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The shore line was now visible. At last.
It felt like he had been sailing for way too long thanks to the wind speeds being rather slow the entire voyage. The adventurer hopped out of the small ship once the dock had been reached; setting the ropes to prevent it from drifting out to sea without him. With the last rope tied up, Adol fixed his messy hair back into a ponytail and stretched out his arms. He enjoyed going on voyages, but being cooped up in such a small area got claustrophobic rather quickly. The sun was beginning to set, giving off beautiful crimson red rays across the sky as it made its descent. Fireflies and toads could be seen and heard beginning to stir, the mountain air a breath of fresh air compared to the constant salt and fish smell mist he smelt for the past week.
Adol had sailed back to his hometown after receiving a letter from his father asking the adventurer to return home. His dad’s health wasn’t the best in more recent times, and as such the rather out of the blue letter had him worried. He stuffed the essentials from the cabin below into a run down satchel– some food, clothing, etc.-- and hiked through the mountainous forest until an opening finally broke the tree line, revealing a village Adol was rather familiar with. His home. Seeing it after all this time filled him with a wave of peace and happiness. It was nearly dark by that point, the small village being lit up like a christmas tree with various lanterns and street lamps sprinkled along the dirt paths. Despite it getting late in the day, a handful of residents still bustled about finishing up their daily tasks.
Some of the villagers caught sight of the bright red-haired individual, each of them making various declarations of welcome as he entered the town. They all approached Adol, giving him hugs and kisses on the cheek.
“My, how you’ve grown!!”
“Such a fine young man you’ve become.”
“You had it in you after all!”
Adol’s smile shined bright among everyone greeting him. Some were happy to finally see him again, others more so shocked he’d managed to live this long doing what he does. As much as he loved traveling the world and meeting new people, his hometown was a feeling not much else could match.
“You look JUST like your father, he must be so proud of you!” One of the elders stated, pulling Adol into a hug.
“Words alone cannot describe how proud I am of him,” A voice boomed from behind the adventurer. He broke from the hug he was in and quickly spun around, being met with his father walking up to the crowd of townspeople. He was walking with a limp and a cane, his old age rather obvious. His long, bright red hair was now almost completely grey – a few specks of red still littered his head– and elegant wrinkles engulfed the majority of his skin.
Adol set aside the urge to baby his elderly dad and simply smiled, “It’s good to see you, father.”
His father pulled his son into a tight embrace with his free arm, giving him a kiss on the forehead afterwards. “My son… it’s been far too long since I’ve seen you,” his eyes threatened to water as he grazed his hand through Adol’s long hair.
“And look at you. An almost exact copy of me, even growing out your hair!” His excitement was cut short when a bad coughing fit followed his words. Adol’s concern was plastered on his face, placing a hand on his dad’s back.
“You should be resting, not walking around town. I could’ve walked home just fine.”
He waved off his son’s worries, shaking his head. “I intended to see you arrive in town, no amount of sickness is going to stop me.” Adol shook his own head and sighed. If Dogi had been here, he was sure that man would make some quip about seeing this is where Adol gets his own stubbornness.
The elderly man cleared his throat once the coughing fit had diminished, regaining his composure. “Are you hungry, Adol? I have some dinner prepared back at the house. It’s one of your favorites!”
The swordsman practically drooled at the mention of actual food, he’d been living off of only oats and beans during his voyage. His stomach growling as its own answer before he could respond. “I’d love some.”
His father chuckled. “Still as hungry as ever,” he joked. Adol said his goodbyes to the townsfolk who welcomed him, promising to come by over the next few days and share his stories. He and his father then made the trek back to their house.
It was completely dark outside when they arrived; their only light being the lantern attached to the house’s front porch. On a hill by itself was a rather quaint house, looking to be a two story on the outside when it really only consisted of the ground floor and a loft made out to be Adol’s bedroom. It was still exactly as Adol remembered it being; albeit some of the exterior slightly newer than the rest due to repairs being made now and then. The area surrounding the porch was decorated in various colored flowers and plants, vines creeped their way up along the walls of the house.
