Owsee, "that's why I bought the lake. Water can be power, if you have a way to move it around."
I said, "sounds like fun. After all I can't just sit around here telling stories, I need to make new ones."
I asked Goo da wa how the bar was coming.
Goo da wa, "I need a power source, and a credit chip link up."
Owsee, "and some brew, you need to give these people what they are used to before they will try something new. I have an extra power generator in the barn you can use until we set you up with something different. I'll talk to the bank about a credit feed line so you don't have to give out tabs. And I'll ask around to see who has some beer to sell."
Goo da wa, "I was thinking some torches on the path to the cave and some lights inside. I want to throw an opening party with the first barrel free."
Owsee, "and we need to get you some ear-wood."
Goo da wa, "some what?"
Owsee, "I'll explain it to you later."
I said, "what about the ear-wood in Kitty’s shop. Can we remove it or will that offend someone?"
Owsee, "ah, let me think, I will need to talk to the Mayor about it. I think it would be good to bring as much of the old bar as we can to the new one. It will make people comfortable."
I said, "we better tell Kitty about it before she starts putting up shelves."
Goo da wa, "what's ear-wood?"
Owsee, "tradition, I'll tell you about it on the way to town."
So we drove to town and Owsee told Goo da wa about ear-wood on the way. We parked in front of Kitty’s shop but she was not there.
Owsee, "I bet she is at the hardware store, take Goo da wa. That's where you will need to go to get the lights and torches anyway. I'll go talk to the Mayor."
So Owsee went to see the Mayor well Goo da wa and I went to the hardware store.
Kitty was there and she had bought some freestanding racks and put in an order for a display case.
I told her about the wall and she said, "if it goes I would like to put up mirrors on the wall, the whole wall."
I said, "that sounds good. Buy anything you need, as I just deposited 200,000 credits in the bank."
She said, "how did you get? Never mind, I don't want to know."
Goo da wa started talking to the owner of the store about all the things he needed, and they soon went out back to look at something. And Kitty started to have a nice chat with the salesperson, as they passed ideas back and forth. So I went out the front door, sat down on a chair, and had a smoke.
Owsee walked up and said that the Mayor thought that moving the ear-wood was a good idea. Then he asked if Kitty was in the store.
I said, "yes, she is talking with the sales girl and Goo da wa is out back with the owner."
Then he sat down next to me and said, "and you my friend, how is it going with you?"
I said, "I'm starting to feel like I have nothing to do, no projects or goals. Everybody has a goal but me. This is a beautiful place, but I don't know my role in it yet."
Owsee, "you mean you feel you should be up there behind the helm of a ship."
I said, "it does feel good don't it. I mean when you're in control there is nothing else like it, even if it's just a load mover."
Owsee, "Star lust! I know the signs. Control is the key, I've been out there a long time myself. And now you're here, with a family on the way. It must all seem a bit overwhelming. But don't worry, you'll find your groove, and I will not let you get too bored. Even if I have to kick you off the planet from time to time. As for now, we have two people inside that need our help. But as long as we are just sitting here, for the time being, how about another poem?"
I said, "that's at least one thing I can do that seems to matter here. I called this poem, "when I look."
"When I look upon my past, the things that I have done. The list of my regrets, not outweigh all the fun. And so upon the memory, of what I may have changed. I know it'll be da learning, only that I'd arrange. And so the life lessons, that made me what I am. Would cause me only wonder, to take some other stand. Content I must to be myself, at least for present time. Or else would still need to ask, how long before it's fine?"
Owsee, "yes, you see, when things get quiet you do what you do best, tell a poem; a good poem I may add. I think we should put this one up on the wall of the new bar. I've been thinking of hanging up sheets to write on with wood charcoal. We need to get these people interested in reading, somehow. But for now, we need to move some ear-wood."
I said, "I will tell Kitty." And we both went inside.
As soon as Kitty saw me, she asked me to look over the cost of the things she wanted for the shop. I asked Owsee to look at it.
Owsee said, "I have been gone a long time, I don't know what things should go for around here anymore."
Kitty said that the sales lady had given her a 20% discount because of the size of the order. I said that sounded good and told Kitty we were going to move the ear-wood as soon as we found Goo da wa. She said she was going to help the store bring her things over there.
Owsee and I went out back to find Goo da wa still talking to the owner. We told him we were going to take down the ear-wood, and he said he would be right there.
As we were leaving I asked Owsee if we needed anything from the store to help take down the wood. He said that in the days when that wood was put up they used tree sap to hold it in place; and that it would be very brittle by now. He said he had a flat bar in the transport if we need it, so we just headed over there.
