It was raining and there wasn’t anything to be done. Alaban sat at the table crushing plants while Keenin sat in front of the fire. He had been told that he didn’t need to do anything and Alaban had already taken charge of his usual job so Keenin figured he could at least keep the fire going.

The only reason he could think of to leave the house was to bring in more wood, but there was enough stacked inside so his excuse would have been suspicious. With his prospects for getting out to quickly pay the fee ruined already, he could only worry where this money would come from. It wasn’t a motivating position.

As he gloomily watched the fire, Keenin wondered if he could urge it to burn faster and he could almost see the flames jumping higher at the thought, but the logs disintegrated as slowly as always. He took the fire poker off its hook and prodded at the ashes in a continued attempt to stave off his boredom.

“Did those thieves say anything to you yesterday?” Alaban asked.

Keenin stopped harassing the flames and slid the poker out of the ash to hang back on the hook.

“I didn’t see them,” Keenin replied.

He looked over at the wood pile to select the next piece. Keenin wasn’t always good at lying. He hoped that if he made himself look preoccupied he would be left alone. Alaban didn’t ask further. He started coughing. Keenin looked over as the man rose from his chair and stood holding a hand against his chest. He continued coughing so hard that Keenin started to worry, but he couldn’t think of what to do.

“The shelf,” Alaban wheezed out before launching into another fit.

Keenin went over immediately.

“Lowest. Behind the jars. Give me the bottle.”

Keenin pushed aside the jars on the lower shelf to expose a small bottle full of a yellow substance. He brought this over to Alaban who took out the stopper and drank down the liquid. His coughing eased up and stopped with a sign. Alaban breathed steadily once more.

“Are you going to be alright?” Keenin asked.

“Sometimes the pollen gets into my chest,” Alaban explained.

He sat back down and started cleaning up the mess of discarded plants.

“I think I’ve done enough today. And Keenin, you know you shouldn’t lie to me.”

“What?” Keenin said.

“About those thieves. You’re not the only one who saw them. Since you came back in one piece I assume they wanted something.”

“Even if they did say something it’s none of your business,” Keenin told him.

The old guy should have stayed out of it.

“When you’re in my house it is my business and you’re in my care. Do you think that I want my house robbed or you killed while I’m off selling potions?”

Keenin wanted to say that it was Alaban’s fault for making him stay, but Keenin was the one who had begged to replace the stolen goods.

“They wanted money,” Keenin confessed.

“How much?” 

“What does it matter?" 

“I think I would prefer to give it than have it stolen,” Alaban returned, as Keenin again brandished the poker against the flames.

“I don’t want you to pay them. They don't deserve it!”

He caught the poker between the logs as he jabbed and tried to pull loose. Angry tears started to trace down his cheeks as he thought of how awful and undeserving those people were. He would have said to arrest them all, but his best friend was still there. 

Alaban came up behind him and grabbed hold of the poker before Keenin could hurt himself.

“Listen boy! A few coins to cut old ties is a good deal. Most people don’t get so lucky. And your so-called leader of thieves is the only one keeping you trapped. He is squandering your goodwill and pushing you against each other! Besides, do you think he will stay in this small town after making such a fortune? With him gone we can convince others to find better work.”

Keenin was at a loss for words. His heart pounded wildly from the violent outburst. He had never had anyone lay it out that way, but it was true. The reason nobody left thieving was because of Keln. Alaban carefully replaced the poker into the stand.

“And, needing you to work here isn’t a lie.”

Keenin felt embarrassed. What had he done to earn such trust and how could he stay when he caused such trouble?

“Then why don’t you get someone else? All this time you could have hired anyone,” Keenin said.

“Simple. The day I met you is when I decided I wanted an apprentice.”

“But…I’m a thief,” Keenin whispered.

“Do you want to be a thief?”

Keenin rubbed the drying tears from his eyes “You’re strange.”

People didn’t help others like Alaban did.

“Will you stay?”

