The Center of the World - 8. The Road East

On an autumn evening Pireno and Saghir reached Pireno’s old village. Their journey east had followed many days in Luzig, meeting with Galipo and then with the city council, to consider conditions for a permanent trading establishment on the Island of Broken Bones. Galipo had given them a pack horse for their travels. The weather was much warmer than when had they traveled west, and they took a more southerly route.

Apprehensive about how the villagers might receive their visit, Pireno led Saghir to the house of Heskelion, who greeted them warmly and gave them shelter for the night.

In the morning they decided to risk entering the village. Reactions ranged from disapproval to terror. There was a lot of scurrying away and slamming of doors.

Saghir wanted to visit the place where Finlar died and the place where his body was burned. He didn’t sing a death song; Izalis had done that. Here he just knelt and cried.

They came to the place where they had first seen each other, where Ishkandur had died and the blacksmith and others were executed. “That day,” Saghir said, “I think, very, very bad day. Ishkandur die. Then you say word and I see you. I think, how can this thing be same day with that thing? How can heart so far down, then heart so far up, same day? How can same world give two thing so not same?”

“You were so sad, and you were so handsome. I knew I wasn’t supposed to like you, but I did. I knew I was supposed to be afraid of you, and I was, a little, but I didn’t want to run away from you. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

They walked to the smithy, which seemed deserted. Inside, nothing had changed since Pireno’s abrupt departure.

Pireno put a hand to the cold fireplace. “You asked me that first day if I liked it when the smith fucked me. And I said yes, which was true enough. The sex was what I minded least about him. He was a good blacksmith but a terrible businessman. I was always having to calm down customers whose orders were late, rush to finish things he couldn’t seem to get around to, scrape together money to pay his bills. And he was always blaming someone else for his shortcomings. I was just a kid and I had to be the responsible one. It made me lose respect for him. I know it’s hard-hearted, but I really never missed him. I thought he was foolish and he got what he deserved.”

He picked up a wisp of straw. “I was ready for a change when you came along. So many happy memories here, and one, big, final, bad memory.”

Saghir moved to hold him. “That day, last bad memory, not hafta be last memory. Now can, you with I make new last memory this place.”

“Wait a minute -- are you suggesting --?”

“Not other here. Other not see.”

“You’re a bad influence.”

“Ya.”

“I’ve always liked that about you.”

************

An hour later, on the street, they saw one woman who did not run from them -- Vella. She waved to Pireno and trotted up to them. “Pireno! Well, this is a surprise.” She regarded Saghir. “And this is a bigger surprise.”

“Master, this is Vella. Vella, this is my master Saghir. He agreed to take me back. I’ll stick with him as long as he’ll have me.”

Saghir nodded to her. “Vila.”

Vella looked from one to the other a few times and finally laughed, “Well, I’ll be damned. Pireno, don’t you look like the cat that just ate the extremely large canary. I guess I was completely wrong. You two look -- how can I put it -- happy together.”

“Couldn’t be happier.”

“Come to my house. I want to show you something.” Vella linked arms with Pireno and took Saghir’s hand. At her house, her gaggle of brats parted for them -- except for a girl just learning to walk, who screamed with joy and headed straight for Saghir.

“This is Juna. She’s just over a year old.”

Pireno was surprised. “Just a year? She’s huge. She’s walking. She’s practically running.”

“Big!” Juna said, grinning at Saghir.

“And talking!”

“Yep, for two months already,” Vella said. “She’s not mine. Her mother died when she was born. Her father,” she looked at Saghir, “was one of the giants.”

"He half giant?” Saghir was having trouble taking this in, and shaking her off. She clung to his ankle despite his efforts to shoo her away. She thought this was a great game.

“There were babies from the occupation,” Vella said. “Some were stillborn. And then some died. And when husbands came home, they didn’t want a baby that wasn’t their own, especially not -- mixed. So babies died of ‘crib death’ or ‘a sudden illness,’ and no one asked questions. Juna is the only one left. And people give me grief about her all the time.”

“Vella, this was very generous of you, taking in a child who isn’t your own.”