When we got to the shop Owsee just hit the wall with his hand and a board came loose. We had more than half of it down by the time Goo da wa got there. So he started to load it on the transport.
The job was done in a very short time.
We then drove to the barn and got the generator. We towed it to one side of the cave entrance and unloaded the ear-wood planks. Goo da wa said he wanted to set them up himself. As he was waiting for something from the hardware store, and needed something to do while he waited. We said fine and went back to Kitty's new shop to see if she needed any help.
When we got there, two men were cutting a large hole in the front of the shop. They said they were putting in two new showcase windows and a glass door. Kitty was inside, putting the panels of the mirror on the wall and she asked for some help in doing the top ones. After the mirror wall was up she said all there was to do until the windows were in was to hang some clothes up, and that she didn't need any help in that.
Owsee said there was a few things he wanted to get done before dark, that we would all meet at the house for supper at sunset and that he was cooking.
After Owsee and I got in the transport, he said that the Mayor told him the best place to set up the clinic. So we moved the cargo containers to a spot in-between town and the farm.
They opened up, and went together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and became twice the size of just the three containers. We put the medical equipment back inside but didn't know just how to set it up. We still needed a doctor anyway, and there was no power yet, so we went back to the house for a drink.
When we got there, we went down to the cellar to see what was still there. Owsee had a wall off racks full of different kinds of wine, and said he didn't know how much of it was still good. Then dusting off a bottle of what he called weed liquor, we took it upstairs.
Owsee, "we make it back fermenting the weed bud and adding a sweet powder. It sometimes has a pungent odor to it but one hell of a kick."
We sat on the back porch and drank small glasses of it while having a smoke. The drink had a funny aftertaste, but Owsee said it was still good.
We sat there for a good deal of time talking about all the things that Owsee wanted to see done. Like cutting down the weed and hanging it up to dry, the trees needed to be cut back, and the barn door had a loose hinge.
He said, "some of these things will not take long but it all adds up."
We sat in silence for a short time then I asked h
im to tell me about his brothers, and how they died.
Owsee, "all four of us were born just one year apart and I am the youngest. Each one of us went out into space to learn new stories. Father always wanted to have a storyteller in the family. Better to have a handful of credits than a handful of dirt, that's what my father would say. My oldest brother died in a mining accident, another one a small rock hit his ship, and the last, just a year older than me, died in a bar fight. My mother died shortly after I was born so I never knew her. And my father died five years after I got out of school. I thought I would live and work here for the rest of my life. But before my father died, of food poisoning, he told me, "go to the stars and listen for the call of opportunity." That was the last thing he told me, "go to the stars."
I said, "well, you have been there and back. With lots of stories to tell and credits to spend."
Owsee, "how about your family, are they still living?"
I said, "no, they were all dead before I went to the stars."
Owsee, "so you're just like me I think. But you have family now, Kitty and the children to come. You have friends here and this is not such a bad place to live, lots of fresh air and water."
I said, "yes, it's a very nice place to live. It's a wonderful house and a nice town. But somehow it’s still like being in a dream. Everything is so good it don't feel just right. I'm still waiting for someone to drop a mountain on me."
Owsee, "when you have lived a hard life, happiness can take some time to get used to."
I told Owsee that this weed liqueur was so strong that I could hardly keep my eyes open. He said let's go inside and do some fire powder to level off, and so we did.
Then we went to the market in town to get what Owsee was making for supper. As we passed by kitty’s shop we could see the workman just about done with the new window and door.
At the market we bought meat to cook in the backyard fire pit and two large birds, already dressed out. We got bread, cheese, milk and some vegetables as well. Before we were done we had two bags full.
We then stopped by kitty’s shop and she said she would be home soon. It was starting to get dark by the time we got home. Owsee said he was going to see if Goo da wa would be coming soon and that I should start a large fire in the back your pit. So I put the two bags in the kitchen and went outback to start a fire.
His pit was about 5 feet across with two grills on hinges that folded down from both sides. The rock was cut stone, a good foot high.
I had no problem finding small twigs and dry wood to start the fire with, and there was cut wood, both on the porch and in a nearby woodshed. Before long I had a mighty fire going.
Then Kitty walked up from around the house and said, "looks like we are cooking out tonight."
I said, "that's the idea, a barbecue."
She asked what a barbecue was. I told her it's just another way of saying cooking out, and that Owsee had gone to get Goo da wa. I then asked how the store was coming along.
She said it was getting there and the display case should be in tomorrow.
I said, "it sounds like the place is getting together fast."
