Day 1 - Scene 5

“Bye bye then. Have a great stay lad!”

Hasse waved goodbye and drove off into the evening. Apparently he had somewhere else to be and would continue on his own. Enar stood by the roadside feeling a little forlorn as the cart disappeared around a bend in the road. It was just him and the sunset now. No one had come to meet him at the inn in Hyardum and instead he'd been dropped off right outside of where he was supposed to stay.

Behind him the forest fell away into one of the many ravines that crisscrossed the landscape and on the other side of the road a blushberry hedge grew thick and tall. Over it peeked the branches of blooming trees and far off in the distance a forested hilltop glowed green in the light of the setting sun. In a gap in the hedge was a little wooden gate but with the shadows having grown long it was hard to make out much of the garden on the other side.

There was nothing for it. He couldn't stay here and he had nowhere else to go. Hoisting up his luggage he crossed the road and pushed the gate open. As he did so a rope on a pulley lifted up a weight and when he released the gate behind him the weight slowly pulled it shut. Off in the distance a bell rang.

The screams of excited children erupted somewhere further up the hill and rapidly came closer. Enar felt a surge of panic. What if this was the wrong place? What if they expected someone else? He clutched the handle of his suitcase and braced for the reception committee.

Standing there waiting for them to arrive he took in the view and realized it wasn't as much a garden as a full-blown orchard. Row upon neat row of apple trees filled the hillside in front of him. A well-trodden path climbed the slope and in places where the rise was too steep, little stairs had been built into it.

Down this path, screaming and laughing, two children appeared, bounding down the stairs and running as fast as their legs could carry them. Similar enough to be brother and sister Enar guessed them to be about ten years old. The girl was a little taller and wore a lose red dress that flew wildly around her knees as she ran. Her brother was a little rounder and sported brown shorts and a shirt the same red as the dress. They both had light brown hair; his short and unruly, hers tied back in two long braids.

The boy was the first to spot Enar and stopped dead in his tracks. An instant later his sister crashed into him at full speed and the two toppled over, rolled the last bit and came to rest in a screaming, howling pile just a few steps short of where Enar was standing. He starred at them in petrified horror. What if they were hurt? They could have broken arms and legs and necks falling over each other like that. What if they blamed him for it? It wasn't his fault at all. He'd just stood there.

Whether he'd done anything or not didn't seem to bother the next person to appear in the slightest. An even smaller child, a little girl barely the size of his suitcase, came bobbling into view on short round legs. Giggling happily she threw herself on top of the older children as they tried untangling themselves from each other. More laughing and giggling ensued and Enar breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't seem as if anyone was badly hurt.

“I see you've met my youngest already.”

The voice was warm and cheerful. Its owner was a round smiling man in a straw hat, knee-length brown shorts and a shirt made from the same red fabric as the children's clothes. He was perhaps fifteen years older than Enar and he waved his hand in greeting as he came walking down the path.

“Name's Rolf. You must be our guest for the week?”

“Yes, I think so Sir. I'm Enar Ryebloom, Sir. Mr Hasse left me here and said it was where I was supposed to stay.”

Enar nervously held out his hand in greeting and Rolf shook it vigorously. The older man's grip was firm and his hand worn and callused.

“There's no need to be so formal my friend. I'm no Sir. You'll call me Rolf or I'll have you sleep with the goats.”

The man grinned mischievously as he said it, to show he was kidding, but Enar was still taken aback a little.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Don't you worry Enar. I'm just messing with you. Your guest burrow is ready and waiting. We don't even have goats here.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Rolf turned to the children. By now they'd managed to extract themselves from each other and were studying Enar with undisguised curiosity.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Children, this is Enar. He'll be our guest for the coming week. You'll be on your best behavior now or he'll think I'm not fit to raise a family.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The two older children put on their serious expressions and nodded obediently but Enar had a distinct feeling neither of them would behave in any way other than what they felt like. The little one put her fingers in her mouth and stared at him with big, studious eyes. Then she went and hid behind her dad who laughed and mussed her hair.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Little Loianna is shy. She's not used to strangers. You two however, Elsie, Linus – you make yourselves useful for once and help our guest with his luggage.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Yes dad, I'll carry it.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Linus, the boy, almost wrenched the suitcase out of Enar's hand in his eagerness to help out. It was a little too big and a little too heavy for him, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from showing what a big and strong lad he was.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Elsie, you help your brother with the bag. There could be something fragile in there and we dont' want it to break.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“I don't need any help. It's easy. It's not heavy at all.” Linus shouted from where he struggled to get the big suitcase up some steps without bumping it too much. Enar winced inwardly and quickly went through his mental checklist of what he'd brought with him. There was just clothes and two books in the bag, nothing important or breakable.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Don't worry my friend, they'll get the bag up there in one piece. My Elsie is too clever to let him drop it. Taking after her mother that way. She'll make a frightful matron one day as long as she puts on some weight.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">A worried scowl flickered across his face before he smiled again and scooped his youngest daughter up with one arm.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Shall we? I'm sure you've had a long day and could do with some rest. I bet you're hungry too.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“Yes, I've been up since five. I had lunch in Hemsfil, but that was ages ago. I could do with sitting down for a bite.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Rolf smiled at him, put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">“And sit down you shall, but first the last treck of the journey. The burrows are up the hill and it's a bit of a climb if you're not used to it. There will be food and drink and a nice chair once you're settled in though. You're almost there my friend. Let's go.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">With that he set off up the path, following the two kids who were still bickering about who should carry the suitcase and the best way of doing it.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Continued in Day 1 - Scene 5 - Part 2.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Back to Enar's Vacation.