The soft lyrics drifted out through the gently draped windows, the sound muffled by the thin black gauze that draped across the window’s glass.  A young boy with a shot of red hair stood on a large hill with seas of grass.  In the distance, he could see the land roll and sink as if he were on the cliffs of his fair home watching the sea.  His mother had dressed him in a bright blue garb which projected an image of happiness that contrasted with his purple-tinged eyes and tear-streaked face.  His hair was a mess, as always, and, in the events of the day, his mother hadn’t bothered to try and tame it.  Long before, he had kicked off his temple shoes and stood barefoot in the grass. 

Clenching his fists, the boy ground his teeth in anger, which burned inside of him, making his throat hurt and his eyes sting.  The wind that always seemed to whisper in his family’s land, brushed against him, but he ignored it, focusing his anger on the distant skyline.  A lamb mewed and a cow lowed.  Stupid animals was all he thought.  They didn’t even know when it was time to be quiet. 

A tinkling of broken and strained laughter filtered from the house behind him.  It caused his shoulders to bunch up in rage.  They were all laughing and having a good old time.  Didn’t they realize she was gone? …she…she was gone…a fresh wave of bitter anger splashed over him and he choked on his own breathe.

Damn the Three Eyed Cąȶ.

“Cah?” a voice squeaked causing the little red-haired boy to spin around.

Another boy was standing there in his temple bests, his hair neat and orderly, and his shoes still on.

“What do you want?” the first boy snapped.

The sight of the second boy made the first one tighten his fists again. Holding the gaze of the second boy, the first one sneered in disgust.  The new boy was only slightly smaller than the first, his eyes a rich blue, his hair the same dark red.  They could have easily passed for twins except for the smaller boy had a less distinctive nose and a more prominent, but weaker chin.  

“Ma wants you,” the second boy said gently. 

He knew he had to tread softly for his cousin’s temper was well known in the family. 

“She can come and get me then!”

“Cah, don’t be difficult today,” his smaller cousin sighed.

Their heavy Alᵫmdaun accents made their words melodic. 

“Shut up!  None of your damn business what I do!  You’re just a little igit anyway!”

Turning away from his cousin, the first boy brewed.  He wasn’t in the mood to take care of his little cousin as he always was.  It wasn’t fair that he always had to do what everyone else said.  They could just bugger off today.  No one understood what he was going through.  No could understand but her…and she was…

“You aren’t the only one who lost her, you know,” his cousin sniffed.

His cousin’s eyes welled up with large tears. Twirling around, the larger boy snarled like a rabid dog.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me!  We all loved Katherine!  You aren’t the only one who lost her!”

“Shut up!”

“No! You’re so selfish, Cah!  Ma is crying now too and so is everyone else! You act like you’re the only one in the world who cared about Katherine!”

“Stop talking about her!”

“No! Katherine was my friend too!  I loved Katherine just as much as you did!”

With a bellow, the first boy flung himself at his cousin.  Hitting him right in the chest with his broad shoulders, the first boy rammed down the second.  In a tumble of red hair and rapidly tearing clothes, the boys fought.  It didn’t take long though for the bigger one to be on top and to start throwing rapid punches at the body and face of the little one.  Tears mixed in with the cries of anger and grief.  The smaller cousin did the best he could to cover his face as blood dripped from a fractured nose.  Nothing could stop the first boy, his anger and grief flooding out of him like a broken damn.  He hated his cousin.  He hated his family.  He hated the world. He hated the damn Three-Eyed Cąȶ.

“Cah, you stop that right now!” a velvet voice that crashed like a hammer screeched.

Hands pulled the fighting boys apart, holding them far from each other.  Echoes of concern surrounded the smaller one as bustles of feminine color surrounded him, wiping at his face and straightening his clothes.

“Eva, control that child of yours!” a woman snapped.

The woman stood with her hand wrapped around the small boy, hiding him in her skirts.

“I am sorry, Abigail. He’s too much like his father sometimes.  He doesn’t know how to express his grief,” the velvet voice said.

The owner of the voice placed an iron hand on the first boy’s shoulder, holding him tightly. Looking up, the first boy gazed spitefully into the cool, passive face of his mother.  Her long red hair, which usually was pinned up in an elegant bun, was loose around her shoulders.  Her bone structure was neither delicate nor husky.  She wore a bright yellow dress that had flowers sown on it and a handspun shawl around her shoulders.  The eyes that flashed down at him were luminous but mixed matched, like his.  One shone a soft green and the other soft gray; although, currently both held dangerous steel. 

