chapter 2: sun

"Ohh, I am so sorry, I really need to go," Caelus said with a bag filled with groceries while walking towards the nearest door.

It had taken him quite some time to gather everything. But shopping wasn't the reason why he was so slow.

"You don't have to apologize, Caelus; I was holding you for too long. You can tell your dad that you were helping me out; I'll vouch for you the next time I see him."

Caelus nodded towards a young woman around his age. Her long black hair lay on her shoulders. Her green eyes pierced every mental wall a man could muster, and the clothes she wore made her look like an angel. Her presence in and of itself felt like a gift from God.

Well, those were the thoughts of almost all the young men in the village. The name of the young woman echoed in their minds.

Edith Fray.

She and Caelus were in the same class in school, and their mothers were best friends. So the two of them had a long history together.

As kids, they used to pick flowers, paint stones, ride sheep, and build castles in the nearest forest.

But time was an unmovable object, and puberty hit hard. They saw each other less and less, got other friends of the same gender, and found other interests.

But every now and then they met like today and talked about everything that was happening in their lives. These conversations could brighten Caelus's whole week; Edith also seemed to enjoy herself.

"Ah that would help me out; I'll count on you hen. I will see you later."

Caelus then closed the door behind him, but then he opened it again.

Edith turned around in surprise; she had an orange in her hand. Her face turned a little red.

"Is there something else?" she asked.

Caelus had something to say but was at a loss of words now.

"Hey kid, could you please get away from the door? New customers won't be able to enter if you stay there." The grumpy shop owner said.

"I will leave; I just need to ask something."

The owner made a puffing noise and sat back down on his chair.

"Hey Edith, would you like to eat dinner at my place this week? We haven't had a lot of visitors lately, and my dad seemed a bit moody today. Oh, and please bring your parents, just like the old days."

Edith started to smile and nodded. "Oh, I would love that. I think my mom was already planning to visit your dad this week, so this works for us. Tomorrow would work for me."

Caelus couldn't hide his joyful smile. "See you tomorrow then."

He closed the door and cheerfully walked home.

The grumpy shop owner mumbled some nasty remarks about his just-leaving customer but stopped when he noticed that Edith was looking at him.

It was a stare of judgment, which made the man feel uncomfortable.

...

"I am home." Caelus yelled while taking off his shoes.

There was no reply.

"I will start cooking now; it won't take long, so finish what you are doing."

Still no reply.

'That's unusual, why hasn't he complained yet?'

Caelus walked towards his dad's workplace. When he looked inside, he saw the finished painting of the noble family.

'He did it again; it's almost like I see them right in front of me.'

Caelus then sighed.

'He is with her, isn't he?'

He closed the door of the workplace and started heading upstairs. There were three rooms on this floor: Caelus's bedroom, his dad's bedroom, and an empty room with a single desk.

On that desk stood a painting, and on that painting was a lively-looking woman with blond hair and blue eyes.

It was Caelus's mother.

An organized group of bandits had made camp close to the village around 10 years ago. They didn't bother the villagers that much in the beginning; they were just a normal group of bandits, so hiring a guard would suffice to make a safe trip.

But the bandits grew more sinister as time progressed. At some point they started to enter the village and demand rent for living in 'their village.' This enraged the villagers, and so they called for help from the kingdom's knights.

But word came out, and the bandits retaliated before the knights arrived. They plundered everything they could, set fire to a few houses, and beat up some of the people.

One of the bandits had entered their house and surprised Caelus's parents. They had to endure some horrible torture while being captive. At some point the bandit cut off Jonathan's right leg because he didn't beg for mercy.

That didn't work; his dad was a stubborn fool back then.

A fool that made his last performance that day.

Because the bandit then started torturing his wife right in front of him. Powerless, he watched while his wife was slowly dying at his feet.

The bandits left that same day.

Caelus and Edith had escaped this whole scenario. They were playing in their forest castle back then.

A week later a group of 30 Knights arrived with 20 bags.

The villagers were angry. They yelled, 'Where were you? Look what they did!' or 'How are you guys supposed to protect this country if you can't even beat some bandits?'.

The knights stayed silent; their leader bowed his head while still sitting on his horse. The 20 bags were then opened.

