Authors: Robin Roseau
Amazon Companion
Amazon Companion
Robin Roseau
As always, I need to thank my beta readers: Donna, Henriette, and Jodie. Any errors are my own.
Thank you as well to those others who support me professionally: Henriette and the w
omen at the Virtual Living Room as well as Elisa Rolle and everyone associated with the Rainbow Awards.
I must, as always, thank The Lady. It's not always easy sharing a house with a writer.
Finally, thank you, dear reader. Without your support, I could never find the time to write these books. Thank you so much.
I cast my line into the waters, the float bobbing in the gentle waves of the cove, and leaned against the rocks at my back. I smiled and sighed in relaxation.
Afternoons to fish were rare for me. Alara ordered me to take time to relax and gave me the choice of fishing or sailing one of the skiffs.
"I have too much work," I protested.
Alara arched an eyebrow. One talked back to a village elder only if one were incredibly foolish or, in my case, that elder's granddaughter. Rather than reprimand me, she instead observed, "Your devotion to duty is admirable, but recreation and relaxation are critical to a healthy body and a healthy mind."
"I could take the children-" but she cut me off.
"No!
If you are tending to the children, what part of recreation and relaxation is served?"
"I could teach-"
"No!"
"But-"
Grandmother narrowed her eyes. I lowered mine to the floor.
"I could-"
She didn't cut me off.
"-Take Beria with me." Beria was my little sister, twelve years old. Two years ago she'd been exactly half my age.
I glanced at my grandmother. Her expression had softened, and I could see she was considering it, but then she said, "As kind of an offer that is, if Beria is along, you will have responsibility for her. You need a week of no responsibilities; I am ordering you to take a single afternoon. No responsibilities, Maya."
"Yes, Elder Alara," I agreed submissively. "Perhaps the fish are biting."
"I thought you would see it my way," Alara said, smiling. "Maya, you are to relax. You are to allow the water to soothe your nerves. You are to come back in a state of contentment. Or you will find yourself with a week of nothing but boredom facing you. Do I make myself clear?"
I smiled. "There are those in this village who would look forward to a respite from their duties."
"There are. You are not one of them. Go on now. Have a nice time."
"But first I-"
"Maya!" Alara yelled.
"-Need to find my fishing pole," I said contritely.
And that was how I found myself next to the water, my favorite fishing place from when I was younger, when Grandfather would take me fishing with him. Grandfather died the winter after Beria was born, and I hadn't done a lot of fishing since. I realized I missed it, and realized I missed Grandfather.
The place hadn't changed. Oh, perhaps the rocks were just slightly more
weatherworn than they had been, but if so, I couldn't tell.
I had been tempted to sneak paper with me. I could have spent the time
lesson planning. But I didn't put it past Grandmother to send someone to spy on me, to make sure I was fishing, no more, no less. I tried to lesson-plan in my head, but I realized something else. Grandmother never threatened.
I would return to the village in a relaxed state or she'd carry through on her promise. I didn't trust anyone else to teach the children of Gallen's Cove, not since a harsh winter claimed Nema. I'd been the assistant teacher by then, at seventeen, and had stepped into the role of head teacher with Nema's death. I was far too young for the role, but the elders had placed their trust in me.
I had worked hard and so far, I hadn't let them down in any way but one: I hadn't found a new assistant teacher.
Oh, there had been women in the village who would have taken the role of head teacher, and even a few men, but no one who asked for the job had the faith of the village elders. It had been quite a shock when I had been summoned before the Council of Elders s
everal weeks after Nema died. I had filled in as head teacher, seemingly temporary and doing the best I could, but I was sure I was failing miserably. I expected to receive a harsh reprimand. Instead, they had asked my opinion concerning Nema's replacement.
There was a part of me, a very small part, that had wanted the job, but I was only seventeen. Some of the students were only a year younger than I was, and worse, they were girls. Boys I could have handled, but the boys in Gallen's Cove attended school only until fourteen, and then they
were declared men. They had their own duties to perform, and school wasn't part of the mix. They worked the fields or the fishing boats. Only girls continued to attend school after their fourteenth birthday. But girls, well. If you didn't know better, you would think they were well-behaved, but you couldn't get girls to behave with a wink, and at seventeen-years-old, I didn't think I carried the gravitas Nema had carried, the gravitas she'd used to keep the girls in line, myself included.
But I had been invited to the council. Elder Juna con
ducted the meeting. Juna was as old as rain and had always terrified me. Five years later, she still did. She was small, stooped, with a wrinkled, hatchet face, and she hobbled with a cane. But she was brilliant and deeply respected even while feared.
"I'm sorry," I had said as soon as I'd been summoned to stand before the council.
"And for what do you apologize?" Juna had asked me.
"I am doing the best I can."
She arched an eyebrow. "You believe you have been summoned for a well-deserved chastisement?"
I lowered my eyes.
"Perhaps you should wait before jumping to conclusions," Juna had said. "We seek your opinion." Then she had asked me, one by one, what I thought of the several women who had applied to take over from Nema.
I'd been polite and non-committal, finding something good to say about each woman, but inside I'd begun to fidget. I didn't think
any of them would make a good teacher, and I thought my life would be miserable working for Nema's replacement, if this list included all available choices.
Juna put up with my reticence to offer an honest opinion
for only a short while before she reached out with the knob of her cane and whacked me across the top of the head.
"Ouch!" I rubbed my head.
"You waste the council's time!" she thundered. "We did not invite you here to offer platitudes. We expect an honest answer!"
