by Nōnen Títi
Benjamar wanted to know some more and asked about what had gone wrong with the government, but Aryan hadn’t kept up to date with that. He explained to Benjamar about the fog riding in every so now and then, and ruining the technology. He didn’t mention the powershop.
“Yes, I noticed that fog here this morning, way in the distance beyond the North Hills. That’s the first time I’ve seen it here, Aryan. So far we’ve had a strange-looking black cloud. Are you sure the red one didn’t follow you?”
Benjamar was joking. Like most people, he wouldn’t accept the idea of the fog deciding where it went.
“Not to my knowledge, but I wouldn’t worry. You have no DJar technology to be destroyed here.” Aryan left with the promise to go and talk to people about starting a road. At least he’d be constructive and out of the way, like in town. What would he do if there were no more roads to clear?
From the bench opposite the Hearth, Kunag looked up. “I heard you’d come,” he said.
The boy explained, as Remag had, where they’d been. “If you want I’ll take you to see the eyecreatures. They’re a cross between giant amoeba and vegetables.”
“No thanks, Kunag. I’ll stick with people.”
“I’d prefer to stay away from them,” Kunag grumbled.
“What’s wrong with people?”
“Nothing, I guess. It’s just that they’re so complicated. One day you think they’re your friend and then they start making threats.”
Aryan could relate to that. “So what happened?” he asked.
“Nothing much. It was just Leyon being stupid. I didn’t know they’d be in there together; it was my home too and I’d been away for three days.”
Aryan sat down next to him. This was getting interesting. “So tell me what was so stupid.”
“Nothing. She said I’d be sorry if I told.”
“What about Leyon?”
“He said he’d not expected me back, that I was being ridiculous or jealous or something, but I wasn’t. I don’t care if they sleep together; it was just that I stood there in the entrance like an idiot not knowing what to do.”
“So then Maike threatened you?”
“What?”
“You said she told you you’d be sorry.”
Kunag started shaking his head. “Not Maike – Laytji!”
“Ooh, Laytji.” Aryan started to see his mistake. He had assumed… but it wasn’t. From relief he started to laugh.
Kunag jumped up.
“No, Kunag, wait. I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I thought you meant Leyon was with Maike. Listen, anybody would feel bad for walking in on that. So Leyon and Laytji, is that like common knowledge?”
Kunag shrugged, no longer wanting to talk.
“So what’s Laytji doing making threats to you if you tell she slept with Leyon? They’re both free people.”
“Because Maike would kill them if she found out.”
Aryan stopped Kunag from walking away. “I don’t get it. First you say Leyon and Maike have nothing together and now you say she’d kill them?”
Kunag looked confused and shook Aryan’s hand off his shoulder. Aryan didn’t try and stop him again. The boy was strong and it was none of his business in the first place who Maike shared her mat with. She could have had every single man in this village when he was still in town… Well, almost – Benjamar was a bit old for that.
Benjamar could see that Wilam was apprehensive by the way he walked. The young farmer studied the squared-off section in front of Benjamar’s home before turning toward the bench.
Benjamar had put Harmon in charge of running the show and the rope and sticks were his idea. On the left of the area was an entrance, where Harmon had a small bowl of dye in which people dipped a finger to prove they’d been given their pebbles. Opposite the shelter, all in a row, sat a variety of bowls and jars, anything they’d been able to find. Each was labelled; the largest two had deliberately been given Frimon and Tigor’s names and stood side by side. At the other end of the voting area was the exit.
“How are you, Wilam? Has Nini been to see Styna today?”
“She’s there right now,” the farmer answered, and then explained his problem. Styna was not going to be able to come all the way downhill; this baby wasn’t going to be long now. Styna herself didn’t mind too much, but Wilam felt it wouldn’t be fair if she didn’t get to vote.
Small matters like that bothered Wilam and he visibly cheered up when Benjamar suggested she tell him her wishes and he could deposit her pebbles for her.
