Yay! Ch.5. Just on the side. Moogie, don\'t quit your story.
Chapter 5
\"You have as much a right to life as any other, unless you yourself destroy that right.\" ~Jedi
The golden globe of the Sun rose to find Jedi standing alone on Eagles Peek overlooking Ganemede. The wind blew over him, ruffling his shirt and billowing his trench coat. He stood unmoving, his eyes fixed on the horizon. Memories of the war had plagued him the whole night, constantly driving sleep from him. He was torn with longing for his Kitara, but every time he thought about her he was overcome with such a sense of anger and bitterness that he could barely restrain himself from unsheathing his sword and drive it into the earth in rage. He had said it before and he would say it again, life was not fair.
It was one of the strangest things that had ever happened to him, his parting with Kitara. It was not be his will. He had been sure that she had loved him and the feeling was more than mutual, but one day after a short scouting mission to a nearby Tallic settlement, on which she had gone alone, she had returned with a strange gleam in her eyes. She had walked right up to him, looked him in the eye, and said that their relationship was finished. She could not have stunned him more if she had run him through and, sometimes, he wished she had. They had had a long argument about it. It seemed that she had just stopped loving him. He didn\'t see how that was possible, true love could never die, but in the end he had told her to get out of his sight. If she could so defile their relationship with such lack of couth, he would rather she leave and never return. She was not worthy to stand in his presence until she learned the meaning of love and came to value it. He had thought she already knew. She left that day and he never saw her again. The first few nights he spent curled up on the ground in his tent and couldn\'t sleep for his silent crying. She had been everything to him. He had cried and begged God that he would change her mind, nothing changed.
Finally, he had gotten over his broken heart and had gone cold. He only left his tent when he was needed and he talked only so much as was needed to make his point. He began leading the battles himself partly in the heedless need for blood, and partly out of hope that he would be struck down and thereby bring an end to his misery. Eventually, he began to trust people again and take fewer risks. He learned to put a layer of calm and joviality over the gaping rift in his heart. For the most part, it worked, but every now and again the layer of calm would shred away and the raw hurt would swarm through. This was when he considered himself most weak. It happened at times of extreme emotional stress. After every instance he would close himself again, but it was only a short while before he mended the layer and was calm again.
He could never forget Kitara and what she had meant to him. She had given him a reason for living. When she broke away, he had been left drifting in his own dark thoughts. No purpose, save the pale needs of the army. He had persevered in hopes that someday she might return. He often thought back on their last words with at least a tinge of regret. He knew his words were true, but he wished he could have told her in a way softer way. Maybe he could have turned her around.
The noise of footsteps brought him out of his reverie and directed his attention to the path leading up to his vantage point. Through the foliage and underbrush, making his way towards him was none other than Tom. Jedi frowned, puzzled, then he suddenly remembered his errand that he was supposed to run for Tom. He cursed himself silently. Watching Tom\'s approach he knew he was in for it now. Jedi looked around and considered running, but Tom was too close now.
Jedi waved down to Tom, \"Hello, there!\" Maybe Tom had forgotten and this was just a friendly visit. Jedi grimaced, he knew it wasn\'t. Tom never forgot.
Tom, a haggard old man, plenty strong for all of his years, waved back jovially, \"Ahoy! I say, it is a mighty hot day, isn\'t it?\"
Jedi grinned. No matter how bad things were, Tom could always make life seem brighter, \"Indeed, it is!\"
Tom finally broke away from the foliage into the clearing and began brushing burs from his weathered old clothes. He was dressed in his customary brown woollen shirt and dark brown woollen pants. It was no wonder he was hot. He sometimes wondered why Tom never wore anything else, but since old people often picked up strange habits, he had simply attributed it to that. Tom was certainly very strange.
After cleaning himself up as best he could, Tom huffed, \"Why young people always insist on hiding themselves in the most inaccessible places makes me wonder sometimes.\" He looked up and appraised Jedi, \"Well, my boy. How are things with you?\"
Jedi chuckled. He looked out over the village, \"Well, I guess.\"
Tom nodded and turned serious, \"I saw you leave town last night. What was it that upset you so?\"
The mirth drained from Jedi\'s expression. He tightened his jaw, \"I\'d rather not talk about it.\"
Tom shuffled over and stood beside Jedi at the edge of the cliff, \"You really should tell me I can help.\"
Jedi closed his eyes and shook his head, \"No you can\'t. Besides, that was last night. It doesn\'t matter. It\'s in the past.\"
Tom gave Jedi a searching look, \"The past can come back to haunt you.\"
\"I know.\"
Tom stood watching Jedi for a minute. Then he took Jedi\'s arm and gently tugged him down, \"Come, sit down. I want to tell you something.\"
Grudgingly Jedi sat, dangling his legs over the precipice. Tom did likewise. They both sat there watching the horizon for a short while. Then Tom spoke.
