73, Tears

“In the merchant quarters, my dad is a trader,” Jason told Ayya, then he looked over her shoulder. “Who’s that?” he asked. She followed his look and smiled at Tenac, who stood a little away, but close enough to make sure he would reach her if it was needed.

“That’s Tenac,” Ayya said.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Ayya smiled at the curious boy.

“He is,” she confirmed.

“My sister wants a boyfriend, but dad sais she is too young to accept suitors,” Jason told Ayya in a matter-of-fact way. 

“Is that so? How old are your sister?”

“She’s fourteen, I’m seven.”

“That is a little young,” Ayya agreed. 

“Now when they are sick, I don’t know if she will get to have a boyfriend at all,” he said, his bottom lip quivering. 

“Oh, Jason,” Ayya exclaimed and put her arm around the boy. “Have they been ill for long?”

“No, mom started to feel sick about a week ago and my sister maybe a day or so later. My dad had been out of town on one of his trips and he was not sick when he got home four days ago. But then the day after he got home, he got sick as well,” Jason told her. 

“But you feel okay?” she asked him. He nodded. Ayya could feel he didn’t have a fever, and he looked healthy. “Jason, do you do something different from the rest of your family? Like, is there something you don’t eat, or a chore you don’t take part in?” The boy thought for a while.

“No, I eat everything. My mom always cooks really tasty food. Sometimes, if dad has brought home some sugar from his trip, she even makes sweets for me and Lina. That’s my sister,” he told Ayya. Ayya kept questioning him about the family’s daily life. When she was done, she just sat and talked with him for a while before she told him she needed to go. Jason looked sad, but nodded.

“I will be here tomorrow as well. I will stop by and see how you are doing. Is that okay?” Ayya asked as she got up. 

“I would like that,” Jason nodded. Ayya and Tenac moved on to another person who was healthy. After spending almost an hour talking to them, they moved on to the next. As Ayya got up and stretched after the fourth interview, she decided she needed a break. Listening to the people’s stories were bringing up memories of her past and she needed to clear her head. 

“How about we go check on Firlea?” Tenac asked. 

“That sounds good,” she said. They walked over to the area where the nuns were working and Ayya walked up to Firlea as she was smearing honey in a hollowed out turnip. “Need help?” Ayya asked. 

“If you don’t mind? The cough syrup is being used faster than I can make it,” Firlea said, handing Ayya half a turnip. Ayya nodded and hollowed the turnip out and smeared the honey onto it, and then let her magic infuse the active substances from the turnip into the honey. She then scraped the honey into a jar and repeated the process until the jar was two-thirds full. Ayya took a bowl and filled it with water and added garlic cloves and let the water simmer, using her magic to infuse the water with the garlic’s properties. She removed the garlic and poured the water over the honey in the jar and stirred using her magic until everything was mixed. She handed the jar to a nun, who thanked her and took it away to be used. It felt good to do something practical. She walked up to Sister Agatha and was greeted with a smile. 

“Hi, I was wondering, do you know hor Jason’s family is doing?” Ayya asked her.

“Jason?” the nun asked.

“A seven-year-old boy in the room with the healthy people. Blond boy with chocolate coloured eyes, he’s been here about three days,” Ayya said.

“Ah yes, came in with a mother and father and older sister, I believe,” Sister Agatha told her. Ayya nodded. “His mother and sister are very ill, I’m afraid. The father, not so bad, but it is early stages yet.” 

“Thank you,” Ayya said and walked over to Tenac. He was helping to rip linen fabric into rags. “What should I do?” Ayya asked him. “Jason’s mother and sister are really sick, there is a chance they won’t make it until we can find a cure, if we can. Should I tell him?” Tenac stopped working and looked at her. 

“Would you have wanted to know?” he asked. Ayya thought about it. She had known, sort of. But she hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye, not a proper one. 

“Yes, I think I would have liked to be able to say goodbye,” she told him. 

“That’s your answer,” he said, picking up her hand and kissed the back of it as they were in the middle of a group of nuns and it was the only acceptable intimacy he could show. Ayya nodded. She knew Jason didn’t have any other family than his parents and sister. His father had moved to the city as a young man, and his mother’s family had been wiped out in a previous wave of the sickness. She walked back to sister Agatha. 

“Would it be okay if I talked to Jason and explained how serious the situation is, and maybe let him go and see his mother and sister?” she asked the nun. Sister Agatha looked at her and then nodded.

“We don’t always have the time to let the families know or say goodbye,” she told Ayya.

“I understand that. It’s an overwhelming task you have. To be honest, Jason reminds me of me, and I just want to make sure he is set up to get through this as painfree as possible,” Ayya confessed. The nun nodded.

“Let’s take our lunch and talk to him,” Tenac said. They had made sure to pack food as they didn’t want to use the sparse resources the institute had. Tenac took the sandwiches they had and a jug of water and then they walked back to Jason. He smiled as they came walking. 

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi, Jason. Would you like to have lunch with Tenac and me?” Ayya asked. 

“Sure,” he said. 

“Come on, I think I have found a good spot,” Ayya told him. Reaching out her hand, he took it without hesitation and they walked to a secluded area just inside the main entrance. It was used as a storage space and there were some crates they could use to sit on. Tenac helped Jason get up on one and then he and Ayya sat on each side of the boy. Ayya divided the sandwiches between them, making sure Tenac got the biggest portion. 

“This is really good,” Jason said as he happily chewed on his. “I know I should be grateful I get food and a place to stay here, but the food isn’t as good as when my mom cooks,” he confessed.

“It’s okay to think that,” Ayya said. They continued eating in silence and it wasn’t until they were finished, Ayya turned to Jason. “Jason, I need to talk to you,” she started. She could see he understood it was a serious topic, and he gave her his complete attention. “I asked the nuns about your family and your mother and sister are really sick. I’m sorry, Jason, but I don’t think they have much longer to live,” she told him. She could she the quivering lip as he nodded to show he had understood. He did his best to hold back the tears, but when Ayya drew him into a hug, she could hear the sobs. Ayya channelled her mother and tried to give him one of those warm, comforting hugs Bettina was so good at. Tenac reached out his hand and stroked Jason’s back as he cried. They sat like that until Ayya couldn’t hear any more sobs. She slowly let go of Jason and pulled him a way a little so she could look at him. He was read eyed and a little snotty, but he looked mostly okay. “Do you want to see you mother and sister? You don’t have to,” Ayya asked him.

“Yes please, I would really want that,” he told her. Tenac gave him one of the rags he had been helping to make. Jason wiped his tears away and blew his nose. Tenac took another rag and pour some water on it and handed to Ayya. She gently washed the boy’s face. 

“When we see them, they won’t look as they did before. They are sick and it may be scarry. It’s okay to be scared,” Tenac explained as Ayya washed Jason’s face. Jason nodded. “The room is going to be full of people who are sick and that can be scarry to, but you are safe with me and Ayya. If you get scared, you let us know. Promise me,” Tenac said.

“I promise,” Jason said.

“Good. Do you want me to carry you? That way you can close your eyes and we can tell you when we get to your mother and sister so you can look,” Tenac suggested. Jason nodded. 

“Stay here and I’ll ask the sister where his mother and sister are,” Ayya said. Tenac was about to object, but Ayya gave him a look which made him stay quiet. Ayya returned a moment later and nodded to Tenac.