His father opened the door for Adol, following him inside. The front door led into the living room, occupying it was a large, L shaped couch with a mahogany coffee table in the middle; a lit lantern occupied it. To the left of the couch multiple bookshelves lined the walls, all filled with a mixture of books and journals. To the right was the “dining room”, though all it consisted of was a long table with chairs on either end. Another lit lantern and dinner had been placed on the table, covered by some cloth to avoid any potential flies. Behind the couch directly ahead from the front door, was an unlit fireplace made of brick; plants and small statues decorating it. Next to the brick structure was a ladder that led up into the loft– Adol’s bedroom.
Further in the house, a small kitchen sat behind the dining room. Pots and pans were stacked on one of the counters drying out. To the left, underneath the loft, was a doorway that led into the retired explorer’s bedroom.
Adol and his dad took off their shoes, placing them and his cane next to the door. The swordsman helped his father to the table. Uncovering the cloth revealed dinner to be garlic bread and pasta– the swordsman’s mouth watered at the mere sight of it. Once both of their hands had been washed, Adol served a plate for the two of them, and together they ate again for the first time in years. The two conversed over a plethora of things, his dad relaying things that happened in town while he was gone, and Adol going over a few of his journeys he hadn’t had the chance to write letters about yet.
“...And that is why, as you’ll see while you’re visiting, they both currently live in separate homes,” His dad had just finished relaying some drama he’d heard about not too long ago.
Adol chuckled in response, shaking his head. “Unsurprising. Even as a kid I could tell they had something going on. Just shocked it took this long for something to happen.” He stood up, taking their now empty plates and marched into the kitchen; cleaning both the plates and the silverware that had been used.
An easy silence filled the air, the only sounds being the dish washing and the occasional cricket by the windows. His father yawned, stretching his upper body. “I think it’s bedtime for this old man,” he turned towards his son.
“There are some fresh sheets and blankets for your bed already in your room, Adol. I would have liked to make the bed personally, but just getting those up there was rough enough on my old, frail body.”
Adol finished up the dishes and faced his father, drying his hands as he responded. “Don’t worry about it, I would prefer you didn’t over exert yourself anyway. Get some rest, I’ll see you in the morning.” A smile rested on his face.
“Good night, Adol,” the retired explorer gave his son a small hug as he limped his way to his bedroom, disappearing in the doorway.
Once all of the dishes had been put away in their respective cupboards, Adol blew out the lantern on the table and in the living room before climbing up the ladder to the loft. A wave of nostalgia washed over him once his old bedroom came into view. To the immediate right was an empty dresser, unused for years. To the left side of the room, his bed laid in the right corner next to a circular window; curtains pulled to the sides revealed a bright moon shining down into the room. The sheets and blankets his father had previously mentioned laid neatly folded atop the mattress. On the other side of the window was his old desk, exactly as he remembered it being. Stashed inside one of the desk’s shelves laid some of his old drawings and journals from when he was a kid. Adol skimmed over them, laughing at a few of the entries in the journal he held.
Yawning himself, Adol returned the journal back to its shelf and began to make his bed with the clean sheets, still struggling all these years later to put the mattress cover on. One corner would always pop back up when he pulled another down. Triumph finally his, the swordsman took the hair tie out of his hair and brushed it thoroughly, removing his shirt and socks afterwards. He then threw himself onto his newly made bed, only to grunt from the surprise of how firm it was. The mattress was much more firm than he remembered, but he stocked that up to it simply being rather old. Sliding under the blanket, a finger instinctually traced over one of his scars as his mind slowly dozed off into a deep, sound sleep.
The adventurer was awoken by the neighboring roosters announcing the emerging daylight. His eyes heavy, Adol yawned and sat up, slouching over as he slid his legs over the edge of the bed. He stretched his body and rubbed his eyes until they no longer felt unbearable to keep open. The distant smell of bacon caught his attention. Once he’d put his shirt back on and hair put up out of his face, Adol pecked his head down the loft’s opening to see his father in the kitchen cooking breakfast. His stomach growled as he climbed down the ladder to greet the cook.
“Good morning,” Adol choked out, his voice still raspy from just waking up.
“Good morning!” His dad announced, his tone of voice sounded like he’d been awake for a while now. “I’m making fried eggs and bacon with toast on the side. How many eggs would you like?”
Adol thought for a moment, placing one of his hands on his chin. “Three, if there’s enough.”
The cook nodded. “I’ve got plenty! I made sure to restock my eggs before you arrived so we’d have enough during your stay.”
