Harvest season.

I had never wondered what this description entailed. I saw pictures of giant combine harvesters, mills, and factories while I watched one documentary after another from my sick bed. But in this dream, harvest season stood for one simple thing - walking.

The experienced farmers walked in front and cut the wheat with their worn scythes. A row of young men followed them, collected the fallen stalks, and bundled them together. The last group picked up the bundles, carried them back to the village and delivered them to the square where women threshed the wheat, filling the grains into linen sacks.

As a first-time helper, I belonged to the third group. And so I walked up and down the fields for days. Modern technology would clean a field in a matter of hours, but for this village it was what the name implied - a season. Days after days of work. With the entire village on its feet.

To be honest, I had underestimated their stories. How could this be any worse than chopping trees? Those stalks weighed nothing. My leveled up body had no problem with walking. And the working hours weren’t even that long, leaving time for my morning hunts.

It was the ninth day, the sixth field, and god knows how many bundles. The sun burned. And I hated my boasting former self.

Sure, walking was easy. But one still wouldn’t >just run a marathon<. And hours of walking through bumpy fields became a slow marathon.

My legs hurt with each step. I had long exchanged my morning hunts for an extra hour of rest. Didn’t help much though. And Thea’s figure was even more irritating. How did that girl walk both faster and with fewer breaks?

“You’re worse than a girl!” A familiar voice teased. “Why don’t you sit with the other women and chatter?”

It was Uno. Damn brat. At least he brought another round of water.

“Thanks.” I ignored his banter and moistened my dry throat. “And off you go.”

“Don’t look down on me!” He scowled. “Even Thea carries more bundles than you. And I’ll, too.”

I smiled. Given his age, he didn’t work with us, but continued his task as water distributor. Not one bundle for him.

Hence there was no way I would argue with a small child. Not again. I learned my lesson after the third day.

I sighed, inspecting my bruised arms.

On the first day, Thea’s workload had shocked me to the core. And his little provocation had come at the right moment. Double the bundles for an inexperienced idiot. Outcome obvious. Their laughter still echoed in my ears.

The burnt child dreads the fire. No more defiance for me.

But Thea was an enigma.

Her back always in front of me, round after round after round. More hardworking than most men. More bundles than most men. And more stubborn than most men.

My first impression of her had been >sturdy<, now confirmed hundredfold. Both her strength and endurance ranked high in the village and her knocking me out had been no accident. Because beside farmers on the fields and farmers cutting trees, there was a third group. Farmers defending the fields. And Thea, a youthful woman, was part of that group.

Why would a girl pick up a club and fight? All the other village girls learned to cook, weave, or sew. But Thea learned to kill. And that was only the beginning.

Normally a farmer would watch over his own fields, but Thea patrolled the entire village. She didn’t tend a field, she didn’t chop trees, she didn’t barter. She only patrolled the fields, and people gave her food and clothing for it.

It was weird. Thea was good. But not that good.

I had questioned a few other men, but they had kept silent. No answers for me.

>Hey, why are you behaving like a man?<

Yeah, no way I would ask her that. That’s one more blackout to come.

So back to silent wonder. With my view fixated on her back before me.

Two more hours of work. Not one word spoken.

Just step after step after step.

“Aki! They are here!” Thea’s lively voice pulled me out of the grind. “That’s it for today.”

They? Who were they? And why was she so happy?

“Ah.” Catching my inquiring gaze, she continued. “The caravan is here. News from the outside!”

The caravan? My way out of this daily routine was here. Time to go out in the world and explore this dream!

I wanted to run all the way back to the village. No more grind, no more boredom. Freedom. But I controlled myself and walked in silence, side by side with Thea. After all, these might be our last steps together. And even though we weren’t that close together, any farewell would be accompanied by doubts and melancholy.

A long row of horse-drawn carriages stood down the entire path. Men in sparkling armor sat on horses, guarding the content. A handful of sparsely clothed workers staggered as they loaded sack after sack of wheat. This should be the harvest tax.

No way to hitch a ride with those officials. So where were those merchants?

Not to the left, not the right, no rolling shop anywhere.

