Morning Oakville village.....
When John opened his eyes, he saw the broken roof above him, through which the sun's rays were filtering down.
John was no longer in a hurry, and unlike before, he wasn't stressed about finding work. Earlier, the worry about work kept him from sleeping, and the hunger never allowed him to rest peacefully.
Two days ago, when he received the information, he wasn't very happy because all he could think about was finding a food source. " If not, hunger will consume us," understanding this, he didn't feel much joy back then, but now he feels complete happiness.
Now, if anyone saw John's face, they would think he looked very calm and happy. People began to envy him when they saw his happy face. "Good morning, John," John said to himself.
This was his first morning when he truly felt happiness, heading toward a new life, so to remember this moment, John expressed his joy by speaking to himself.
"The sun is a bit mild, maybe it's 8 o'clock. I should bathe quickly," he said, took off his clothes, and stepped outside. Next to his house was a pit dug into the ground where rainwater had collected.
To collect water, large clay pots were needed, but only the Patricians made those, and they only sold them to other Patricians. Dregs weren't allowed to learn how to make anything, and if someone tried, the Patricians would throw them in jail. That's why Dregs didn't have large pots for storing water.
So, the Dregs used a method they had learned from nature. They would dig a pit with one hand and line it with small stones to prevent the water from seeping into the ground, ensuring that rainwater would collect in the pit. The Dregs used this water for their daily needs.
John went to the pit, where Uncle Victor had given him a small jug made of twigs. He filled it with water and poured it over himself to bathe. After bathing, John went back into his broken house and put on the same clothes he had taken off.
After putting on his clothes, John went to the right corner of his house. He bent down and lifted a thin stone, about 30 cm long. Beneath that stone was a small pit, about 15 cm deep. John reached into the pit and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in cloth, about the size of a fist.
He carefully unwrapped the cloth to reveal a black stone locket, shaped like a chakra. John put on the locket and, holding it in his hand, said,
"Not much farther now " With that,
"Good morning, INFO," John said, giving his second good morning, this time to INFO. After all, it was because of INFO that everything became possible; otherwise, John might have been sitting with the gods by now, arguing about his life's struggles.
[Good morning, Host. Your body has experienced a slight increase in dopamine hormones, which is why you feel so good today—confident and calm. It's a great start to your morning,] INFO replied cheerfully to John's good morning.
"What... is... DO...PO... MINE, INFO?" John was confused when he heard INFO's reply because the words were completely new to him.
[Nothing to worry about, Host. Your day is going well,] INFO quickly brushed it off, choosing not to explain further. INFO knew that if John kept asking for explanations of every new word, it would take ages, so it decided to keep the conversation simple.
"Ahh... okay, fine then. Let's go," John said, feeling like INFO had dismissed him as not too bright—perhaps rightly so for now.
After a little while, John stepped outside his house.
As he came out, he saw Uncle Tom, Victor, and Aunt Clara sitting and talking. Their faces no longer showed the sadness that John used to see every day—no more worry and hunger. Seeing this made John feel good.
"Good morning, John," Uncle Tom said with a smile.
"Good morning, Uncle Tom, and to you too, Uncle Victor, Aunt Clara,"John replied.
"Good morning, son," Victor and Clara said together, smiling.
John's morning started happily, seeing everyone smiling.
"So, what have you all decided? Are you ready to start a new life in another place?" John asked as he sat at the broken table.
"That's exactly what we were discussing before you came," Uncle Tom replied, looking at John.
"Oh, really? So, what's the decision?" John asked, glancing at everyone.
"We've all decided to go there and build a new life,"Victor said.
"Yes, John, we made the decision last night, and we've been discussing it here this morning,"Aunt Clara added, smiling.
"That's great! So, is everything ready for the move?" John asked.
"Yes, everything's ready. We even packed up all the things in a large wooden box," Victor replied.
Victor had learned the skill of making things out of wood and vines, a talent he had mastered secretly, without letting the Patricians know. He only crafted items for his own people, keeping his abilities hidden from the Patricians.
"So, did you eat the potatoes I gave you last night?" John asked as he got up from the table.
"Yes, we all ate that heavenly food," everyone replied together, their voices filled with joy.
"Haha, that's quick!" John laughed.
Everyone shared a hearty laugh, spending some time together in light-heartedness.
Looking at Victor, John asked, "Uncle Victor, when is Leo coming back from work?"
"He's coming back tomorrow," Aunt Clara replied.
" We won't be here tomorrow,?" John asked.
"I'll come back here tomorrow and bring Leo to you," Victor assured.
"Alright then, that sounds good," John said.
"John, where is your stuff?" Uncle Tom asked John.
"I don't have much. Most of it is broken, and I've already taken what's important. It's all with me,"John replied, looking at Uncle Tom.
"Alright then, let's head out before the sun gets too strong. We should reach there on time," Uncle Tom said, addressing everyone.
"Yes, let's go," Victor responded, getting up. Aunt Clara also stood up, ready to leave.
"Wait, hold on. There's something important I need to talk to all of you about," John said, stopping everyone.
"What is it, John?" Uncle Victor asked as he walked over to John, with Victor and Aunt Clara following.
"We need more people with us. If we go there, just the four of us won't be enough," John began, speaking directly.
Hearing this, the three of them exchanged confused looks. Uncle Tom, still puzzled, asked, "What do you mean, John? We don't quite understand."
"I mean that if we settle there, we'll face several challenges, like...
1. We'll need wood to build our homes, and gathering enough will take a lot of time with just the four of us.
2. To protect ourselves and our potato crops, we'll need to build a wall around our land using wood and stones, to keep wild animals out.
3. Lastly, we'll need to form a defense force. Once we start growing food, bandits might come to rob us, so we need to be prepared for that in advance.
John explained his points calmly, making sure everyone understood.
"We hadn't thought of all that, John. How did you, at such a young age, consider all these possibilities?" Victor asked, clearly impressed and surprised. He realized that despite his age, he hadn't anticipated the dangers as well as John had.
Uncle Tom was also shocked by John's foresight, amazed at how well John had grasped the upcoming challenges.
"I thought about all this last night and waited until this morning to discuss it," John said, emphasizing how serious he was.
"You're absolutely right, John. We definitely need people there," Uncle Tom responded, his tone serious after hearing John's thoughts.
"Yes, we do. But those people must be trustworthy. If they betray us and inform the Patricians about the potatoes, it could be disastrous," Victor added, expressing his concern.
"I agree, Uncle Victor. We need people who will be loyal and keep our village's secrets," John said, understanding Victor's worry.
"It's really tough to find honest people in this world full of struggles," Uncle Tom added, sounding disheartened. "People are so desperate to survive that they'd even sell out their own families."
He paused and continued, "If any of the chosen people betray us and take control of the potato fields, it would cause us huge problems."
"We've finally found food, but now we need trustworthy people to keep it a secret. And finding such people is incredibly difficult... Ahh, this is a new and very serious problem," John thought to himself, feeling frustrated by the situation.
All three of them fell silent, deep in thought, trying to figure out how to solve this mountain-sized problem. The air grew heavy with their shared concern.
Victor stared down at the ground, lost in thought, while Uncle Tom looked off to the side, and John gazed up at the sky, searching for answers that seemed far out of reach.
"Maybe I have the answer," Aunt Clara said softly, looking at their worried faces.
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"Finding honest people is like finding a needle in a haystack—on fire." Right Guys??
" See ... Yaa... Next Chapter
[ " Two Sets of Twins ". ]