“Hey kid, are you still here?” Hermon walked into the room. “Didn’t the doc say you could leave if you wanted?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like I have anywhere to go.”
“Smith wants to see you. You could go there.”
“The blacksmith?”
“He feels bad that he couldn’t convince you to live with him when you were young.”
I smiled at the memory of the blacksmith. He always tried to lure me into an apprenticeship with food. I would take the food and run. “Well, no one came into the store when I lived with him. Even though he was starving, he gave me all the food.”
“He has always been a weird fellow. When you disappeared, he went door to door, yelling at everyone. I’m ashamed that he was the only person in this village who cared for you. We were so scared about the prophecy that we blinded ourselves to a child in need.
“I’ll go see him. He is the only person in this village I have fond memories of, after all.”
Hermon shifted uncomfortably,” I think he would like that.”
The villagers crowded the streets around the hospital. As I walked out, many of them averted their attention from me. They parted as I walked past all of them. Ignoring their pleading eyes and ashamed glances, I made my way to the building that smelt of burning metal. The heat burned my nose as I walked into the shop.
“Kid!” A burly man with a singed beard and smut on his face walked out of the back room. He picked me up, giving me the biggest hug. “I was worried about you. You should have said something if you were leaving.”
“Ah… Sorry.”
“It’s all good. You found a place to call home. That’s all I wanted for you. Why don’t you head upstairs?”
“Are you not coming?”
“Hermon left some of Leah’s- your mom’s diaries upstairs, and I figured you would want to read them on your own. I found them a year ago and asked him to translate them.”
“Okay, but I don’t mind.”
“I have to finish some stuff down here anyways,” Smith paused for a second, “You do remember how to read, right?”
“Yeah, I gained two new teachers after you taught me.”
“That’s good to hear.” Smith smiled underneath his mustache.
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