‘I have been thinking of home as of late,’ Sascha solemnly stated, unafraid.
All men present were aware of her true identity, now that Dieter had left.
Including the odd looking crow-keeper that was pretending not to eavesdrop.
Lukk listened in silence, as Fernand was reading one of the many books he had brought with him by the campfire.
Poetry, apparently.
‘Every morning I would bring my little brother to his classes, since our parents would already be long present at their clinic at that time.
Holding his hand, we’d go the long way so we got to walk through the local park, and we would stop by its pond to feed the ducks and the birds.
It often resulted in my brother being rather late for school, but it did not matter, even despite the scolding we’d receive afterwards.’
Sascha smiled brightly to herself, cherishing the warmth of her precious memory.
‘He was just too innocent, it was adorable.
He was able to grow up within the strong, inner walls of that wonderful city and has never lacked food, and never felt real fear.
And it resulted in him being the gentlest, kindest little boy imaginable.’
Sascha’s smile faded a bit.
‘I wonder how losing his sister has changed him.
I wonder who walks him to school now, or who talks to him during the early evening, when his parents have already gone to bed.
And to have been the one that took away his innocence hurts beyond belief.’
‘What happened?’ Lukk asked.
‘You talked about having ended your studies and thus being drafted into the army, but you never mentioned as to why you refused to finish them.’
Fernand interjected himself into the conversation.
‘I can attest to why.
And I respect her greatly for not going through with it.
It is a cruel thing to ask from a girl only seeking to comfort those around her.’ He turned to Sascha.
‘In fact, it was that exact same exam that had made me abandon my family at Vendaal, some fifty odd years ago.
Although, unlike you, I ran.
And they suffered greatly as a consequence.’ She could hear the bitterness in his voice.
‘You speak of pre-Rein times then,’ Sascha responded.
‘Were things really so similar back then?’ Fernand’s face was one of melancholy.
‘Frighteningly so, child.
This era dominated by the persistent cycle of New Beginnings is truly one of stasis.
You would not be able to comprehend the things we have lost as a species.
The accomplishments made void.
The speeches forgotten.
The inventions undone.
I pray to God almighty that your father’s great work will in some way remain, after that accursed clock strikes fifteen.’
Fernand stood up and laid his book aside.
He looked down on Sascha, who was still sitting around the campfire.
His whole being radiated an intense, almost zealous passion.
‘A revelation came to me when I was in my late fifties.
One of great import, it had likely been my life’s work at that point.
Knowing I had only three years left, I had found a cave and scratched my findings high on its ceiling.
The details, the date, my name, everything.
I made sure that I could not reach the ceiling after that.
I destroyed the ladder I had used, after which I had made it near impossible to enter the cave without significant help from others.
I never told a soul about what was written in that cave.
So it survived.
It survived the Night of New Beginnings.’
‘But..’ Fernand had tears well up in his eyes, and his voice started to crack.
‘When my peers opened up the cave for me, and I finally gazed at my own findings, my revelation, my life’s greatest contribution..I did not understand it.’
The old man seemed as if he was about to collapse, so Lukk shot up and supported him, guiding Fernand back to his seat, gently holding his hand as he did.
‘My own great work was built on more than a decade of discoveries, which I had deemed logical at the time.
None but its Rein components now remain understood.’
The camp fell silent for a while.
Not knowing what to say, Sascha simply decided to stay silent too.
Footsteps broke the silence.
‘They made me kill my bird,’ Richter spoke, coming out of the shadows.
‘Happy was her name, a most beautiful raven.
I raised her from when she was a chick.
Fed her myself, like a mother bird would.
One day she broke one of her wings.
She wasn’t worth bringing along, they said.
It was a waste of resources, they said.’
Lukk and Sascha looked at each other in utter confusion.
‘That’s..rough, friend.’ Lukk managed to say.
‘We did not have the usual tools at hand, so they made me use a frying pan,’ the odd man continued.
‘I smacked and I whacked but her pleading quacks ceased not.
It was then I realized I could no longer work for a regime so blatantly, and so unapologetically evil.
Finally, I met Dieter, and once he heard my most tragic story he was so touched that he took me into his care, and vowed to avenge Happy and make things right for me.’
Fernand could not hold in his laughter.
Lukk and Sascha were stunned, not knowing how to react.
Fernand laughed for a while more, after which calmed down a bit, ‘Don’t worry, he is just messing with you.
The good man has the weirdest sense of humor.
His crows probably think he is the funniest man alive.’ ‘That they do, and they also think I’m rather handsome,’ Richter joked.
‘Hmm.
Thank you for cheering me up, my friend.
I had need of that,’ Fernand spoke, as he wiped away his tears.
‘So, what’s your real story then?’ Sascha asked the keeper.
Richter looked confused.
‘Mine?
I’m afraid it’s painfully boring.
I have always gotten along well with animals, so when a close friend of mine invited me to join the rebellion and become a real and proper crow-keeper, I could not say no.
But this was ten years ago, and that small rebellion has grown into something so much more under the guidance of our great master.
Although I am meek and my role in it is small, I do cherish it greatly.’
‘As good a reason as any,’ Lukk remarked.
They all silently looked at him, and he realized what they expected of him.
‘Maybe another time, when I’m a lot more drunk.
For now I just want to enjoy a nice sunset shared with some good people I respect.’ ‘I’ll have a drink to that,’ Fernand stated.
They toasted and enjoyed a long night of silly stories and good laughs, while Dieter spent the night roaming, exploring the terrain and planning his next move.