“I didn’t think it was right, what people were doing. I figured somebody had to take her, and nobody else would. To say she’s a handful doesn’t begin to cover it. But this is the easy part. What’s going to happen to her? There is no place for her. She’ll always be the odd one out.”

“I see what you mean.”

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this, except that you two are a man and a giant, together, and that sort of puts you in the awkward in-between position, too.”

“Yes, we’ve felt some of that.”

Saghir frowned. Juna was trying to climb up his leg. “What he want? Go! Go!”

Vella smiled. “Pick her up. She won’t bite. Actually I can’t guarantee that.”

Saghir bent down and gingerly lifted Juna, took a cautious sniff, and quickly set her down again. “You hafta wash he.”

“Oo, you’re right. Sorry. It’s so hard to keep up. Follow me.”

She continued talking as she carried Juna to a washtub behind her house. Saghir kept a wary eye on the child as she gazed at him raptly. Pireno ventured a question.

“Vella, why did you say what you said to me, about giants not falling in love?”

Vella tossed Juna’s diaper into a bucket, swabbed her, and dunked her in cold water, which didn’t seem to bother her at all. “What can I say? I was dead wrong. I thought it was true, that giants don’t love. That was my experience.”

“Your experience?”

“Oh, yes. The giants came through here once before, you know, long before I met my husband. Back when I was a sweet young thing. I know, it’s hard to picture. One of the giants tagged me as his slave, and I was kind of crazy about him. But all he wanted was a housekeeper and a short-term bed-warmer. When that bunch left, he had no interest in taking me along. Call me bitter, but I guess I got the wrong idea about them. Some of them, anyway. Certainly looks like you found a keeper.”

Saghir raised his head with dignity and said, “You have no idea.”

************

Soon Pireno and Saghir were back on the road east. At every village they asked where the giants had gone, and people were only too glad to tell them if it got rid of the odd pair.

Saghir coached Pireno on what to say to the giants. In fact, together they prepared a speech for him.

“Master, this sounds so formal. Are you thinking that I would say this in shiluntam?”

“Ya, if giant let.”

“But I’m just a slave. Would they really let a slave speak?”

“You not ‘justa’ slave. You slave by Saghir. I show you in shiluntam, I ask you say word, maybe they let, maybe they not let. They choose.”

Pireno was still thinking about Juna. “Master, I feel sorry for that little girl. She’ll never be accepted in that village. I doubt that she would be accepted even in Luzig, or the Imperial capital.”

“Ya, bad for he. Man not like half giant, and same, giant not like half giant.”

“If only there were a place with both men and giants, and she could grow up there.”

“Not! Not, not, not, not, not! He not come to island.”

“She. The child is a she.”

“She, he, not concern. He-she not come to island.”

“She’s going to outgrow what Vella can provide.”

“He smell bad. He all time on foot by I.”

“We’re in a position to help her. And no one else is.”

Saghir stopped and looked severely at Pireno. “We not know, we live on island. We not know, we find giant. If find giant, hafta bring same mind for trade house. We not know many thing, hafta bring all, for live on island. After find giant, after shiluntam, if giant same mind for trade, then we say word on child. Not say word now.” He faced forward and started walking again.

“Well, you will think about it, won’t you?”

“Bilinu! Not say word now! Who master, who slave?”

“Well, of course you’re the master and I’m the slave. You’re a very good, wise, and loving master. You always do what is right. You will know the right thing to do.”

Saghir shook his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. “I know this thing you do. ‘I have my ways.’ Fff! Now you not say ‘Oh, Master, please.’ You not do little dance now. You know I not can say not, when you do little dance. So you not do now. I, your master Saghir, say this.”

Pireno ran ahead, touched his toes and stretched.

“This not fair. You not do this.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not dancing.”

Saghir ran up and grabbed Pireno, picked him up and slung him over his shoulder.

“Oh! Oh!” Pireno cried in falsetto. “A giant is carrying me off! Oh, won’t somebody help me? I don’t know what he might do! He might ... slap me!”

“Ya, I slap you. Hafta. You bad balan.”

They didn’t make much progress on their journey the rest of that day.