The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) (3 page)

“The line goes all the way out the door,” Korey whined when their destination came into view.

“You expected different?” Jennings grunted in annoyance. He obviously had.

“Still, it’s worth the wait. Seriously, where does she get all that food?”

“Probably steals it from James’s dad. It’s why we never see the crops.”

James chuckled, despite himself. Sally Marie had to have a deal with half of the farmers to be able to meet the demand.

“I can’t say too much,” Korey said, rearing up on his tip-toes to see over Michael Crick’s ginormous head. He was a tall and wide theater director, ritually stuffing and gorging himself after a particularly atrocious rehearsal. Korey continued the conversation.

“Can’t say much at all,” he repeated.

“Why’s that?” James asked. He could care less if they made fun of his father.

“I’d probably have nothing to sell if I was a farmer. I snack too much.”

“Maybe…”

“Ever thought about taking over the family business, James?”

“Why? You want a job?”

“No. Just wondering.”

“How could he be a farmer when he knows nothing about it?” Jennings, of course.

“What can I say?” James replied, shrugging his shoulders. “He’s right.”

“Do you want to be a farmer?”

“Not really, but I might have to learn it just in case.”

“You should talk to Leidy,” Jennings said as he nodded at his own suggestion. “She’s definitely got the farmer’s touch.”

“What’s the farmer’s touch?”

“I don’t know,” Jennings sighed. “I just made it up – whatever – she’s good at what she does.”

“Yeah, she’s so successful that she has no time for us anymore. When was the last time we all hung out? The four of us?”

“Can’t remember.”

Korey growled in anger. Michael Crick and a few others in line turned around and looked at them cautiously. A couple little girls further up giggled.

“What was that?” James asked, raising his eyebrow. “A dying lion?”

“This line hasn’t moved in five minutes,” Korey mumbled.

“Well, stop thinking about your stomach and join the conversation,” Jennings snapped back.

“We should go to Leidy’s store. She runs it when her parents need a break. We might be able to get some free fruit to tide us over.”

“You do know that this line isn’t going to hold our spot.”

“I don’t care. I’m just hungry.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” James said as Jennings threw his hands into the air.

The three of them left the line simultaneously and a couple behind them cheered under their breath. Thankfully, it was only a couple streets down to Leidy’s. It was really her parents’ store and it actually had no name, being known as the “fruit store” by the villagers, but since Leidy did all the work, friends called it by her name.

The villagers didn’t know what to think of Leidy and her unusual character. She was as plain as dirt even by the village’s standards, and her attire usually consisted of a dingy tank top and a pair of manure-stained denim jeans that she refused to wash. She never wore shoes. And she cared little for what others thought of her since her assertive attitude had always gotten her ahead in life.  Not to say she was arrogant or full of pride. She was actually a sweet and well-mannered individual…until she set her sights on something she wanted. Then she transformed.

It took only ten minutes to journey to Leidy’s corner store, and to their amusement, she was already doing her rounds of kicking non-spenders out onto the street.

“You’ve been scaring ma customers long enough!” Leidy scolded one man, her thick accent already making them laugh. No one knew how to label it, but it sounded like she was chewing peanut butter when she talked.

“I’m not scaring them!” the man pleaded. “I’m warning them!” He was wearing a stained trench coat with a number of patches on the exterior. Korey muttered something about the man’s name being John.

“Warning em o what?” Leidy asked, giving him an evil eye. “R great savings and discount prices? Cuz if it’s anything otter than that, yeh gotta go!”

“Judgment is coming! The Maker will soon destroy Allay for its disobedience and complacency!”

“I hear yeh alright. Yehr being too complacent in buying ma products, and too disobedient in leaving ma store, but I’m no Maker!  Just a lady wit a growing temper that rivals his own!”

“I’m leaving now, but I’ll be back tomorrow!”

“Well, I guess I’ll see yeh in tha morning. In tha mean time, I pray tha good Lord will take yeh by then!”

The beggar left surprisingly unscathed. Leidy shook her head in disbelief as she turned toward her friends. Her eyes immediately lit up in joy as she saw them, chuckling amongst themselves.

“Next time I’ll charge for tha show,” she laughed. “How are ma boys?”

“Well entertained, Lei-Lei,” Jennings laughed. “Never a dull moment with you.”

“Sometimes I pray there were, but it’s not ma lot in life. Now…what r yeh three up to today?”

“Hungry,” Korey sighed.

“Oh, I see,” she frowned. “I kick out one beggar ta get three in his stead. Yehr like locusts…all o yeh, but I shoulda known from yehr tired faces. Well then, come along. I’ll close up shop and join yeh. I’ll get us a feast from tha produce that’s about to expire in tha back.”

“Only the best,” Jennings laughed, rolling his eyes. The fact they were getting any free food from her at all was a miracle.

Leidy headed over to the money till behind the counter and began counting the change from the day. One guy from the back of the store ran through the aisles as if a stampede were behind him and threw a bag of apples onto the counter like he was reaching for a touchdown. He refused to look up at her as he began fishing through his pockets for some change. Leidy ignored him, even when he threw the coins onto the counter.

“Hey! Lady! I need you to tell me how much these cost!”

Leidy scowled at him and gave her signature evil eye.

“Since I don’t know yeh, I must assume yehr sayin lady in a derogatory manner, and not because yehr saying ma name.”

He stared at her in puzzlement.

“What?!”

“Put ta apples back where yeh found em. Shop’s closed.”

“It’s three-fifty,” he said, looking down at his watch. “Shop doesn’t close till four.”

“Well ma till closes at three-fifty, but window shoppers r welcome.”