She replied, "yes, it's going much smoother than I thought it would. But I'll need to make some connections with the local suppliers in the big cities."
I said, "yes, you will need to carry what the locals ware. It's a good two hour drive to the nearest big town or city. So if you have what they need, you will be saving people time by coming to you. Oh, by the way, there is some milk on the counter in the kitchen, along with some other things we bought."
Kitty, "milk, that sounds good." And she went inside.
I threw another log on the fire and the sparks flew up into the sky. I could see two moons on the rise, as I noticed Owsee walking up with Goo da wa; saying he could see the fire a mile away.
I replied, "you said to make it big."
Owsee, "yes I did, and before long we will have some nice coals to cook on. Is kitty here yet?"
I said, "yes, she is in the house."
"No I'm not, I'm right here," she said as she walked out the back door and onto the porch, with a glass of milk in her hand. "How's the bar coming?" She asked.
Goo da wa, "it's coming along nicely. My chip reader should be here tomorrow."
Kitty, "mine too, and my display case as well."
Owsee, "wait till you see what he has done with the place. It's nothing like the hole in the wall on the station."
Goo da wa, "yeah, now I have a hole in the Mountain, ha ha."
Owsee, "he spent some money on the place, it looks good."
Goo da wa, "I got a 20% discount."
Owsee, "so did Kitty, goes to show you that if you spend a lot they’re willing to show their appreciation."
I said, "money is not everything, but let's not be confused, the things that money cannot buy are very seldom used."
Owsee, "another poem from my teacher. He never runs out of them, I hope."
I said, "I must admit I did not write that one, but I have always liked it."
Owsee, "oh, Goo da wa, tell him about the projector."
Goo da wa, "I found something very interesting at the lumber and hardware store. You place a sheet of transparent plastic on a lighted table, that projects what you wrote on it with a grease pen, onto the wall. The man said he took a few of them in on trade but no one wants them, so I got a good deal on three. You can put your poems on it to show them on the cave walls."
I said, "sounds a lot like something I had in school. Yes, that will come in handy."
Owsee, "and there is a hot spring in the back of the cave. We are going to tap into it to run a thermal generator, as soon as I can find the parts. Until then we will use the portable generator we parked outside the cave."
Goo da wa, "I’m planning a big party tomorrow night. We will invite the whole town. And the owner of the hardware store said he could get a band for me, with drums, horns and strings. But I still need to get some barrels of fresh brew."
Owsee, "I think 35 years has made the barrels I had go bad. But the wind and liqueur should be rather mellow by now."
I said, "Talking about mellow, bring that bottle of Bud liqueur out, that’s mellow."
"Yes," said Owsee, "I have it in the house, I'll bring it out."
Then Owsee went inside and brought the bud liqueur out, turning the porch light on as he did. He poured each of us a small glass. Kitty stayed to her milk.
We watched the fire as it burned down to a nice pile of coals, then Owsee started to cook. He brushed some sauce on the meat as he cooked, which made it smell wonderful. There was a small table on the porch and Owsee kept bringing plate after plate of cooked food to it, saying, "eat it before it gets cold, there is plenty more."
We ate both bird and beast, as well as some roasted vegetables. I don't know what they were, but it was all good.
We ate, drank, sat and talked, as the moons rose overhead and the stars twinkle in the clear night sky. It was a pleasant evening to say the least.
Then Kitty and I went to bed, leaving Owsee and Goo da wa talking on the back porch.
It didn't take long for me to fall asleep, and dream of the children I was about to have; and how they would love this planet as I was beginning to.
“Kitty cooks”
Day 5
I woke to the sound of birds singing and the smell of breakfast. Kitty was up and cooking in the kitchen. After washing my face, I went to see what we were having.
Kitty said, "it's a good thing Owsee bought some food for the house, or you boys would be eating fruit from the trees for breakfast."
She was frying some kind of eggs, and there was toast with jam. She asked me to wake Owsee and Goo da wa, but neither were in their rooms.
I told Kitty, who said, "well they sure got a early start."
"We are back," I heard from the back door. It was Owsee and Goo da wa with a string of fish each.
"We caught more than we can eat, I think," said Owsee.
Kitty, "we can put the left over’s in the ice box."
But there was enough eggs and bread that we did not cook the fish. After breakfast Kitty asked, "how early do the stores open in town?"
Owsee, "at least another hour, they sleep in because they stay up telling stories."
Kitty, "well then I'm going berry picking."
Owsee, "they are all over the place. Take the ones near the house first as I'm planning to cut them back soon."
TheTraveler - book 1 Page 13