The Heir of King Meldh, Chapter I, Reading 2

Flindra nodded in understanding and her eyes suddenly flooded with tears.  She looked away to hide her sorrow for she had promised her father she wouldn't cry.  In spite of her efforts to force back her tears, she sobbed audibly.

Leudh dug out one last shovelful of dirt, threw the spade into the heap of dirt piled to the side of the grave, and climbed out of the hole.

Flindra felt strong arms surrounded her as Leudh embraced her.  "Don't be ashamed to cry, little sister.  Death is always hard."  His voice was husky with emotion.

"I told him I wouldn't cry, though," she protested.  "I know he's finally free of pain and has returned to the Spirit, but I miss him so very much."

"We’ll always miss him, but I'd like to hope he is somewhere in the Beyond and is looking back at us with a kind smile."

Flindra smiled through her tears, "Thanks, Leudh.  That helps."

"Let's go home and get Momma, Brehwan and the boys.  It's time to send Papa home."

"All right."

 They stood.  Leudh retrieved his tunic and slipped it on for the breeze blowing on his sweat-dampened body felt cold.  They turned and started down the wooded slope towards home.

A mile walk took them to a broad clearing hidden amidst the trees.  A woodsman and his family lived off the bounty of the forest, essentially harvesting the animals and plants that nature provided.  They weren't farmers so they needed no large piece of ground.  This quiet, little clearing was enough space for their needs.  What the forest couldn't provide, they obtained through trade.  Eghero had been a skilled hunter so the family always had what they needed.

There was a cozy, two-story cabin on the west side of the clearing with a smaller cottage on the opposite end of the space.  When Leudh had married, he and his father had built this smaller home to provide some privacy for Leudh and his new bride.  They had planned to add a second story when the needs of a growing family demanded the extra space.

There was a shared barn on the north side of the clearing and a large vegetable garden filled the space between the two homes.  All shared in the work of the garden, but this was really Dakra's space.  She and Eghero had planted this garden when they first started their home in this clearing and she loved spending most of her time growing food for her loved ones. 

Most of the vegetables in the garden had already been harvested but some of the leafy plants and herbs had survived the first frosts of the season.  It was a homey sight and Flindra's eyes filled with tears when it came into view.  Her Papa would not be with them to enjoy the bounty of the harvest this year.

There was smoke rising from the chimney of the big house and both Flindra and Leudh knew the rest of the family was awaiting their return in there.

"I'll get the horse and cart ready," Leudh said.  He headed for the barn while Flindra continued towards the house.

As she approached the house, Flindra could hear a sob coming from her mother's room for the window was slightly ajar.  She recognized her mother's voice and felt tears of sympathy well up in her own.

Flindra walked inside and followed the sound of the sobs to the bedroom her parents had shared.  There she found her mother, Leudh's wife, Brehwan, and the twin boys, Alek and Arek.  They were kneeling around the coffin, which was set up on two benches next to the bed.  All their faces were stained with tears.

"Leudh's hitching up the cart," Flindra said in a low voice.  She was relieved the lid to the coffin was already closed.  She wanted to remember her father as he was in life and not as he looked embraced by death.  She joined her mother on the floor and waited in tearful silence.