In a Bad Mood

My little body was so tired that I only had pieces of memories from last night. Mom changed and then breastfed me. She and dad chatted about something while in bed, I was so sleepy and tired that I didn't pay attention. Later, I woke up in the middle of the night, I was between mom and dad. I was laying on my side, facing mom. I could not see dad, but I could hear he was sleeping behind me. The bedroom was dark, and I was unable to see much. Then something strange happened.

I heard someone murmuring the same song mom sang earlier on that day. A bright silver light passed through the cracks of the window and shunned on a plant in a vase. I had never seen that plant before. It wasn't there on the day before. However, the flowers blossomed, and I could see vivid bright purple petals. A light and sweet perfume filled the bedroom. It felt like a dream. The plants seemed happy, and it was kind of dancing in the rhythm. I couldn't see really well, but I giggled. It was a fantastic view. At some point, I slept watching the plant.

Mom woke me up to change me. She gently placed me on a table and cleaned me. I could have a better view of the plant there. The flowers were not there like at night, but the plant was in the same place I saw earlier. Mom had a bucket near me, and she was using a wet, warm cloth to bathe me. My head was spinning, and I was feeling cold, but I couldn't take my eyes off the plant in the room.

"You have a fever…", said mom, wiping me. "Alice, could you come here?" with a slightly higher tone. A few moments later, Alice came into the bedroom. Mom explained to her that she would make me some special tea with medicinal herbs, and she asked her to stay with me for a moment.

My ears were hot, and my body aching. Alice took me in her arms to lay me on the bed. I could barely move my arms because they seem so heavy, but I wanted to touch the plant.

"Did you see that too, Henry?", said Alice, placing me in the bed. "Dad said we were lucky. They never do it near people. Jonathan and I were scared, but it was so pretty". She had a cold wet cloth, she wiped my forehead and continued, "Dad also said they are feyplants, which are like special plants, and they do things that other plants don't do. I'd never imagine a plant singing and dancing like that. It's truly a gift from the god of light to the goddess of darkness"

Mom came with a warm brownish liquid and spoon-fed me with it. It tasked bitter but sweet in the end, which made it easier to drink.

"Is he sick?", asked Alice, seated next to me.

"He is a baby. Every so often, their bodies need to adjust to new things, like having many people interacting with him, being away from mom and dad… He will be fine in no time. He only needs to rest". Mom took me in her arms and murmured a lullaby while gently touching my face. Alice and Mom stayed with me until I slept.

I spent the day sleeping. Mom only woke me up to feed me, but I didn't feel any hunger. I just wanted to sleep. She sometimes forced me to eat, and I even cried. Something seemed wrong with my body. My body was hurting. It was even hard to breathe. I felt weak and only wanted to sleep, even my diaper wasn't being filled. I had even forgotten the plant from earlier. I simply wanted to sleep. I didn't see dad nor Jonathan's in the time I was awake. Only at the end of the day, dad came and tried to cheer me up, but I didn't have the strength to do anything. He looked tired and away.

The next morning, I was still feeling the same. However, I was in a bad mood. I'd have cried at anything. Mom gave me some herbal tea mixed with her milk. My belly wasn't feeling well. Mom tried hard to make me drink it. She insisted. I drank a little, but it was too much already.

"Richard, I'll take him to work with me", said mom with a worried face.

"I can stay at home"

"I asked you to go and see how the lumberjacks' guild was doing yesterday, and they are all busy, even wanted you back. You should go today too. We still need some coins for winter, don't you remember?"

"I know, but I can hunt, and we can sell the meat in the market"

"You've worked hard to have them accept you there. It's a good opportunity to keep a good relationship and show them, that they can count on you. Now, they are the biggest woodshop around. You can even get some work over the winter. In addition, I don't want you to keep going in the woods. It's not safe"

"I will go. Clarice, you don't need to push yourself too hard. We always find a way to solve our problems"

"That's alright. Alice will go with me. I'll let Jonathan stay with Mrs. Hubson. We will be back before sunset"

Dad grabbed an extremely well-polished axe from the last wardrobe shelf. Even mom couldn't reach there. Dad tried to cheer me up for the last time, but I was still in a bad mood and I cried. Then, he left to work with a sad and worried face. Mom left me sleeping without major interruptions. I didn't wake up even when she was walking down the path to the village.

Arriving in the village, I woke up with set new different sounds. Mom took me out of the sling and carried me in her arms. The weather was cloudy, and there were people on the streets that I had never seen before. It scared me. I wanted to cry. Mom put my head on her shoulder to calm me down. Alice tried to play me with behind mom. I kept my eyes on her while we were walking. I could hear horses, people passing by, different buildings, and smells. It was too much even with Alice's help. I kept my eyes shut until mom entered one of those buildings.

The building had a strange smell. My nose started itching, and I even sneezed. Women of different ages approached mom with smiles and curiosity. My eyes were full of tears, and those women approaching us like that didn't help at all.

"Is he her newborn? Look at his chubby cheeks!", one said. "Clarice is gifted to have such beautiful children".

Mom stopped a few times to compliment them. She explained that I was sick, and the best would be to stay by her side. I also notice more children there. Some of them were babies with their moms, like me, and others were about the same age as Alice or older. In addition, everyone, except the babies, was working on strange machines full of strings. A middle-age woman stood up and asked mom to take her place. She seemed happy to see mom. To be honest, she was the only one to have a sincere smile. They chatted about projects, and they agreed mom would replace her while the woman would work in a different one. Mom talked to Alice, and she agreed to watch mom doing her work. Mom explained to her that it was a weaving machine to make fabric. Alice's face brightened up as if she just discovered something amazing. Alice held me in her arms and mom started working. I had some resistance to leaving mom's arms, but we didn't go far. So, I left mom work.

While mom was weaving a fabric, I noticed some women chatting and looking at us in secrecy. Alice might have noticed that too. Her face had shown discomfort. She tried to adjust the cloth covering her hair and even checked her clothes for any dirty or wrinkles in her skirt. However, they kept doing that.

"Mom… Is it something wrong?". Alice asked mom, whispering.

"Don't mind, sweetheart. They are just gossiping about the recent events in the village. They are just not used to seeing us here, but they will be soon".

"I see…"

Alice's voice was sad. She stopped looking at mom's work and kept looking at her feet in discomfort. It felt awkward to be there, even the other girls were doing the same, copying the adults. Mom did not say anything, but she was also bothered by that. The other women in the other machines were avoiding eye contact with mom, probably to not start a conversation with her. The other workers were chatting with each other, but not with mom. The women passing by even sped out as if they feared us.

"Everything will be fine, Alice. I am here". Mom gently touched Alice's shoulder, making her look at the machine. "With this machine, you can make…". Mom kept showing her different types of clothes and fabrics. She was trying to bring Alice's attention to the machine and not the room.