\"When I was your age, I used to be a very reckless young man. I used to do things that weren\'t very smart and often ended up landing me in trouble.\" He looked over to make sure Jedi was listening, \"For the most part, they were trivial things, like stealing a chicken or vandalizing someone\'s house. They were small acts of cruelty that gave me pleasure.\"
Jedi raised an eyebrow. Tom had never seemed to him to be a sadistic character. Sure he had his secrets and his past, but nobody every really questioned him about it and he seemed more than happy to keep it hidden. Tom continued.
\"One time, my friends and I were trying to think up some new act of cruelty when the town caretaker walked by. He was an old man, decrepit in his age, and half blind. Nobody really liked him, at least they did not show it outwardly, but they respected him for his wisdom. It was then that I hit upon a grand new prank. My mother often kept herbs in her cupboard because she was a medicine lady. I decided to take some of her medicines and slip them into his drink. Nothing lethal, of course, I was not a murderer, but something that would make him sick for a week or so. I didn\'t share this plan with my friends; I wanted to keep all of the fun for myself. So I excused myself and went home.
\"That night I went through my mom\'s cupboard and tried to find something that would work. My mother had been called away to another village earlier that day so she had taken many of her herbs with her. However, I still managed to find a sprig of Malk Thyme. Now Malk Thyme, when ground into a powder was very useful in curing minor diseases such as the flu and cold, but if it was consumed when in good health, it was the cause of severe stomach aches. They lasted for days and nothing would take the pain away except a stupefying drug known as Klyrol. For some reason the thought of seeing the town caretaker stumbling around in a stupor was funny to me then.
\"Anyways, I took the Malk Thyme and ground it up with mom\'s mortar and pestle. I took the powder and hid it in a little leather bag. The next day I snuck into the caretaker\'s house. The old man was napping at the kitchen table; his kettle of tea was sitting close by. I quietly poured the powder into the drink and silently snuck out again.
\"The next day word was around the town. The caretaker was deathly sick. I asked several people what had happened in order to keep up appearances, but I found something sickeningly frightening. The caretaker was very allergic to Malk Thyme and it was thought he might die. Stricken with guilt and humbled by barely withheld tears, I went to the caretaker and told him what I\'d done. I apologized. He asked me if I meant it. I told him I did, from the bottom of my heart.
\"At that, the old caretaker smiled. To my surprise, he got up; his pain seemed to have disappeared. He chuckled in a knowing way and told me why. He had known that it was me who put the Malk Thyme in his tea. He had been watching me when I did it. He had not drunk the tea. That night he had called together some men and women and told them to spread gossip that he had taken sick and that he might die. He wasn\'t allergic to Malk Thyme at all; it was all part of his web of gossip.
\"When he finished his tale, I looked him in the eye and asked him why he did it. He smiled at me and said, \'To test you, Tom. I\'ve been watching and testing you for a long time now. This was the final obstacle, the test of purity. Congratulations, Tom. You are now the future caretaker of this town.\' With that he dismissed me.
\"At that moment I gained an infinite respect for him and his wisdom. We talked much after that. He would often call me and ask me what I thought about a situation and what my decisions would be. He died several months later, much to the dismay of the entire village, and I inherited the mantle of caretaker.\"
Tom finished his story and glanced over at Jedi, sitting beside him watching intently, \"I was given the title of caretaker because I believe that I know what\'s best for people. Do you?\"
Jedi blinked and turned to look at Ganemede far below, \"I used to think so. I tried to lead once and we succeeded, but it was at great cost, both to me and everyone else.\"
Tom smiled knowingly and put an arm around Jedi\'s shoulders, \"Yes, I did hear about a famous general who led the TriLegion army to victory. They say he was a great and powerful man who could stand up to hordes of Tallics and laugh in the face of death. Some say he saved many lives, by personally cutting through towering enemy forces to retrieve wounded soldiers.\"
Jedi grimaced and shook his head, \"That wasn\'t what it was like.\"
Tom nodded again, \"I know, but it\'s all in how you look at things.\"
Jedi sighed, \"Yes, I guess so.\"
\"Now tell me, what\'s bothering you?\"
Jedi stared down at his hands folded in his lap and considered for a while. Finally, he looked up, \"They say it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. I guess I should count myself fortunate.\"
\"Ah, now I understand. Was she a good woman?\"
Jedi shrugged, \"I thought so.\"
Tom gave Jedi\'s shoulder a squeeze, \"Don\'t worry, lad. Maybe things will work out in the end. Now, how about that errand I gave you?\" Tom got up and stretched his back.
Jedi too got to his feet, \"I forgot about it. I should be on my way.\"
Tom nodded, \"Indeed, you should. It\'ll help you get your mind off of this dark business.\"
Jedi sniffed, \"I highly doubt it.\"
Tom shrugged, \"Maybe not, but you might be surprised. Pay attention during your visit, you may yet discover something to cheer yourself up. Now, get along. You\'ll never get there unless you start moving. I\'ll just stay up here a while. Good luck.\"
Jedi smiled, \"And to you, Tom. I should be back by tomorrow afternoon.\"
\"Oh, I don\'t think you will.\" Tom had a strange, almost coy look in his eyes, \"But enough talk. Get going.\"
Jedi bowed, turned and strode off onto the path through the underbrush that led to the base of the cliff.