And so, one by one, I told the council what I thought. No one contradicted me. No one challenged my opinion. When I was done, Juna said, "We have one other candidate. She is young, far too young." She slipped a piece of paper to me with the qualifications of the candidate. There was no age or name, but from the qualifications, I could tell she was young. However at least on paper, she would be better than anyone else we had discussed.
"Well?" Juna asked.
"Is she kind?" I asked.
"Does that matter?"
"Students can learn from a harsh teacher they dislike, but they may learn things you would rather they not learn," I said.
"She would be loved by her students," Juna replied.
I waved the paper. "She must be very young. Is it Mara?" Mara was a few years older than I was. I couldn't believe she wanted to teach.
"It is not Mara," Juna said. "Tell me; if your choice is this young woman-" she gestured at the paper in my hand, "-or one of these, which would you choose?"
"This one, I guess," I said. "She would have to work very hard. Would I continue to serve as assistant? I believe she could use my help."
That's when Juna smiled. She didn't smile often, not that I had seen. "The council agrees with you. As young as this woman is, she is a better teacher to our young than the other choices presented."
"When does she start?"
"You perhaps are curious as to this woman's name," Juna said, tapping the paper with her cane. I shied away from the cane, then laughed nervously. Juna looked at me expectantly.
"All right," I said. "Do I know her? What is her name?"
"Oh you know her all right," Juna said. "Her name is Maya Softpeace."
I stared at her, waiting for her to start laughing.
"Well?" she asked.
"But- But- I'm too young!"
"We have already ascertained that," Juna said. "Are there other objections? Do you not care for the position?"
"I'm not ready."
"No," she agreed, "you are not. Feel free to make a recommendation from the pile of choices. Who would you rather teach your little sister?"
"None of these," I blurted out. "I mean-"
"Quite. And so?"
"Surely there's someone else."
"Are you refusing the position?"
"The council can't-"
She rapped her cane on the floor. "Do not dare to tell the council what it can and cannot do."
I looked down at the floor. "I will continue to serve subject to the council's will," I stated. "But I ask you to continue to search for a more qualified teacher."
"Excellent," Juna said. "We will evaluate monthly for now. You will prepare progress reports and submit them to me." She paused. "Maya, you have never failed at anything in your entire life. You will not fail at this."
I looked up at her, and she was smiling, and it was a kind smile.
"You are young," she said, "and you lack confidence. But I believe you will be deeply motivated. We will make available assistants for the days you take the children on outings, as it can be difficult to manage the children in exciting circumstances. But from this moment forth, you are the head teacher for Gallen's Cove. Congratulations."
I'd been stunned, but Juna was right. I had been deeply motivated, and I had worked hard, and still worked hard, trying to live up to the council's expectations.
An afternoon of fishing wasn't helping me do my job.
* * * *
As dinnertime approached, I had caught three fish, two of modest size, but large enough to serve as a meal, and one a large rockmore. Rockmore were ugly fish, they fought hard, and they were difficult to clean, but this one would keep a family fed for two days.
I was pleased with my catch, cleaning the three of them the way grandfather had taught me, leaving the
trimmings for the gulls to enjoy.
I made my way back to the village, detouring on the way to Elder Juna's modest home. Even the village elders lived in small homes in Gallen's Cove. I knocked, waited, and then the door opened, Juna's wizened face peering out at me.
"Head Teacher Maya," she said by greeting. "What brings you to my door?"
The fish were wrapped in paper in my basket. "I have a modest reedfish, Elder Juna. I thought perhaps you would enjoy it."
"You bring me a gift, and it is a smelly fish?" She said it without a smile, and I wondered if I had offended her.
"Um-"
She smiled. "I love reedfish. Come in." She stepped back from the door, and I entered her small house, following her into her kitchen. "Let us see this gift you bring me."
I pulled the fish from my basket, setting it on the table before unwrapping it.
"Oh, and you even cleaned it for me. How kind, Maya. Thank you. Did you come only to bring me a fish, or was there something else?"
"Only the fish, Juna," I replied. "Unless you wished to discuss my latest report?"
She narrowed her eyes. "I believe Elder Alara has tasked you with an afternoon of relaxation therapy. I do not believe discussing the school is in keeping with her direction."
I sighed. "Does everyone know about that?"
"In a village this size?" Juna asked. "You already know the answer to that."
"Well then, I had nothing else, Elder Juna."
She led the way to the door and thanked me again for the fish. "I believe I will enjoy half tonight and the second half tomorrow. I believe I will cook tomorrow's portion with ample garlic. I have a meeting with Barton, you see." She grinned at me. Grandmother complained amply about Barton, and I realized she wasn't the only councilmember who didn't care for the cantankerous fisherman.
I headed home with my remaining fish, putting on a smile and attempting to look relaxed. Grandmother didn't live with us; she kept her own home. But I would have bet my favorite bookmark she would be waiting around to see if I appeared sufficiently rested.
I wasn't to be disappointed; I could hear her arguing with my father before I even stepped in the door. I tried to sneak past them into the kitchen, but four pair of eyes turned to me.
"Any luck?" Grandmother asked me.
"Yes, Grandmother," I replied. "I left a reedfish with Elder Juna. I have a large rockmore for us tonight and another reedfish for you."
Grandmother rose from her seat and crossed the room to look at me. "And are you rested?"
"Quite," I replied. "I had a lovely time."
"Excellent. Then you won't mind making this a permanent habit."
"A permanent habit?"
"One full day of relaxation every two weeks," she ordered. "Do I need to remind you of the nature of relaxation?"
"No, Elder Alara," I said, "But-"
"But?"
"Perhaps you will join me for some of them?" I made it a question.
Grandmother laughed. "Perhaps I will. Perhaps I have a thing or two I could teach you about relaxing. My husband didn't teach you everything he knew about fishing, after all."