“If I truly get to decide for myself, then I don't want to go back.”

Alaban picked up a log from the stack Keenin had made beside the hearth and handed it to him.

“Keep the house warm and I’ll be back soon.” 

Leaving Keenin with the fire, Alaban moved to pick up his leather jacket from a hook beside the door.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Keenin asked.

It was raining and miserable outside.

“To pay back your friends.”                                                               

*

Keenin wished that he had not followed Alaban outside. Not only was he soaked from head to toe, but he had to walk down the muddy streets in his bare feet and it was going to get worse. They were approaching the grassy expanse of the cemetery where the ground would squish and where he would practically be stepping on corpses. If only he wasn’t so superstitious and the ground wasn’t so soft. Alaban seemed to have no such problem with graveyards and rain, but his shoes and jacket spared him from the worst.

“I told you not to come. Now you might get sick,” Alaban told him.

“How can this weather not bother you?” Keenin asked.

“I’ve walked through mountains in the rain,” Alaban said. “Now that is scary. The rocks get slippery and you only have a thin ledge between you and the drop. If that’s not bad enough you also get to see when someone messes up and takes the fall.”

“Alright. Alright. Enough with the dead people,” Keenin said watching his feet squish into the earth.

“Why are you so upset? This is the oldest section of the yard. The people down there are dirt.”

“That doesn’t help,” Keenin said trying not to imagine dirt as corpse manure.

“I thought you lived here?”

“I slept between the houses or in the trees. I only came back here when I had to.”

“Which one of the crypts are they in?” Alaban asked as they got closer.

Keenin had been trying not to look up because it would mean seeing the grave markers and knowing that he had to step across all those graves, but for Alaban’s sake he did look. In this part of the graveyard there were three old family crypts. These houses for the dead served well as houses for the living if you could deal with living side by side with boxes of old bones.

“The one on the right,” Keenin said pointing, “They aren’t going to like us showing up like this.”

“That’s why I told you to stay at the house,” Alaban said moving up to the heavy wooden door of the crypt and giving it a knock, “If they’re smart they’ll only threaten a guy as big as me, but they might come after you.”

“I’ll stay back here,” Keenin said waiting beside a tombstone where he knew no corpse would be buried underneath.

The door to the crypt opened. Keln stood in the entrance.

“Did Keenin tell you where we were?” 

“Everybody knows where you live,” Alaban said. “We’ve been letting a lot of things slide because we can’t help every orphan, but today I came to settle the matter of payment for my apprentice.”

Keln looked to Keenin who remained further back.

“He’s supposed to pay it,” Keln argued.

“What’s the charge if he doesn’t?”

“Fifty gold pieces,” Keln told Alaban flatly.

Keenin met Keln’s eyes across the yard. How could he ask for that much? It was murder. How was Alaban to support himself with no money left?

Keln turned his attention back to Alaban.

“You could always leave your apprentice behind.”

“I’m not…” Keenin started to say.

“Not with you,” Alaban said holding out a very full looking coin bag without counting what was inside.

Keln eyed the bag before moving from the shelter of the crypt and taking it for himself. Now as drenched as the rest of them Keln loosened the wet drawstring to peer inside before raising his head.

“Don’t ever come back here. The both of you,” Keln said.

What? Keenin thought. Were there really fifty gold coins in the bag?

“Come on,” Alaban said, walking past him to the town.

Keenin followed hurriedly and forgot about where he was stepping.

“Hey,” Keenin called to him. “How much was that?”

“More than enough,” Alaban said. 

“But that…” Keln didn’t deserve that. “You could have him arrested.”

Alaban paused and turned to put a hand on Keenin’s shoulder.

“Keenin, calm down. Remember, your friends will be better off now. Whether that guy runs off or shares a bit of that money he is no longer a threat. Besides, keeping you as my apprentice is worth it.”

Keenin’s skin felt cold as he stood in the rain, but inside he felt a warmth of pride.

“Alaban...I’ll pay you back one day,” Keenin told him.