“Thanks, dad,” Adol made himself a glass of water and sat at the table, yawning as he did so.
His father sprung up a conversation whilst starting on the eggs. “I was thinking for today, after we spend some time in town we could stop by that cherry grove we used to go and pick some? I can make cherry pie to go with dinner tonight if we did!”
The idea of cherry pie made his stomach ache and growl once again, demanding Adol to eat already. Ignoring it, he nodded and smiled. “I’d love to.”
When he was younger, the two of them would often go to the nearby wild cherry tree grove and pick cherries to eat throughout the week; it was one of his favorite places growing up.
“Then it’s settled! We have our plan for today,” He gleamed; breakfast finished cooking soon after. Both of them cleared their plates, with the swordsman burping afterwards. Adol’s father had another coughing fit during their meal, but it diminished faster than the one the day before; still insisting to his son he was okay.
With breakfast now done, Adol took care of the dishes once more while his dad got himself ready to head to town. His father came back out of his room with a box of various grown herbs he wanted to bring into town to sell. Shoes on, cane in hand, the box in his son’s arms, the two of them left the house and headed to the village’s town centre. While it was small in comparison to other places the adventurer had visited, it was still full of life. A plethora of residents busied the roads this time of day, many of them seeing Adol and being ecstatic to finally see him again. His father set up a shop to sell the herbs while many people approached the two and gave the younger man hugs, welcoming him back after all these years.
A few of the young kids had come up to introduce themselves to Adol, asking to hear some of his stories. He didn’t mind by any means, and it kept the kids busy while their parents did their weekly shopping for fruits and other household needs. He left out much of the perils of his ventures for the sake of his audience, mainly sharing what all the places he’d visited looked like and how interesting the people were in each place; a few refused to believe there was such a place like the Canaan Islands where people with tails and long ears lived. One of the townsfolk had traded a small basket of assorted fruits for some herbs, a perfect light snack for the two men to eat during their time selling herbs.
Mid afternoon had rolled in by the time the last herb had been sold, prompting his father to close up shop for the day. The kids begged Adol to stay and continue sharing his stories, he promised all of them he would continue another time. Each one conversed among themselves about all the stories they’d heard before setting off in different directions to go find their parents. Adol helped his father finish closing up his shop’s stand, and with the little bit of leftover fruit in tow, the two made their way to the cherry grove. It was quite a walk coming from the town’s square, multiple breaks were needed as his father needed to rest his weakened leg every now and then. The swordsman had asked multiple times if he’d prefer to go to the grove another day, reassuring him it was no big deal, but he insisted on going today. Stubbornness definitely ran in the family.
Dusk was threatening to approach when they finally made it to the grove; it was just as beautiful as Adol remembered it being. Trees upon trees lined up along each other filled to the brim with ripened cherries. While it was a wild grove many of the townsfolk often came by for cherry picking, and some even cared for it every now and again to make sure the grove continued to thrive.
Adol’s father took a seat on a nearby fallen log to rest his leg, massaging his upper thigh.
“Does it hurt pretty bad?” Adol questioned, concern written all over his face as he sat next to his dad.
His father tried to play it off as no big deal but his body language told otherwise, wincing in pain as he spoke. “It’s not that bad, it’s been worse. Just old muscles causing issues,” He chuckled.
“You need to rest, father, I can do the cherry picking.” He stood up, his hair blowing in the slight wind. His dad attempted to argue with the decision but Adol forced him to promise he’d stay and rest his legs. With that out of the way, the swordsman grabbed the empty basket they brought along and went straight to cherry picking. A couple now and then were not ripe enough to pluck, but most were in perfect timing to be taken and eaten; cherries were in season this time of year after all. Adol had lost track of time while cherry picking, the sun had begun to set and fireflies were waking up and flying around when he finally decided to come to a stop. The basket wasn’t completely full like he would’ve preferred, but it was a good amount regardless. His father had stayed on the fallen log resting and watched his son pick the cherries, taking in the fresh breeze and nature engulfing the grove.
Adol returned to his father, showing off his basket of cherries; his hands were dyed red from picking so many.
“Excellent harvest!” His father boasted, smiling. “I could make so many pies with that many.”
“All the more for us to eat!” the adventurer added. “Do you need some help standing up?”
