Good morning everyone. I hope you are all doing well on this frosty morning. I had dreams of dancing goats last night. They were dancing to Love Shack by the B52s. It was an all goats club and the Dj was a Llama. It was most peculiar. Still, it is time to leave the dancing goats behind and start a new day. Shall we jump into our morning prompt? Fabulous, let’s go.
Okay I see great potential in this story. I can actually see several ways this can go and I am actually rather excited to try and figure out which way i want it to go. Fun! I love when that happens.
Wednesday, January 25th: Thunderclouds loomed on the horizon.
Thunderclouds loomed on the horizon. I wondered how long it would take before they arrived and began the deluge I suspected they would bring. The winter rains were late and while I knew we needed to water they would provide, I couldn’t say I was looking forward to another winter spent with the air damp enough to wring and the outside flooded.
Lightning danced in the clouds and the low rumble could be heard. I looked around and others, those who lived here all their lives, were looking at the approaching storm with relief. I tried to hide my annoyance. I knew it was selfish but after the baking heat of summer I was enjoying the cooler breezes and the opportunity to open the windows and doors and air out my space.
It felt like I finally got my small allotted cottage dry from the last winter’s rainy season. Knowing that it was pointless to resist, I slowly began moving around the small cottage, preparing it for the storm. I unrolled the oiled canvas and used the pegs to secure it into place. I closed the doors, one at the front for visitors and one in the back for access to the garden.
There would be few who ventured out of their own homes for the duration of the winter season and when they did, it would involve necessary expeditions. I was not on anyone’s list of necessary and would be left to my own devices until the sky once again cleared. The thought was not without it’s merits. I placed the guard at the bottom of the door frame, lifting it up and slotting it into place. It would keep rain from blowing in under the door frame.
When the front door was secured, I moved to the back. The garden was empty and waiting for the new season. All of my winter chores were done. All of the items produces in my small plot were harvested and processed for winter use. The firewood was stacked in it’s own enclosed area and would keep dry throughout the winter. There was more than enough for my use.
Given the lateness of the winter rains, there was plenty of time to gather in supplies this year, even for one sho was as slow as I. As I fastened the back door and lifted the guard into place I wondered how many more seasons there would be like this. I was a member of my uncle’s household. As an adult I was provided with my own space. I came with his family when he was posted to the enclave, my own family having been wiped out between the Battle of Grendan and the plague years that followed. I was young enough to be part of his household.
Two years prior I was accepted as an adult and given my own domicile, my own tasks within the enclave. I did them as expected and spent the long rainy winters in my own studies. Not for the first time I wondered what the others in the enclave did in their isolated cottages. How they occupied themselves. I had plenty to keep me busy. This time was good for that if nothing else. But I grew tired of the enclave and wondered when I would be allowed to leave and return to Heveran. I knew I n theory I could leave when I wanted, but the journey was long and difficult. Not something done alone or on a whim.
Ten til Midnight 