Inktober #31: Ripe

It's his first harvest season. I'm nervous. I remember how I was at his age. The questions, the imagination. Even growing up with the stories you can't help but wonder why we do things this way. Why you always want to leave the inside bit gooey during the winter roast, as you smile along with everyone else in the ring. But the fire is so warm, and the company so pleasant, and eventually you just...grow up.

He did so wonderfully last year at the roast that it seemed like it was time to get him involved in harvest too. He didn't have as much hesitation as I did back then, but the harvest is different. Necessary. He has to understand our balance with them.

The Orchard stretches out as far as the eye can see, trees waving in the wind as they are tended to by the groundskeepers. My father never told me their actual name. They don't appear to have one. They are just..."them". They wander the Orchard, pruning, fertilizing, and making sure each and every fruit that grows all year long is protected until it's ripe.

When he first sees them he points in excitement, remembering them from the winter. He looks back to me and sees my smile.
"Oh, go along. But be careful! And be nice!" I yell after him as he runs into the field and straight towards the nearest groundskeeper. It greets him warmly.

The Orchard is practically full today with other families. The heat from the sun bathes us all as the winter mildly threatens with a bite of wind. I greet a couple I met five winters ago, just a few seasons after he was born. Their own little one goes to meet mine.

"A boon of Harvest to you," I greet them with.
"And a boon for you as well," they greet back. "I see everyone picked the same day to come and grab a fruit."
"Apparently," I chuckle.
"Sorry we couldn't be there for the ring last winter, we really wanted to be present for his first."
"Oh, no, please, it's fine. You had other concerns. Is she here?"
"We..." a brief look of sadness clouds their eyes before snapping away. "We haven't seen her yet. But we hope she'll be here."
"Well, it's a big Orchard but a small town. I'm sure you'll run into her eventually."
"Yes...yes. In the meantime though..."

I follow their gaze and find him looking up at a tree with a hefty fruit, as the groundskeeper respectfully backs away.

"Ah, right. I'll see you later," I say as I quicken my pace over to him.

He looks to me as I approach, questions written all over his brow.

"Hey there! You found quite the bounty!"
He looks in confusion back at the tree.
"See all that sap? You can tell from how much there is that there's a nice juicy fruit in there. In fact, it's probably ready for harvest."
The groundskeeper nearby lowers itself.
"Yeah, it's ready! Do you want this one?"
He looks back to me again, tears in his eyes, as he points to the tree's face.

And I see it.

"Oh. Oh my dear boy....."
I pause.
I look.
"What a boon."
The tears come. The smile cracks.
"You found her."
The questions I had as a child careen into me as I see them do the same to him.
"This is..."
He hugs me. No, clings to me, grabs hold to save some part of his world from shattering.
"What a boon."
He is wailing now, and nearby families are looking. Some with understanding, some with...something else, as the groundskeeper nearby rises. And another appears from behind it.
"We'll harvest it together okay?"
He leans back, fear radiating as he locks eyes with mine.
"No no no, it's okay! It's okay! They say, if you can find the tree of one of your blood, and eat the fruit, then you can be like them!"
The horror floods him.
"It's good! We can be like them! And then we can feed all these people in the winter! We can help the whole village!"
He recoils, backing into the groundskeeper that is suddenly behind him.
He screams, and not knowing what to do, climbs the tree.
They try to stop him, but in a blink, his foot is through the sap...and the fruit bursts.

I try to cry.

I try to remember what comes next.

It feels like seasons go by.

There is snow.

And sun.

And sap.

And all I feel is the breeze.

Until I am ripe.