Benjamar watched him walk back up the path. Ahead of him, beyond the farmer’s homes, sat the red fog. As long as that stayed far enough away…
Wilam had not yet reached the north latrines when Kunag dropped himself onto the bench. He didn’t start to speak immediately, but seemed preoccupied.
“Did you vote yet?” Benjamar asked.
Kunag had not; he didn’t want to. The idea of elections upset him. “Things were good, why change it now?” he asked.
“It wouldn’t have been right for me to be governor any longer without having been elected, Kunag.”
“It isn’t right either that people take over this planet and then we’ll have cities and animals in cages again!”
Benjamar shook his head at the gloom and explained that it didn’t have to be like that. They’d have to be careful. As long as they were part of the natural balance then if food ran out people would starve and the cycle would be complete. They’d have to educate people and they’d have to make rules, which was what they were doing today.
“What if Tigor wins – does that mean he’s allowed to dig?”
Benjamar told him the reason why there would be eight people in that council.
“You’re wrong,” Kunag said. “People here are not part of the natural balance. There is no balance. All life here begins and ends in the ocean, in those genetic bubbles of the light film. And we have no say in the future. Kun DJar decides. That’s what Remag says, anyway.”
Benjamar had no answer to this. At best, it was Kunag’s choice to look at the elections in a negative way. Nothing Benjamar said would change his mind.
“Do you think I should stay in town after the memorial?” Kunag asked after a silence.
“Would you like to?”
“I don’t know.”
He must have heard about Aryan’s arrival by now. It was hard to advise the boy; he kept changing his mind about going home to his family.
“No need to make a decision now, Kunag. You can come with us to town and then decide whether you want to stay or come back.”
Kunag didn’t say anything to that. He silently watched the voters come and go.
When Wilam returned, accompanied by his young son, Benjamar walked over to tell Harmon why Wilam should have double the amount of pebbles – even if they’d decided that children would also be allowed to vote, Kristag was too obviously an exception. When Benjamar returned to his bench, Kunag was gone. Maybe he should have foreseen what happened then, maybe he should have suggested that Wilam leave Kristag with him while he voted, but he had not. The first alert to trouble came when Harmon raised his voice. “Hey, don’t do that!”
Kristag, who’d been allowed to put a few pebbles into a jar following his father’s instructions, had taken a handful of little pieces off the ground and thrown them in as well. Other people would have let him, since the voting pebbles were easy to distinguish, but things needed to go as planned for Harmon. Benjamar leaned into the backrest of the bench as if watching a stage performance. He knew what was going to happen, but there was always the chance of a surprise ending.
“Don’t!” Wilam warned his son, who wailed when Harmon tried to stop him from doing it again.
Wilam dropped one of his pebbles when trying to get Kristag out of Harmon’s way. Quick as only a child could be, Kristag snatched it up and threw it into the nearest jar to him.
“No!” Wilam shouted, attracting the attention of many others
besides Benjamar.
Harmon jumped in to prevent the farmer from retrieving the pebble Kristag had thrown into Tigor’s vessel.
“But you saw what happened,” Wilam said. He looked very desperate. He had, after all, climbed up and down the hill twice to get the pebbles for Styna and get this right. Now he was being told that his vote should stay with Tigor where he’d not wanted it.
Harmon had no intention of depriving Tigor of the vote that hadn’t been meant for him. “Sorry, but those are the rules.” He’d not finished speaking or he dashed over to where Kristag was reaching into another jar. “Get him out of here!” he yelled at Wilam, who also started running.
The area was only small. Whether worried that Harmon would hurt his son or just out of embarrassment, but Wilam ran so fast that he almost knocked Kristag into the jars, before pulling the child away. Kristag began to cry and kick. He struggled so hard that he slipped out of his jacket, making Wilam drop the rest of his pebbles in an effort to stop him going for the vessels.
Sorry now for the two men who were unwillingly the main actors in this play, Benjamar stepped over the rope to take the kicking and yelping child from there. “You finish your voting, I’ll watch him,” he told Wilam.