“Are you serious?”

“Serious as childbirth.”

The man grunted an expletive under his breath and threw the apples to where the grapefruit lay. He stormed out as Leidy chuckled to herself.

“Little old me gettin a grown man all ruffled like that. Makes ma day every time!”

“So are we eating now?” Korey whimpered. Jennings smacked him upside his head.

“Of course we are…MA!” Leidy screamed toward the back. “I’m leaving now! Close up!”

“Think she heard you?” James winced, cupping his ears.

“She’ll close up,” Leidy muttered. “This shop is all we got after all.”

Leidy picked up a wooden basket from behind the counter, overflowing with juiciness.

“To tha meadow in tha north, gentlemen,” she ordered militaristically and the rest followed like a pack of hungry dogs.

The meadow wasn’t very big, but it was arguably the most beautiful spot in the village, not only because it was the sole place you could find untouched flowers and unpaved grass, but primarily because it led to a steep hill which gave the Kingdom of Allay its most impressive view of all: the castle.

Sure, one could look all around them, admire the geography of the Kingdom itself. Its oval shape, fortified by giant cement walls with only a few miniature exits located respectively to the east, west, and south. The Academy located by the south exit, barely visible by an ever-advancing army of gigantic vines and exotic foliage. And the village in the middle - a labyrinth of huts and shops that could easily have been the world’s largest shopping district (though no outsiders visited).

But the castle was their shining beacon. A declaration to all that they were not just a people scrambling for importance. They were a Kingdom, and deserved respect for achieving such a status. Yet the people didn’t act like it. Hardly anyone talked about the castle, and whenever someone did travel outside the confines of the village, they rather spent time in the east and west where the rocky soil and dead grass lay, than the beautiful hill before the castle. Why this occurred, remained a great mystery to James. 

If it were up to him, he would have moved his house even closer to enjoy the sight, but it was as if the village shrank farther and farther from it, crowding together and condensing every year, moving away from the north and southern exits as far as it could, as if an invisible danger was constantly lurking, waiting to devour them all.

Even as you moved from the core to the outskirts, less and less tenants inhabited the residential complexes, resulting in the outer lining of the village being completely composed of condemned homes and beggars of the lowest means. Beggars that strangely stayed away from the eerily quiet castle…

Supposedly a king and queen lived there, reigning comfortably and dictating everyone’s lives, but James never saw any evidence of this. Whenever he asked a villager about the castle or its royalty, their answers were as vague as a weather report. Yet, it was still an underlying understanding that whoever lived up there was still in charge. James had no opinion in the matter, and as a result he cast the royal family in the same category as the Maker - nowhere to be found. But just as he put on the cross every morning that dangled from his neck, he reluctantly but faithfully followed the decrees and ordinances that were passed upon him. 

“What do yeh suppose they’re doin now?” Leidy sighed as she began distributing lunch.

“Who?” Korey asked with little interest.

“The king and queen.”

It was a conversation that was often brought up between them but never concluded to anyone’s satisfaction. Still, they each gave their own conjectures as they ate greedily.

“They probably take a percentage of the people’s hard-earned money,” Korey said through bouts of chewing.

“If they do,” Leidy interjected, “I haven’t seen any taxman. We must not be that important.”

Jennings yawned as he reached for another apple.

“Well, no one’s actually seen the king and queen for years.”

“So someone’s seen them?” James asked, intrigued.

“Oh, I’m just speculating. The way everyone’s so silent, I suspect as much.”

“There may be no one up there at all,” Leidy said. “And we’re all alone, governing ourselves.”

Leidy – always the realist.

“That’s scary,” James said.

“It would explain why no one’s kicked James’s dad off the farm,” Korey guffawed.

“Just imagine if that castle was empty,” Leidy continued. “Yeh know, we should check it out someday soon. If it’s empty, I’d like ta see if there’s anything valuable inside.”

“What if someone really is up there? We could be hanged,” Korey said. “No, I’m with James. It’s too scary. I’m sure there’s a reason no one’s talking and it might be best to keep it that way.”

“I’m not one to stay ignorant forever,” Jennings replied.

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

“Yea, but satisfaction brought him back,” Leidy interjected.

“Where did you hear that ridiculous line?”

“I think it was on a popsicle stick.”

“And this is where we get our proverbs and words of wisdom,” Jennings laughed. “Perfect.”

“Sure ain’t from our parents,” James muttered.

“So it’s decided,” Leidy said in excitement. “We’ll check out the castle in a couple o days.”

“Who decided?” Jennings retorted. “You? Leidy, you’re forever deciding things for us to do.”

“If yeh don’t do as I say, who will get yeh free food?”

Dead silence.

“Well played,” Jennings nodded. They all burst out laughing and James patted Leidy on the back. She was taken by surprise so she immediately jerked forward, almost dropping her banana in the fine needle-length grass below. She came up quickly after retrieving it, but her curtain red hair slapped James in the face on the return. He spat in a panic as some flew into his mouth and he threw up his hands to fight off the onslaught. It only got him more entangled.

“I think that’s the closest thing to a kiss James is ever gonna get,” Jennings laughed. James glared at him and Leidy giggled as she picked strands of hair from his face.

“Geez, Leidy,” James whined. “It’s like a spider web. When was the last time you washed that thing?”

“Not trying ta impress no guy, so I figure why bother?”

“Doesn’t it smell?” Jennings asked.

“Yes,” James said quickly.

“Smells natural,” Leidy said as she took a handful of her hair and took a whiff. “Smells good ta me.”

“Wow,” Korey said with eyes wide open. “That is gross.”