Pastries

In her village Rebecca is known as a healer.  She lives a simple life and at the age of twenty-one she gives birth to an exceptional child. Since the day the exceptional child was born the ancestors wake up the grandfather when he is asleep and speak the same words over and over.  Ten years pass before Rebecca’s parents have the courage to prompt her to leave the remote village, taking the exceptional child with.  They promise her treasures to trade for a room and food until she can find a job and ensure the best education for her exceptional child.

One month later Rebecca and her exceptional child’s bags are packed and the elderly couple calls for the village to invoke divine favor upon them. The night fills with many narratives and recollections to their own, each villager serving Rebecca and her exceptional child with homegrown wisdom.

Living on the outskirts of the remote village is the only writer who hands Rebecca an envelope with an address on for this will be their solely link to past connections. Once Rebecca has a place she must find another writer and send word on the exceptional child’s progress.

Past midnight Rebecca’s childhood friend takes her hand and leads her to the well-known haven for a sleep over. They recall times together, finding the queen of ants and causing havoc when they ran away to spend time on the banks of the river, planning their future. At cockcrow and many herbal teas later Rebecca rises above her doubts and fears, takes her bags, the exceptional child and leaves with a promise to render homage and gratitude in a years time.

Things turn out to be quite expensive in the far-from-home town and Rebecca realizes that the treasures will not trade for much longer than a month. She frantically searches for a descent job and in the nick of time Rebecca gets one at a local store to pay for the nice room with a wood-burning stove close to the exceptional child’s school.

The job has its challenges, but Rebecca keeps her spirits high and works eight to five. A couple of weeks later she knows every customer’s preferences and as some share their personal matters with the healer the store for them become a lucky break. To tell the truth, Rebecca enjoys the heightened action her life journey takes her on. Enshrined between her hips is the quest for getting to know the world apart from the village.

However, when it comes to payday the merchant starts giving Rebecca stale or expired products and deducts random amounts from her wages. He is either a day late or a day’s work short. Rebecca monuments to courage and asks the merchant the just behind this unfair dealings. The merchant assures her that she will get back the moneys he owes her as soon as business picks up. This doesn’t make sense for the store has as far as Rebecca can tell a good turnover and unhappiness grows in her talk.

Getting another job is an option, but the jam is to approach the other merchants without stirring.  At least she has some kind of an income. Without moneys her exceptional child will have to give up the dream to rise in this world and she will face the village’s tongue-lash for treasures woefully wasted.

Her childhood friend often visits her at night, but comes daybreak the dreams are forsaken guises. If only Rebecca could look into the eyes and speak into the ears of her childhood friend.  

In the evenings she cooks proper meals, often using recipes from her village where nothing beats the smell of home to conquer their deep longing for the village people’s closeness. Sometimes her exceptional child takes Rebecca’s bony hands and Rebecca then feels the question that weighs down the exceptional child’s shoulders, but she also realizes that neither of them will know what to do once the answer to the question is known.

On the first Monday of the third month of their staying in the far-from-home town Rebecca walks her exceptional child to school and then makes a left turn towards the store. She finds the store emptied from the inside, like vultures feasted on a carcass overnight. 

Troubled she knocks at the door, but no one is there to answer her call. The cobbler next-door finds Rebecca on the doorstep and hands her a few envelopes that the merchant left behind. Upon request he reads the letter from the only writer sharing the news of her childhood friend’s illness. Rebecca’s hand goes to her chest to slow down the wild drumming of her heart. In the next envelope is a notice that her job has been terminated, but without moneys. In disbelieve the cobbler urges her not to allow the unjust and hands her the name of an elder that might be able to help her in this regard. Even though suppressed, her calling to heal probes her into exploring the reasons for the unworthy treatment.  

The well-versed elder listens to the troublesome circumstance that she has worked under and agrees to assist her in writing a letter to the runaway merchant. The well-versed elder explains to Rebecca that this might take some time with no guarantee for a favorable outcome. Back home Rebecca hides the letters under her mattress and cooks rice to eat with the leftover chicken.

By the end of the month and because Rebecca hasn’t received word from the well-versed elder, she shares her despair with her exceptional child. After a long to an fro they decide rather than making a shameful return to their village they will approach the landlord and trade their time and willingness to clean the premise until Rebecca finds another job. The landlord agrees on his terms and as the days go by the list of chores grows. Rebecca and after school her exceptional child work relentlessly to secure their room. When dying of thirst one cannot refuse water says the exceptional child and waters the bedding.

