Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 34
We travel for several days, sometimes even parts of nights. For days without encountering a single living soul. We don't seek them out. We walk trails only when necessary and avoid major roads.
Maybe we started doing that to protect Rech, avoiding being seen with the giant. However, after several days of continuous togetherness, this is certainly no longer the case. By now we are so used to each other that we forget that Rech is not your average person.
Until, after many days of traveling, we come across a village that we can hardly avoid. And from the moment we enter the village, which is many times larger than my own village, we are immediately confronted with something that we ourselves no longer see.
Heads turn, bewildered looks cannot tear themselves away from the huge apparition called Rechmana. We hear the whispers and the words giant, danger, and watch out fly past us on every street we pass. I look at Rech. He apparently doesn't care much; he has resolved to be himself and to understand those who do not understand.
There is a market in the middle of town, but none of us has any valuable possessions to trade for fruit or grain. My mouth waters when I see the beautiful fruits. Since I left the village, I have mainly lived on roots and plants. Not that it tastes bad, but it does get monotonous. Especially when you are among pieces of fruit looking so gorgeous that they must come from heavenly gardens.
The desire to taste wins it over my idea to leave this village as soon as possible. At the next market stall, I stop, the merchant is small and dark. Then I ask him: "Dear man, my friends and I are passing through, and we have nothing of value. However, your fruit is irresistible. Do you see a possibility of exchanging some pieces for a possible service that we can provide you?"
The man looks up at the somewhat strange company that has gathered in front of his stall. Then his eye falls on the piercing looks of everyone who follows us with their eyes. The old man chuckles. He loudly repeats what I asked with a huge accent.
"If I understand you correctly, you offer services in exchange for some merchandise. That is very unusual, but when I look at your company, unusual is something that suits you. As you can see, I am a bit older, my muscles and limbs are not what they once were. But when I look at your companion, there is nothing wrong with his muscles," he giggles.
"My house is far from this village in the mountains, and my beast of burden was injured on the way here. So it seems you have come at the right time. I wouldn't burden the old animal with carrying back the merchandise, but I couldn't possibly carry it all myself. If your party could help me after the market, by accompanying me, then my beast of burden and I would face a journey many times easier than I had imagined a few minutes ago. In exchange, you can receive some merchandise, and my wife will cook for you. If you want, you can even spend the night in the stable."
I am amazed at the kindness of the man. And hope I understand him correctly. His language resembles ours in many ways, but sometimes I can't quite follow him. But he feels reliable.
"Until then, gentlemen, could you steer clear of my booth? If I know the people here a little, you scare them off. But they will flock to hear me out as soon as you are gone. And hopefully, that nosiness will trigger them to buy my merchandise."
The man shakes my hand, and then we head towards the square in the middle of the city where there is a well. Women fetch pitchers of water here and do their laundry. Unusual as it is, we men join them to freshen up and fill our waterskins. The women giggle and chatter, but their tone is much less fearful than that of the men, who probably feel somewhat intimidated by Rechmana's large and powerful presence.
After having washed and provided with fresh water, we bury ourselves under one of the trees in the square and sit under it. We feel watched, but no one bothers us.
"That's true," I say. "We are used to bartering, but the farther we travel, the more likely we are to find a way to procure certain things. We are fortunate now that this man is not as short-sighted as most eyes. Yet he is evidently a wise merchant, since we left his stall, it has been surrounded by the curious."
"We will have to seize every opportunity to offer our services, it would be wonderful if we can get a small sum up our sleeve right away. We don't know in what kind of situation that could come in handy." They both nod.
The afternoon passes, and before the market is over, the merchant beckons us. "Gentlemen, thank you. I've been in this market for years and I'm not bad. But I've never sold all my stock, even if I drop my price a little towards the end of the market. You've been great publicity. If you accompany me on my way back, I think many curious people will buy a few things from me in the coming weeks."
Numico and I collect the baskets, and Retsj breaks down the stable in seconds. He carries the parts under one arm. With the other arm, he clasps the baskets. "Where to," I ask. The old man points to the other side of the village.
"Do you see that mountain? On the backside of it, in the next valley, as it were, is my house."
Without the slightest effort, Rech leaves with the entire stall and all the baskets. Leaving Numico and me staring. "We shouldn't help Rech, or at least I shouldn't," I ask him. "You make a friend," says the giant, nodding to the old merchant.
During the walk to the next valley, I speak to the man. At first, I let him talk so that I can get an idea of what kind of person I am dealing with. My first impressions turn out to be almost correct. He is a wise man, at the same time a merchant who will make a profit wherever he can if he can. But his heart is definitely in the right place.
It seems that the years have mellowed him. He must have been a shrewd man at one time, but now the need to accumulate property has diminished, and humanity has found space in his heart.
After he has been silent for a while, he asks who we are and what we are doing in the village. For fear of revealing too much, I maintain that we are travelers in search of a new existence. That our village was destroyed when we were hunting.
He asks us if we know who is responsible for the destruction. If we are at odds with any of the surrounding tribes. I look at him displeased, explaining that we are a very peaceful tribe. That we focus on help and healing and would never of our own free will take up arms against another human being.
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