“Please, return to the festivities,” Eva waved at the crowd that had gathered. “I will talk to my boy.”

There were some consenting grunts and great looks of disapproval as they shuffled back into the house.  The second boy clung to his mother’s skirts, not even bothering to look back at his cousin.  Eva ignored the snippets she heard regarding her son’s behavior and temper.

Her son focused his eyes on the ground, refusing to look at her.  Sighing, Eva pulled her skirts forward and sat down on the hill’s soft ground.  Her boy didn’t move.  So stubborn.  For a moment they stayed in silence. 

“It’s okay to miss her, Cah,” his mother finally whispered.

Her eyes wavered only slightly. 

Cah said nothing, sniffing faintly.  He was trying to not cry in front of his mother. 

“We all miss her, Cah.  Katherine was important to the family, but you do her no favors by fighting with little Coni.”

“He started it!”

“Did he?  And how did he do that?”

Eva shifted her weight and looked at her son earnestly.  Despite the kindness in her gaze, Cah felt as if she was piercing him with her eyes.  It was his turn to shift his weight.

“He said he loved Katherine.”

“And you think he didn’t?”

“No…”

“Then what is so bad that he loved Katherine”

“I loved Katherine.”

“So you both cannot love her?  I loved her, Cah.  Does that mean you want to fight me?”

Cah couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of his mother.  Why would he fight her?  She was a girl and she could love Katherine.  That didn’t matter.

“Why do you laugh, boy?”

“You’re my ma.  I’d never fight you.  You’d wallop me.”

It was Eva’s turn to smile.

“Your damn right, laddie. So why can’t Coni love Katherine?”

Becoming silent, Cah didn’t reply.  His chest ached as he thought of Katherine.  She had been but seven when the fever had taken her body.  Her hair had been a gentle black, kept short and light.  Her smile had been infectious and she had always followed Cah around like a kitten after its mother.  Everyone loved Katherine.  Cah could still see her freckled face giggling as he showed her a new card trick he had learned from his da. 

“Cah?”

“Because I loved her.”

“Can’t she be loved by everyone?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because Katherine was mine.”

“She was yours?  How so?”

“I loved her.  We were going to get married one day.”

“Oh.”

Finally understanding the situation, Eva watched the sky for moment as a bird, too high to identify, flew across it.  First love was always tough.

“Katherine loved you a great deal, Cah.  But she loved many people.  You can’t keep someone just to yourself.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not fair.  A person is not a dog or animal that you chain to yourself.  They must choose you and vice versa.  Would it be right if your da kept me all to himself?  So that I could never love you?”

“Da wouldn’t do that!”

“But you’re trying to do that with Katherine’s memory.”

Frowning Cah looked at his mother than quickly away.

“Do you know why we Alᵫmdaun celebrate at funerals? Why we were bright colors, eat lots of food, and dance?”

“No…”

“We do it, so we remember the life of the person.  Their life was a gift and even their death is a gift from the Three-Eyed Cąȶ.”

“A gift?  The Three-Eyed Cąȶ only cursed us.”

“That is enough.  Do not speak of things you do not understand.  The Three-Eyed Cąȶ did bring Death to our world, but Death brought life and the promise of eternity with our loved ones in Nӕse. The Three-Eyed Cąȶ is a life-giver, not a curse. You insult their gift, the gift of the Deity, and the gift that was Katherine’s life by acting this way. By not allowing Coni and everyone else to express their love for her.

 “But I loved her, ma.”

“You did and you always will, but Coni or me loving her doesn’t take away from the way you loved her.  It’s different. Do you understand?”

“No.”

Staring into her stubborn son’s eyes, Eva felt her heart ache for the boy.  His two different color eyes marked him, she knew.  They tied him to the Three-Eyed Cąȶ and to Death. Sighing Eva grabbed her son by the waist and pulled him into her lap.  He struggled for a moment but stopped when her arms wrapped around him and hugged him to her body.

“You’re such a stubborn boy.  Woe be the woman who catches your heart.”

“Why do you say that, ma?”

“Because once you find her, you won’t ever let her go, even if it means grabbing the Three-Eyed Cąȶ’s tails.”