“So Kolu, I remember your dad telling you to go find someone to play with or something like that,” Kenneth said, raising his head up. “Do you still want to find someone to play with?”

  The question made Kolu's once cheerful features vanish and replaced by a more proud and sad one. “Father always tells me to go find someone to play with when he is doing business, and there is never anyone fun.”

  “Really, no one?” Kenneth asked.

  “No one,” Kolu repaeted. “They are all always bigger than me, and when we play games, I always lose.”

  “I suppose it isn’t fun to always lose,” Kenneth affirmed. “What games do you normally play?”

  “Fighting, running, and slap,” Kolu said.

  “Slap?” Kenneth uttered. “How… do you play?”

  Kolu reached out his hand and said,” You wait until the other person tries to hit you and then take it away, or you get slapped.”

  “I see,” Kenneth muttered.

  “I always lose, and they always laugh,” Kolu said, sounding a bit sad.

  “And it’s like that with every outpost?” Kenneth asked as he turned a corner out onto the main street.

  “I don’t even know how many I've been to since my father took me along with him, but you are the only one who I’ve had fun playing with,” Kolu said, his tail wagging from side to side.

  “You know Kolu, if you don’t like those games the others play, I do happen to know another game you might like,” Kenneth said as he found a nearby stick and drew two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. And lastly, one giant square enclosing them all.

  “It’s called tic tac toe and is very easy to learn,” Kenneth said as he drew an X in the upper right corner and explained the simple rules of the game.

  “Woah, that’s so easy,” Kolu said in awe.

  “If you play this game with someone, I bet you’ll have a harder time losing,” Kenneth said happily.

  “Do you know more games like that,” Kolu asked, pointing to the tick-tak-toe drawing.

  “A few,” Kenneth admitted.

  “Can you teach me all of them,” Kolu asked excitedly, his tail wagging happily from side to side.

  “If you insist,” Kenneth chuckled as he started to draw a few more shapes in the dirt as he explained the rules for other simple children's games such as hopscotch, rock paper scissors, and even I declare war.

  Although Kenneh didn’t really know the English name for the last game. So, instead, he just did a direct translation from his native tongue.

  “All of them sound so fun,” Kolu said as he happily twitched on Kenneth's shoulders. It was so wild Kenneth started to worry he might lose his grip and fall off.

  “Can we play them now?” Kolu asked.

  “Wísh we could, but some of these games do require more than two to play them, and I do need to check on a patient in the great hall,” Kenneth explained.

  “But can’t it wait,” Kolu cutely asked.

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  Kenneth raised his hand up to Kolu. “Sorry, it can’t. Last time I saw my patient, he was in pretty bad shape, and I need to see if he’s woken up.”

  “But I promise you tomorrow we can play a few of these games.”

  “You mean it?” Kolu asked cutely.

  “I pinky promise,” Kenneth responded as he balled his hand into a fist, except for his pinky, of course.

  For a moment, Kenneth had completely forgotten that Aki didn’t have this kind of gesture and was about to explain, but just as the first syllable left his mouth, he felt Kolu’s tiny hand grab his pinky finger.

  ‘I suppose that’ll have to do,’ Kenneth inwardly chuckled.

  “It’s a promise,” Kolu said in a serious tone.

  “That it is,” Kenneth added as he started to walk toward the great hall.

  “So Kolu, do you want me to put you down, or do you want to see your father?” Kenneth asked.

  Kolu seemed to think about it for a moment before loudly declaring. “I wanna see father.”

  “As you wish,” Kenneth chuckled as he kept walking in the same direction.

  But as he walked, one question perpetually kept popping up in his mind, one he wanted to avoid and just forget. But alas, it was useless as the words sounded in his head. ‘What am I even doing?’

  The words reminded Kenneth of so much, but mostly a void inside him. A void that had once been filled.

  Kenneth marched faster ahead, shaking off the feelings he felt and the thought as best he could, ignoring them for now.

  For the most part, successfully, he did this even when he arrived at the great hall where Solk and Ulric appeared to have a conversation.

  “Father, look how tall I’ve grown!” Kolu called.

  Solk quickly turned his head and saw the scene before him, and his reaction seemed to be one of amusement before he turned back to Ulric and said something.

  Kenneth was too far away to hear what it was, but once Solk faced his son and Kenneth again, Ulric quickly departed.

  “Son, it would appear you have grown a little how unobservant of me,” Solk gleefully said.

  “No, I’ve grown a lot, Father,” Kolu said back.

  Solk took a moment and even took a step back, looking up and down before holding out his thumb and index finger, the tips of both almost touching.

  “About this much,” Solk jokingly teased.

  “No father this much,” Kolu said while throwing his hands up in the air to exaggerate his point. However, Kolu quickly lost balance and was about to fall.

  Kenneth quickly grabbed his legs.

  Kolu hung over Kenneth’s shoulders like he was dead prey that was being brought home.

  “Oh dear,” Solk gasped, relieved. “Kolu, don’t scare me like that.”

  “Sorry, Father,” Kolu slightly chuckled, finding the situation funny.

  Solk quickly grabbed the hanging Kolu out of Kenneth’s hands and placed him on the ground, much to Kolu’s reluctance.

  “But I wanna be tall, Father,” Kolu pleaded.

  “Now, now Kolu,” Solk said in such a dad tone of voice. “One day, you will be as tall as Kenneth here and even taller, but you still have to wait a little, okay.”

  “Okay, Father,” Kolu said, sounding only a little disappointed.

  Solk then turned to Kenneth.

  “I see your duties also extend beyond healing,” Solk remarked.

  “Anyone in my profession would always keep an eye on a patient, even one that’s healed, just in case something happens. But I can stop if it is not to your liking,” Kenneth responded respectfully.

  “Not at all,” Solk cheerfully said, waving a dismissive hand. “It has been a long time since Kolu has seemed this happy on the trip.”

  “Now then, Kolu, are you excited for the party?” Solk asked as he picked up his son.

  “Yes, but Father, he wanted to talk with you,” Kolu said, pointing to Kenneth.

  “Oh really, what about?” Solk asked.

  “Nothing much, just if I could buy four of those swords I saw earlier,” Kenneth responded.

  Solk looked at Kenneth with a slightly smug and satisfied expression. “I see. The craftsmanship has finally won you over, has it.”

  “You could say that,” Kenneth said, now too keen on admitting why he really needed them.

  “So, what do you want to trade with? Some of the flowers or perhaps more interesting items?” Solk questioned.

  “Just flowers,” Kenneth answered.

  “So, do you want to come pick them up now?” Solk asked, gesturing toward the wagon.

  “No, that won’t be necessary; you can just deduct the flowers off, and I’ll come to pick them up in a little bit, but for now, I have someone I need to check on,” Kenneth said.

  “Okay, no problem,” Solk shrugged before turning around and walking away with an excited and happy Kolu.

  ‘How nice,’ Kenneth thought, looking at them before turning away and walking into the kitchen.

  With slow and quiet footsteps, he entered the kitchen unannounced. Hali was still sleeping exactly where Kenneth had left him, and Kica was nearby, keeping an eye on him.

  Kenneth took a few more audible steps that Kica quickly noticed.

  “You are finally back,” She said, sounding annoyed. “That took you long.”

  “Has he woken up since I was gone?” Kenneth asked.

  “He’s been murmuring a bit in his sleep about meat, but that’s all,” Kica answered as she walked past Kenneth and out of the kitchen.

  “I guess it’s just us now,” Kenneth mumbled, taking a seat on the floor near Hali.