A month later Rebecca receives a letter from the well-versed elder and takes this to the landlord. According to the well-versed elder he had to go through a lot of trouble and travels to deliver Rebecca’s letter that was not well received. Anger wells up in her. Not only is she without moneys and a job, but also their welfare is at stake and the prospect of visiting her sick childhood friend set aside. The well-versed elder writes that Rebecca in fact owes the merchant moneys for expensive products that he allegedly treated her and the exceptional child with.  For the inconvenience and trouble dealing with the merchant, the well-versed elder attaches his bill.

Framed by the window on the glass that Rebecca sponges is her face. She voices her disbelieve to her reflection. How did this happen? One person wronged her and now she is kept accountable for many claims against her.  Was that unsuited of her to attempt proving righteousness by pointing in the erroneously direction? The bucket on the top of the ladder wiggles when Rebecca descents. Is her taking action against her debtor as immoral as him withholding her moneys?

Appalled by the desperate situation she asks the landlord for a day off. Rebecca needs time to go around and look for a job, but the landlord doesn’t find her reasoning appropriate. Since when is the leftover vegetables from his kitchen and the generous offer to free boarding not enough? 

Market day is on a Wednesday and when the landlord finally sends Rebecca to pick up some bulbs to grow in the garden, she uses the opportunity to ask around for work. A regular that used to buy cat food from the store where she worked overhears the conversation and pulls Rebecca aside.  They converse in light talk before she enquires about Rebecca’s availability.   The regular gets them tea in plastic cups and bread on sticks to enjoy under the weathered umbrellas. The regular has a kindness to her that reminds Rebecca of the sweet smell when walking past an orange tree in blossom. She inhales the lightness of the air as she walks home with a hand drawn map, a bus ticket and a twain promise of a job.

That evening the exceptional child brings home a box with the finest pastries. After the scanty meal that consists mainly out of pumpkin, they sit next to the wood-burning stove and at first heedful try the ambrosia before enjoying the culinary perfection to the last crumb. Rebecca doesn’t ask where the exceptional child got this from and the exceptional child befittingly avoids from spilling the truth.

The bus stops in an adorable neighborhood where the houses wear red hats and embroider on the apron-gardens are daisies and roses. Inside the home of the regular needle workers pin, cut and sew colorful fabrics into dresses. Rebecca soaks in the restoring atmosphere circling above the cheerful critter-clatter of the needle workers.  If only she could earn enough to purchase one of the dresses for her childhood friend, her neck will hold up her head. The days to come resemble the comfort of her village. She listens to the needle workers’ narratives and takes their advice on how to deal with unfortunate incidents. When Rebecca takes the bus home and despite of her fatigue she feels strong and alleviated from the heft that thins her breathing.

One evening her exceptional child meets Rebecca at the bus stop and can hardly wait to read the letters that came in the mail out loud. The first letter is from the well-versed elder who informs Rebecca that the merchant fell sick due to her enquiry and has added the medical costs as well as escalating interest to the bill. Rebecca now owes them double the amount they first claimed from her. The second letter is without word from the writer; it has a green feather from a wild goose inside. Falling with her face in the dirt, Rebecca outcries her misfortune. Her childhood friend must have crossed the river.   The exceptional child helps her onto her feet and walks her home, the third letter from the school crammed for later.

Rebecca attends the year-end concert where the exceptional child gets an award for outstanding achievement. Braced by passion the headmaster announces the exceptional child’s all expenses paid placement in the School of Chefs, located in the Capital City some two hundred miles away. Rebecca wishes the elderly couple to see her standing between the treasures to trade from her remote village as the exceptional child accepts the praise.

The day after Rebecca pays the regular for a dress to bury her childhood friend in, but fails to catch the last bus home. From inside the red hat houses the yellow lights linger on the spicy smells eventually escaping from the chimneys.   The streets are deserted and the wind instruments temperatures dropping below freezing.  Rebecca keeps walking until her feet make a defiant stand in the alley between the garbage bins. She takes the dress for the childhood friend’s burial out and pulls that over her head while admitting to the soul dark night that she placed her healing in escrow and forfeited a world unknown.

After graduation in the Capitol City the exceptional child finds the way back to remote village where the only writer that lived on the outskirts of the village crossed the river after being bitten by a venomous snake many years ago.  The elderly couple that has grown in years calls for the village’s people to receive the exceptional child back.

That night the childhood friend takes the exceptional child by the hand and together they walk to the bank of the river.  The exceptional child listens to the childhood friend’s miraculous healing after one night Rebecca showed her where the wild geese were nesting.

Drifting on the water and attached to a piece of wood is the feather that the childhood friend sent Rebecca in an envelope without a letter some years ago.

The wind carries the message in its pockets; the fragrance of an orange tree in blossom wreathes upon them as they let go of the healer. The voices of the ancestors die down.

Photograph courtesy of Chris Photography