Chapter 10. Day With The Sister

Strolling down the cobbled road leading away from the church, which was located on the outskirts of town, Charon and Sister Maya made their way towards the heart of the village. 

Ramona Village was large enough almost to be considered a town, but lacking some requirements to make it so has prevented the large village from growing any further. 

Maya was fond of talking to Charon although he rarely responded. 

"And over there is where Father David pointed out where he wants the school to be built." 

Looking over at the flat piece of land he saw that it was in the middle of the empty stretch of land dividing the church to the town. It seemed like a perfect spot for a school to be built. 

"Look, over there is where I'd like to start a farm one day," she said with a grin stretching from ear to ear. "Mhm! I'd call it "Maya's Farm" and have all sorts of different veggies and fruits, all the trees you can think of, and enough color to brighten anyone's day up."

Nodding his head at her words he found her passion for farming admirable, he wished to one day have something he was so earnest about.

"Let's pick up the pace Charon I want to get there in time to buy the good stuff!" She said as she picked up her pace, Charon picked his up in turn.

On the way, Maya told Charon about how it was currently the weekend, and how most of the townspeople would be unburdened by the responsibility of work. The weekends held festivities and shops for the townspeople and special sales. The traders made sure to aim for the weekend when they knew all the people would have coins in hand. 

All this information was given out freely by the kind Maya as they walked and talked in a one-sided conversation. 

Nearing the houses that marked the more densely packed perimeter of the village the two passed by numerous houses with flowers in the windowsills and mothers airing out laundry. 

Maya waved and greeted the women she spotted but didn't let up the pace.

Passing by the houses Charon took his first good look at the townspeople and the houses they lived in. 

Charon's life so far had been spent bending down and not daring to look anyone in the face out of fear, but after new life had been breathed into his being by the good people of the church he finally dared to stare them in the eye. 

What he saw surprised him. They were smiling back at him with a wave. 

'What.' 

He was shocked to find zero hostility in their faces, for once in his life everybody that saw him didn't treat him like a mangy mutt to be chased away. 

'...why...' Charon felt confused, why didn't they treat him this way before? Nothing about him had changed except for the way he looked. He felt sick. If all it took for these people was a new set of clothes and a clean face then why had none of them bothered to help give him it?

He felt feelings that were incomparable to what he had felt when gifted the information of being able to attend a school or allowed to stay at the church. Although he didn't know the name of it Charon was feeling repulsed at the shallowness within the townspeople's hearts. 

He was sure that the ones at the church who took him in were kind and unconditional, he promised himself that he'd do anything to stay with his new caretakers. 

"Come on, don't fall behind we're getting close," Maya called out, snapping Charon back to reality from his emotional realization. 

Soon the two entered a large square in the middle of the village where stands were put up for local farms and families to put up goods. The land surrounding the village of Ramona was vast farmland and plenty of families produced enough crops from it to sell in the village square. Others would make various goods and resources based on the skills either they or those in their households had, Charon spotted numerous clay stalls and toy-making ones. He had already spotted some children assisting their parents at the stalls. 

Looking all around him Charon was overwhelmed with the amount of people moving around and haggling prices left and right. He had seen the town market from afar before but had never dared to venture close. He knew what would await him if he began appearing where he wasn't wanted.

Sticking close to Maya who had a good amount of experience navigating this scenery he was shocked at the skill in which she haggled the stall keepers. Some of the stalls were held by young men and on numerous occasions he watched as Maya quickly struck down any advances they attempted. 

"Ugh, all these young men care about is how pretty a woman is and what's in her clothes. They are so disgusting, I hope their future wife whips them into shape... or their mothers." 

Charon often heard Maya complain about the attention she got from the young men, she blamed it on her good looks and the men's desperateness. As a woman of the church she said that she knew better than to entertain anyone approaching her, she had already given the oath to take no husband and mother no children years prior. 

Eventually, the shopping encompassed more than just what she needed for the improvements on the garden and Maya started getting encompassed in the numerous goodies around her. 

"Oh sweet!" she exclaimed, turning around to Charon with a bag of round colorful spheres. "Charon, do you know what these are?" she asked with one pinched between her two fingers. 

With a shake of his head, Charon looked dumbly at the object in her hand, he had no clue what it was except that he often saw the children running around with similar bags of them. 

Widening her eyes in shock she quickly took a couple from her bag and planted them into Charon's palm. "Oh my lord, you have to try them! This is my favorite type of candy!"

'Candy?' Charon wondered at the small objects in his hand. Heading the sister's directions he was prompt in popping a red one into his mouth. After a while of moving it around his mouth with his tongue, he sucked on the surprisingly sweet flavor before biting into the hard surface and tasting the sour inside. After trying the first one he quickly put the others in his mouth to try them as well, he found that the varying colors of the candy had all slightly different flavors that he found delicious. 

"So? How was it? Did you like it?" Maya asked reverently to the young boy. 

Nodding his head at her curiosity Maya glimmered with joy at watching the child's reaction to her favorite sweet. Quickly turning and speaking a few words to the lady at the stall Maya held a second bag of the sweets in her hand and made Charon open his palm to receive it. 

"Here, this is for you. Now they may be delicious but you have to savor the flavor, and don't eat them too fast! You want to enjoy them for as long as possible right?" 

Looking at the bag of candy in his palm with shock he felt his heart warm up at the sincere gesture. Nodding his head reverently at Maya's advice he made a solemn promise in his heart to savor the candy and this moment for as long as possible.

After that, the two walked back to the village with supplies and candy in hand. All the while Maya shared numerous stories during their walk as Charon listened intently, hanging onto her every word. With each step, the bond between the two grew stronger, fueled by the newfound sweetness they had shared. 

Leaving the Village the sun began to dip low on the horizon, casting a golden glow over the landscape. Charon felt a sense of belonging and gratitude wash over him, knowing that he had a kindred spirit like Maya around who deeply cared for him. 

As the two reached the familiar sight of the church, Charon couldn't help but let a grateful smile appear on his lips, which was an unexpected gift for Maya. 

The minor experience of sharing candy had turned into more than that, it turned into a friendship and the first Charon had ever had.

Entering the door he realized one more thing before heading down to bed, he had made more than a friend that day, he had made a new sister.