Benjamar lifted the small boy out of the area, holding him far enough away to protect his legs from the child’s attacking feet. Kristag was not impressed and turned his crying into a full-blown scream.
What followed on stage was a second act, this time with Harmon trying to prevent Wilam from picking his pebbles off the ground. In principle, Harmon was correct in saying that pebbles from the floor could not be used for voting, but everybody had seen what happened. A bit of flexibility wouldn’t have hurt.
Benjamar didn’t want a say in this and ignored the pleading looks from both men. Today he was neither judge nor governor. Today he was just a member of the audience.
The amount of onlookers grew. People must have an instinct for trouble. Like bees to nectar, so the people came to this little uproar. Of course, where most came to just watch a play, there were always some who wanted a say in the outcome. Jema appeared out of nowhere. Having scooped up the dropped pebbles, she put them into Wilam’s hand, for which she got some cheers from the audience. Instead of leaving it at that she walked to the vessel at the end of the row and put her foot against it. “You make trouble for Wilam and I’ll knock them all over.”
Harmon had no choice but to stand back. Wilam finished his voting in a hurry and left the area without looking at Harmon.
“I’m sorry,” he began, still upset.
Benjamar shook his head and handed him back his son.
“Benjamar, did you see what they did?” Harmon asked also coming over. “How can this be fair?”
“I put you in charge,” Benjamar answered.
“And I had to vote somehow,” Wilam added.
The third person to step over the rope was Jema. Harmon quickly returned to his post to make sure the next people didn’t mess up.
“He stupid man,” Kristag said, attempting to climb onto the small oven as some of the older children sometimes did.
“No, he’s not. He’s just doing his job,” Wilam told him.
“He is stupid,” Jema agreed and lifted Kristag onto the structure, holding him with one hand.
This made Wilam nervous, but he didn’t step in. “Women always seem to know how to deal with children even if they’re not born yet,” he said, making Benjamar laugh.
“If you feel you’re incapable, maybe you shouldn’t have children.”
“Jema!” That had not been meant to make Wilam feel better.
She raised her eyebrows in a disdainful manner, lifted Kristag down and walked away.
“Go to Styna and concentrate on what’s important,” Benjamar told Wilam.
Kristag refused to say goodbye at Wilam’s request. Little as he was, he made it clear that Benjamar was no longer in his favour.
After that the voting went according to regulations, but Benjamar’s day of just being an onlooker was over when Aryan arrived, pushing Leyon in front of him, holding the boy’s arms tightly.
Benjamar directed them over the rope and into his home to prevent another show. “What happened?”
“He almost throttled Frimon. There was an argument at the Society hearth. I heard shouting; next thing I see Leyon jump on Frimon. By the time I got there the man was blue in the face.”
Leyon winced when Aryan twisted his arm, but made no sound.
“What brought that on?” Benjamar asked him.
“He was hurting her.”
“Hurting who?”
Leyon explained that he’d been with Doret, but Laytji had followed them because she was angry and she’d gone to Rorag and they’d made fun of Leyon, which had caused him to threaten Rorag. “But I didn’t touch him, honest, and then Frimon comes out and starts shouting and Laytji starts shouting back, I don’t know why, but then she says this one thing and he hit her, so I attacked. I was only trying to protect her.”
So much for a comprehensible story. Aryan had nothing to add. He’d not been there until the end and nobody had told him anything.
“What is this one thing she said?” Benjamar asked, aware of Laytji’s vocabulary when she was moody.
“Only a lot of curses to annoy him and…”
“Well?”
“That Frimon had himself beaten last night because his son was a sissy.”
“So he slapped her and you decided to strangle him for that?”
“And he would have if I’d not jumped in,” Aryan said.
“I’m sure he would.”
