the son of the town’s mayor, and he was holding a snowball in his right hand. Kohl had a fat face, which matched his large round frame, a visual reminder that his family never went hungry.
“What’s in your hand?” asked Kohl with scorn as they strode closer to him. Jonas unconsciously hid the loaf of bread behind his back as he awkwardly stood up.
“Nothing of your concern,” Jonas replied. He was hoping that they would just leave him alone, but they seldom did. His real worry was that they would take the bread, or destroy it.
“Really?” Kohl replied. “Maybe we’ll just beat you and take whatever you have. How does that sound?”
Jonas noticed that Fil was standing back from the other two boys. He had never had any problems with Fil and he hoped he wouldn’t today.
Suddenly Jonas remembered the gold coin he had tucked into his pocket. Losing the bread would be bad, but losing the gold coin to these ruffians was something that Jonas couldn’t let happen. Steadying himself he lifted his stout cane before him gritting his teeth in determination. “Don’t come near me. I have done nothing to you. Just let me be on my way.”
Wil and Kohl looked at each other and laughed. Fil stood back from the others, looking at Jonas with concern.
“What are you going to do with that?” asked Wil through his laughter.
Jonas knew he couldn’t really do anything. Holding the stick before him was one thing, but swinging it with enough power to do any damage was another. So he changed tactics. “Do you really want a stale loaf of damp bread?” Jonas asked as he brought the bread from behind his back.
The boys laughed again. This time Fil stepped forward. “Let’s go. Leave him alone,” he said.
“Why? He’s just a cripple,” snarled Wil with obvious disgust.
“Which is why we should leave him be,” responded Fil.
“You a cripple lover?” asked Kohl.
“No, I just have better things to do than threaten someone who can barely stand and defend himself. Let’s go, we need to build the fires in the grange before your father has our hides.”
Kohl looked at Jonas and then back at Fil. Finally his face relaxed, dropping the snowball. “You’re right, let’s go. He makes me sick just looking at him.”
Jonas lowered his cane in relief. Wil gave him a disdainful look and pushed him hard as he walked by. Jonas slipped, again falling hard on the snow covered ground. Awkwardly he struggled to get up to defend himself. As he propped himself up on his elbow, he looked up and watched the boys walk off. Wil and Kohl were laughing loudly as Fil brought up the rear, looking back with a troubled glance.
Jonas brushed his wavy brown hair away from his face, slowly lifting himself to his feet. His jaw hurt but he still had his bread and gold coin. Smiling, he shook his head in disbelief. From his perspective, he was actually happy that he came out of that ordeal with just a bruise. It wasn’t right, but it was his reality. His happiness was relative to how much pain and scorn he could avoid. Jonas tried to never pity himself, so he shook off the incident and continued his long journey home.
The mile walk to their cabin took Jonas over an hour. His weak frame and the heavy snow hindered his progress. The walk, however, always seemed to go by quickly for Jonas, for he spent his time within the safe confines of his own mind. He watched the birds flying gracefully through the air, and the deer jumping with such ease over the brambles, and wished that he could move like them. Sometimes he would get angry and curse the gods for what they did to him. Today however, he thought about what the man had said. Maybe the gods did have a plan for him, but what would they want with a cripple? Maybe it was a test, as his mother always told him. They would sit at their hearth at night and his mother would tell him that the gods were testing his strength and his resolve, and that if he met their expectations then when he died and went to the silver city of the High One, he would be rewarded with a strong body and a wonderful afterlife. He would be able to meet Shyann, their goddess, and she would show him a life of peace and wonder.