The objects in those bags fell on the ground and rolled towards the villagers. Some of the women yelled; well, most of them stared at what they saw.

Now on the ground, 20 heads were laid bare. They were the heads of the bandits that caused the suffering the villagers had to endure.

The leader bowed again and then turned around, signaling to his group that they were leaving.

They arrived and left without a word.

'It has been quite some time since he went inside that room.' Caelus thought.

His dad was hunching over the desk with a bottle of wine in his hands. There was a faint snoring that could be heard from him.

He drank himself to sleep again. And he is calling me a lazy drunk.'

Caelus then looked at the painting. He felt his heartbeat in his chest, his throat started to feel weird, and his eyes were starting to get filled with tears.

"All right, you drunk bum, food is almost ready, so you need to wake up now." Caelus said while slapping his dad on the back.

Jonathan jumped awake.

"Huh."

He looked around and saw his son next to him. He then put his right hand on his forehead.

"You know that you could kill me like that. It wouldn't hurt to wake me up gently."

He then stood up and walked out of the room.

Caelus followed and closed the door behind him.

'I will see you later, Mom.'

The two of them now sat at the kitchen table. Tonight's dinner was mushroom stew. This was Jonathan's favorite dish. But today he wasn't enjoying it like he normally would.

"So what have you been up to today? Grocery shopping shouldn't take the whole day," Jonathan asked with a hint of annoyance.

"I met Edith at the bakery; she asked me to help her, so I did. After that we finished my groceries," Caelus answered.

A big smile started to form on his father's face.

'Ah here we go again,' Caelus thought.

"Ah I miss having that girl around; she definitely made this place more lively. Oh, sorry, you probably miss her more than me. God, where are my manners?"

Caelus rolled his eyes; he knew what was coming next.

"Oh, I have a good idea. Why don't you start dating? You are both adults now and fit together like... like... ah, who cares. Grow some balls and ask her out; the worst thing she can say is 'no.'"

Caelus sighed, not even trying to reply. He knew that his father would continue this circus act of his.

"My bloodline shouldn't end with you; I would be very disappointed in you if you did that. I was quite a charmer in my day, so I wouldn't know how to help a helpless cause like you, but you really need to start making steps. You are getting older with the day, and your chances to get married dwindle with it. My hopeless son ...."

Caelus finally interrupted his rambling dad.

"I asked her to come eat here at our place."

And then it was silent. Silent for a good minute.

"Did she say yes?" Jonathan asked with the utmost curiosity in his eyes.

"She will come over tomorrow for dinner." Caelus replied.

Jonathan then stood up from his side of the table and walked towards the other side. He put his right hand on the head of his son and shook it in every direction.

"Oh god, thank you for hearing my prayer. I don't know how I can thank you, oh great one. My hopeless son may have a chance in love."

"I am not that hopeless, you drunkard. And since when do you pray to a god? You raised me to be critical with religion." Caelus said with an annoyed voice.

"Your poor old dad is getting older with the day. Death's door could be around the corner, so I am preparing a nice place next to your mom in heaven." He said with a big, teasing smile.

"Pffffff, weeds don't perish, Dad. You would outlive our beautiful world, as far as I am concerned. Maybe even outlive that god you're praying to."

"You are calling me an unkillable weed now. I'll take that as a compliment."

Jonathan's smile started to look a bit more serious now.

"So her parents are also joining, I assume."

"Yeah, they already had some plans to visit us, apparently," Caelus said with a neutral face.

His dad then looked around the room and walked back to his chair. He sat down and sighed.

"We really need to clean this place then. We can't make them feel concerned about us."

"You know that they already are concerned, Dad."

His dad looked at his son and silently nodded.

"They are good friends; I am glad I got to know them." He said with a gloomy expression.

Then the corners of Jonathan's face started to curl up. "Ah I see what your plan is; I'll help you to the best of my capabilities."

Caelus was confused. "What are you talking about, old man?"

"I distracted the parents so you can have a nice date with your lovely Edith. But don't do anything rash, God said, Marry first; children follow...."

"DAD, SHUT UP."

The stew in their bowls was now cold, but the conversations that followed were warm.

It was a night to be remembered.