Page 6 of Circle of Days
Neen said: “I was heartbroken. I cried for a week.”
Seft tried: “How sad.”
Neen nodded, and he felt he had said the right thing.
“I’m still sad about it,” she said. “Even after all these years.”
“What about the rest of your family?”
“You should meet them,” Neen said. “Do you want to come home with me?”
“I’d love to.”
They left the holy place and made their way through the village. Seft had accepted the invitation eagerly, because it was a sign that Neen really liked him, but he worried whether he would give her family a good impression. They were sophisticated village dwellers—they washed their shoes! He lived a rough life with little social contact. His family had never stayed anywhere long: they built a house near the pit they were currently working, and left it behind when they moved on. Now he would have to talk to Neen’s mother,clearly a distinguished person. She in turn would be appraising him as a possible father to her grandchildren. What would he say to her?
Outside Neen’s family’s house a pot nestling in the embers of a fire gave out an aroma of beef and herbs. The woman stirring the pot was an older version of Neen, with lines around her eyes and silver strands in her black hair. She gave Seft a welcoming smile that was just like Neen’s, only with more wrinkles.
Neen said: “Mamma, this is my friend Seft. He’s a flint miner.”
Seft said: “May the Sun God smile on you.”
“And on you,” she said. “My name is Ani.”
Neen said: “And this is my little brother, Han.”
Seft saw a fair-haired boy of eight or nine midsummers sitting on the ground beside a sleeping puppy. “Smile on you, too,” Seft said, using the short form of the greeting.
“And on you,” Han said politely.
There were two other children. A little girl was sitting with Han, stroking the puppy. Neen said: “And this is Han’s friend Pia.”
Seft did not know what to say to a little girl, but while he was thinking about it she spoke to him, revealing herself to be socially adept beyond her years. “My kin are farmers,” she said. “I live in Farmplace, I’m here for the Rite.” She paused, then said confidingly: “My Dadda doesn’t let me play with herder children, but he isn’t here today.” She was smaller than her playmate, Han, but her self-assurance made her seem older. She added: “I’m looking after my cousin Stam. He’s nearly four.”
Stam looked sulky and said nothing.
Ani said interestedly: “Tell me, Pia, why did your Dadda not come to the Rite this year? He usually does.”
“He had to stay behind. All the men did.”
Ani said musingly: “I wonder why.”
Clearly she saw some significance in this that escaped Seft.
He was distracted from this line of thought by Han, who looked at him with a mixture of awe and curiosity and said: “Can anyone be a flint miner?”
“Not really,” said Seft. “It’s usually done by families. Young people are taught by their parents. There’s a lot to learn.”
Han looked crestfallen. “That means I have to be a herder.”
Han looked as if he was not too keen on that. He wanted to get away, Seft guessed, and see something of the rest of the world. He would probably grow out of it.
Seft said: “What’s your dog’s name?”
“She hasn’t got one yet.”
Pia said: “I think she should be called Pretty.”
“Nice name,” Seft commented.