Adol’s dad shook his head. With his cane’s help he slowly stood up from the old log, grunting as he straightened out his posture. The two of them made their way home, the day’s sunlight completely gone by the time they made it back. Once inside with their shoes off and cane set aside, Adol laid the basket of cherries on the kitchen counter. His father lit up both the living room and dining room lamps.
“Why don’t I make dinner tonight, dad?” The adventurer offered. “You made dinner last night and breakfast this morning.”
“I won’t complain about that,” His father responded, sitting down on the couch in the living room. “I may fall asleep while you’re cooking, just wake me up when you’re done!”
Adol nodded in response and went straight to work. He washed his hands as a start, then looked through various cupboards and pantry shelves to gather the spices and food materials he’d need. Stuffed Mushrooms was his choice for dinner, using a recipe he picked up from Balduq when he’d visited years back. He hardly ever got to use a kitchen on his journeys, so cooking with an actual stove top and oven made cooking dinner a breeze. While the mushrooms were in the oven baking, Adol got to work on making the cherry pie as well. It’d been a rather long time since helping his dad make one, but after some trial and error he got the recipe correct. He switched the now finished mushroom dish out with the ready to bake pie, setting the cooked dish down on the counter to cool off.
The pie finished rather quickly thanks to the oven being hot for the mushrooms, taking it out shortly after putting it in. The delicious aromas of both foods filled the house, making Adol starved. Ignoring his urge to grab one of the stuffed mushrooms off the pan, he set the table with two plates and silverware, placing the food in the middle once they both had cooled down enough. With dinner now ready, Adol washed his hands once more and made his way to the couch, slightly shaking his dad whose eyes were closed. He stirred, his eyes fluttering open from being woken.
“Dinner’s ready,” the cook stated.
“Oh good, it smells delicious,” his father responded. He let out a deep sigh as his eyes closed once more. “Sit with me for a moment, son.”
Adol did as he was told, curious on what he had to say.
“I’ve been listening to the crickets and owls outside the window while you’ve been cooking.. When you first left home at 17, I’d sit here late at night listening to them, it brought me peace of mind. Reminds me of my own travels too when I was younger. What I would give to explore like that again,” He grunted as he re-adjusted his position on the couch, his head inadvertently resting on his son’s shoulder.
“It is very peaceful,” Adol agreed. “It brings back memories to when I explored Celceta– all those nights I spent sleeping in a tent.” Celceta felt like a lifetime ago, he wondered how Duren and everyone else were doing.. His thoughts were interrupted by his father coughing a few times, disappearing as quickly as they came.
“I’m glad you finally came back to visit, Adol. I missed my son, I had to see you one last time.” His eyes remained closed as he took in a deep breath, smiling.
“‘One last time?’ C’mon dad, you’ve still got some years left in you,” Adol joked, attempting to hide the worry that was slowly creeping up on him.
“I love you, Adol.” Was all his father responded with,his smile remaining on his face as he took in another deep breath, letting it out while his body relaxed against his son.
Adol put an arm around him as a means to hug him, his head resting on top of his dad’s. “Love you too, dad.”
A peaceful silence filled the room, the two of them listening to the crickets and owls once more. Adol’s stomach growling broke the silence after a while, causing Adol to clear his throat and nudge his father. “Are you hungry? We should eat dinner before it gets cold,” He joked.
There was no response. Curiously, the swordsman sat up and gently shook his father to wake him back up, albeit still to no response. Worry encompassed the rational side of his brain, Adol shook his father harder, then again even harder, calling out to him. He wasn’t sure when his father’s body had gone limp.
“Father wake up, we gotta eat dinner! Please!” Panic set in. Adol yelled out to his dad, asking him to open his eyes. All to no avail. Tears threatened to fall when Adol finally placed his ear against his father’s chest.
He wasn’t breathing. His heart wasn’t beating. All the color in Adol’s face disappeared. His father couldn’t be dead. Not yet.
“DAD!”
His throat began to hurt with how much shouting he was doing, begging his father to wake back up. To open his eyes. To breathe, anything. His vision had become blurry from the stream of tears now falling. His heart physically ached. His arms and legs were weak. All Adol could muster himself to do was pull his dad’s body into a tight embrace, rocking the both of them back and forth as he loudly wept for his father far into the night.
He wasn’t that hungry anymore.