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The village where Cole was born wasn't that different from many other villages one foot away from the Adrestian border if Cole listened to old Tiernan, the only man he knew who had gone to the ocean on the other side of the world and come back to talk about it. It was cold, everyone knew each other, and families worked together to survive.
Cole, as the oldest son of one of the two experts of medical herbs in the village, helped his mother around in their house. There was a great demand for her medicine due to the war, so Mom worked at the table from dawn to dusk. His younger siblings were usually with his uncle, who couldn't work in the fields after a giant wolf ate one of his legs.
That day was the same as the others. Mom was at the table mashing herbs in the mortar while Cole fed the fire for the pot because Mom's table was still too high for him. There wasn't anybody else in the house but them.
The door swung open.
There had been another change recently. A ragged man covered in dirty furs had started to come out of the woods occasionally, dragging animal pelts, chopped wood, or, more rarely, wild food. He always did his best to keep his face covered despite how tall he was. He stunk of blood and death, and everyone avoided him if they could.
Today, the man arrived stuttering forward. His left leg didn't bend at the knee, and two leather sacks swung from his neck left and right. He used a chipped spear as support as he slowly trudged his way to the table where Mom was.
Cole's mother immediately stiffened at seeing the ragged man. Her hand snaked behind Cole's head and pushed him closer to her side. It stayed there even as he grabbed at her skirt to reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere.
"You make medicine," the ragged man said with a hoarse voice like he hadn't drunk water in a while.
"I do."
There was a moment of silence. Then, the ragged man unwound the bags from around his neck, opened them, and poured their contents on the table. Mom jumped backwards while things clattered onto the wooden surface. Cole stood on tiptoe, but he still couldn't look over the edge.
"Where did you get these?" Mom cried out. She wasn't angry though. Cole recognised that tone of voice. She used it when Adrestian troops were rumoured to lurk around and told him to hide in the cave with the other children.
Mom wasn't angry. She was afraid.
"It doesn't matter," the ragged man replied. "Nobody is going to claim them. They're dead."
The wind blowing through the still open door stilled.
Dead.
Cole knew what dead meant. Dead was grandfather collapsing one day while feeding the chicken and never waking up. It was Elena's daughter coughing, coughing, and coughing until she did nothing anymore. Dead were corpses sowed by the war across the country, crows picking at their flesh.
Abruptly, Mom pushed the unknown objects back toward the man. "Get out!" she snarled.
The ragged man stared at Mom very still and without a word. Then, very slowly, he gathered his things back into his sacks and shuffled back to the door. Mom's eyes never left his back as he lumbered out of their house.
Cole tugged at his mother's skirt to get her attention. "He looked hurt," he said. "Why didn't you want to help him? You helped Keelan."
Cole didn't like Keelan. Keelan was arrogant, insulted him all the time, and he had thrown rocks at him for coming too close to his house while Cole was chasing a stubborn chicken. If the Adrestian soldiers had to take anyone from the village, Cole hoped it was Keelan.
Mom brought her other hand to her chest, shivering. Her face was pale and drawn. "You're a good boy. But people like that? They're dangerous. You must always avoid them."
He nodded because she was his mother and mothers knew everything. Everyone said so.
For the rest of the day, he continued helping his mother with her tinctures and concoctions. He'd poke his head outside to glance at the forest here and there, but the ragged man didn't come back that day.
---
One day, Cole noticed that the ragged man hadn't visited the village in weeks. He asked around if anybody had seen him, but everybody answered negatively. "Good riddance," his mother and many more whispered.
He kept on waiting for the ragged man to return, but then, at some point, he stopped looking at the edge of the forest. He hid with the other children whenever Adrestian soldiers marched too close to his village. He grew tall enough to peek over the counter mom worked at.
The war ended. The Crown Prince of Faerghus returned from the dead and became King. Pegasi carrying food and resources began to cross the skies again.
Nobody missed the ragged man, and everybody forgot about him. Life went on like he had never existed.
Still, years after the war, there were nights when Cole lit a candle and prayed to the Goddess to give the lost man peace, wherever he was.