This was serious. This was no longer just a kids’ fight. It might be true that Frimon attracted negative reactions with his atonement – and Benjamar had not been aware that he’d already started that – but now they were talking attempted murder and it wouldn’t be resolved if Benjamar didn’t take charge now. Whatever made Leyon’s mind work, once he’d decided to hate someone, like he had Thalo, he was unlikely to give it up. There were no prison cells in the village. The homes had no doors.
“Can he let you go or are you going straight back to finish the job?” he asked Leyon.
“I’ll stay.”
“Stay where?”
“I’ll stay here,” Leyon answered.
Benjamar nodded for Aryan to let him go. “I trust him,” he said when Aryan hesitated. Once released, the boy rubbed his arms, but didn’t make a move for the exit. Of course, today nobody would be voted in as judge. Like in town, they had nothing written down, which left Benjamar with the same old job of making a quick decision on his own.
“I think we need Maike here. She’s dealt with this before. Could you go and find her for us, Aryan?”
No reaction to that from Leyon. It wasn’t easy to intimidate this boy.
“No,” Aryan replied.
“Not?”
“You don’t know how strong this kid is.”
This had nothing to do with Leyon’s strength. “I can handle Leyon.”
Aryan reconsidered and left.
“Is there any use in me asking why you didn’t control yourself?” Benjamar asked the boy.
“I couldn’t help it. He hit Laytji and I just got angry.”
“What were the three of you doing where you weren’t supposed to be?”
“We didn’t mean to run into Rorag. We came for the girls.”
Of course; how stupid of Benjamar to have overlooked that. “What about Laytji? Did she come for the girls too?”
Leyon believed she’d come to spite him, because they’d had a fight, so she’d gone to Rorag, who had provoked Leyon.
“How?”
“How what?”
Benjamar stepped forward too fast for Leyon to see it coming and pulled him up by his shirt. “Don’t play any games with me, because you’ve just blown all your luck. How did he provoke you?” He let go of Leyon, who did drop the attitude.
“He said something.”
“I don’t remember.”
That didn’t sound right, but since Maike and Aryan had come in, Benjamar left it for now. Maike immediately demanded that Leyon tell her why he’d gone where she’d forbidden.
“I wasn’t at their hearth. I was at the path.”
“Just like Laytji wasn’t in your shelter this morning, only right near it?” Aryan asked, meaning, no doubt, only that the path ran very close to some of the homes, but Maike’s eyes spoke Leyon’s sentence right there and then.
“I’m sorry I didn’t watch them more closely. I should’ve known this would happen the moment he started that perversive ritual,” she said.
“You’re not to blame, Maike. You shouldn’t have to guard them like babies every minute of the day. It isn’t your job. If Leyon can’t control himself, he shouldn’t be out there.”
“It would have been better if he hadn’t come here,” Maike said, glancing at Aryan.
“I don’t see how it’s my fault,” Aryan objected.
“You don’t see anything, you just–”
“Shut up, the lot of you!” Benjamar interrupted her. The good thing about seldom raising your voice was that when you did, it had the desired effect. “I don’t want arguments here. I want solutions. Whatever happened before, Aryan did stop Leyon from killing the man just now. If you two have an argument outside of this issue, then leave it outside. The only thing I want to deal with right now is how we are going to prevent this from happening again. Ever!”
He looked at Leyon, but was aware of the reaction his words had on Maike, who could not have expected to be scolded in this manner. She quickly straightened up. And Leyon? How sorry was he? He may have to stand trial for this. Frimon had a right.
“What do you think, Leyon? Apart from making it the first job of the new council to appoint a judge, what will we do in the meantime? Think I should give Maike permission to act as she sees fit, regardless of any laws we’ve had before?”
Leyon glanced at Maike, who in turn eyed Aryan. All of them were getting this message.
Could Benjamar put Maike in this position? It was unlikely she’d have to pursue it. Leyon had told him a while ago that he might have accepted Maike’s anger for running away. What about now? Benjamar wasn’t about to take the silence, for one thing. It was too important to know what the kid was planning. “Answer my question.”