wanna go too!" Hilda rushed from the backyard. She almost slipped on the wet leaves.
"Be careful sweetie!" Gunhild rushed towards Hilda and grabbed her.
They all headed to a nearby park. It wasn't Erland's first time in the park. He has once visited the park when he has only started to walk.
He saw other kids playing with a ball from a distance. The boys were about Hilda's age. He went towards them and asked them if they will allow him to play with them. They allowed him even though it took the spirit away from their mind for a moment.
"So...how do we play this game?" said Erland.
"You only use your hands to play it. Nothing else allowed. You have to pass it to the people in your team and reach the opponent's nets, then toss it so it crosses the line. They are called goalposts. There will be two people defending the goalpost but since you are here and that you are a kid, there will be only one on each."
"Oh okay! (It's basically handball but the rules are a bit changed...)"
"Which team you wanna be in?" said one of the boys.
"The black team!"
"Oh so you want to be on the Draug's side. Alright then, we will be the Hierius."
The game began as a girl blew the whistle. Erland's team didn't pass it onto him. He tried to be a part of it but he couldn't. One of the boys in the Draug's team threw the ball sky high. People rushed at one place to catch it as Erland waited patiently.
"(This is the mistake most players make. They rush and gather at one place. They get injured and loses the ball.)" Erland kept a keen eye on the ball.
It bumped on a boy's head and went on another place. Erland rushed to the ball and passed it onto the one closest to the goalpost. His moves surprised everyone. His mother stared at him being confused. To Hilda, it was a usual thing to see such surprises.
He rushed to the ball and took it with his hands. He immediately passed it to someone of his team who was far away from the gathering of players. Everyone spilt up. The player tried his best to defend it. After a lot of tossing and passing, someone threw the ball sky high. Erland moved away from it since it was impossible for a child like him to hold something coming at such speed. A player of his opposing team held it and passed it away to one of his teammates.
Among such elites and their plays, Erland became forgotten. Seeing that as an opportunity, he slowly went towards the Draug team's elite, who was the one holding the ball. There weren't many players around of the Draug's team. Erland at a distance, hinted him to toss the ball at him. The elite, having no choice, tossed the ball to Erland. The players finally remembered that there is another player in the match. Erland rushed towards the enemy's goalpost and handed it to the teammate closest to it. Seeing that, the opposing team rushed to that one player.
"Bingo." Erland acted as he was about to give the ball to the player but instead he scored a goal by himself. There was an awkward silence among everyone.
Everyone suddenly cheered for the goal. The elite took him on his shoulders and said,
"Bravo! You did well! I was scared for a moment. Gaion is being blessed with natural talents."
"(I'm an idiot...I did something that will make me stand out...Or maybe not. Maybe people here believes in god gifted talents. If they didn't they would judge the hell out of Frode right?") Erland frowned.
"What's up with that face?"
"I was just thinking...you guys went easy on me! That is NOT FAIR!"
"Oh? Alrighty then. Listen up boys. This man has a complain about us. We have been going too easy on him. We have to show him what we are!"
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered together. The match later turned out to be a tie. They planned on continuing the match next week. Erland rushed to his mother and grabbed her dress. Gunhild clapped for him and took him in her arms.
"Hey Hilda. Long time no see." said a boy who was amongst the players.
"Hello. This is my brother, Erland." said Hilda.
"Oh. You two are pretty alike. Mind going to our house today with you family?"
"I'll be busy today. Sister Randi's at home handling everything. I should go back."
"Oh...Goodbye then, Hilda, Mrs. Hephaestus. Bye buddy." The boy nodded with a disappointed face and left.
The boys got into their daily chat. Some were still playing with the ball whilst others were resting on the field.
"I'm tired." said Erland as he yawned.
"Wanna go home now?" said Hilda.
"Yeah but I want to eat something."
"Come with me..." Gunhild took Erland's hands and started to go to their house.
They didn't go inside. Instead, they went to the backyard, which left Erland confused.
"Hilda, go call Randi and Erik." said Gunhild.
Hilda came with a paper bag of sweet potatoes and pulled the potatoes out. Gunhild made some fire on the leaves and started to grill the potatoes in it.
The family gathered on this unplanned occasion as they enjoyed the view of autumn leaves, falling and withering as they welcome the upcoming winter, over sweet potatoes and drinks. Erik drank a whole bottle of booze and the ladies drank apple ciders. Erland on the other hand, didn't drink anything but he took a sip from each of their glasses when they looked away. He swore to himself that he will never ever try alcohol again.
"Hm...come to think of it...What happened to the wine Hilda made?" said Erland.
"Oh, you remember! The wine Hilda made got partially distributed to the ones who attended her day of Heim. The rest of them are stored somewhere safe." said Gundhild.
"Why is it stored?"
"When your sister will get married, we all will enjoy it. The guests, your sister and her husband. Except the underaged people of course."
"Oh...then I want Hilda to marry after I become not an underaged. I wanna try out the wine."
"Hehe..." Hilda smiled at Erland gently.
Later on, once again Erland requested that Erik takes him to the pet store. He in his own mind, being drunk and dancing with Gunhild while spitting gibberish, refused. It didn't take Erland long to figure out that his mother might have taken some of the booze as well.
"Only if we had something to capture this moment..." said Randi and smiled as she looked at the love birds'.