“See the merchants?” I asked Thea for help. But she shook her head. No luck.

“The merchants?” One of the other villagers turned around. “They aren’t coming this year. It’s only the tax collector.”

“They… aren’t coming? But why?” What was this? A nasty joke? I turned towards Thea. “Didn’t you tell me? Didn’t you promise they would come?”

A shocked look. Of course she wouldn’t know. She knows nothing. Nobody here knows anything.

“The collector told the elders,” the man continued. “They had problems with monsters during their last trip. So they canceled ours.”

Monsters? What was this? You said there weren’t any here, blabbered on and on about that. So why now? What was this?

A hand on my shoulder. Thea’s hand. Seems like my silence had worried her.

A forced smile. Don’t want my voice to crack. Can’t throw a tantrum here.

So I left. Back towards the field. And behind the field, into the woods.

Tranquility.

Silence.

Peace.

I sat on the ground, my back against the tree, and closed my eyes.

Think nothing. Do nothing. Just stay here.

Tranquility.

Silence.

Peace.

Darkness.

Just for me.

Or not.

I hear steps. They come closer, targeting my position. Someone is here for me.

“Here you are,” a quiet voice said. Apologetic, as if this was her fault.

“Here I am.”

“I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I answered Thea. What else could I say? What else could I do? I was stuck in this village. Stuck with her. No matter how much I wished for it, the sword maiden wouldn’t appear and take me into the wide world. But that wasn’t Thea’s fault.

Movement and snaps. She sat down beside me.

“Do you… hate me?”

“Why would I? A slight bulge isn’t enough for that.” Weird girl. With weird thoughts.

“Then… why?”

“Hmm?”

“Leaving… the village.” Careful words from the chatterbox. Was she afraid of me?

“Because I don’t want to be trapped here. I want to go to the city, explore the world, have some fun, level up and… oh, you wouldn’t understand.”

“We also have fun here. The harvest festival next week. Or midwinter.”

“That’s different. I want to travel the world, see unknown places, learn different things. It’s… I… I don’t want to rot here.”

“But we live here.” She looked down. Hurt. “We don’t rot here.”

“But it’s different. I don’t know when this all ends. When I’ll die. I don’t know how much time… forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I understand,” she said. Forcefully. “Mom, dad, auntie, Uno, you, I,… everyone can die tomorrow. Nobody knows…”

“No, that’s different. For me, you see, I could die tomorrow. And I want to live. I…”

“Not different.” She cut me off. “You’re not different.”

“But… whatever.” No need to argue with her. “Then, do you enjoy living here? In this village?”

“Yep. This is my home. My parents built a hut here. My friends are here.” She looked towards the other side of the fields. “My family is here.”

I sighed. A country bumpkin.

“But there’s so much more to see. So much more to enjoy. So much more to do. Things you can’t imagine, things you wouldn’t believe. It’s all out there, waiting for me.”

“What’s so good about it?” She looked at me. “Behind the forest is only the city. They don’t care about people like us. And nothing good ever happens there. It’s always take, take, and take. But you can’t give them anything.”

“What?”

“All they want are coins.” She paused a moment. “How do you get food?”

“Um…”

“How do you pay for the travel?”

“I-”

“Where do you sleep?”

“I… just figure it out when I’m there. I’ll find some work and make money.”

“Aki… doesn’t understand.”

No rebuttal.

“Those people in the city only love their coins. It’s a cold place without any warmth. There is no friendship, no family. People like us without any savings will only starve to death.”

What a bleak outlook.

“Aki.” Thea broke the silence first. “Do you hate living here?”

“No.” I didn’t. Even though I cursed the daily grind, it was still far better than my time on the sick bed.

“Then wait. Next spring, we’ll visit the city to buy new tools. You can come with us and see for yourself.”

“I can?”

“Yep.” She nodded. But her expression was a bit off. Did she conceal something? But what?

“Okay.” I sighed. “I’ll stay here for now. Until spring.”

No other choice. Today’s caravan had no spot for me. And I couldn’t walk through these unknown lands on my own.

Still stuck here. But somehow, it was a little less haunting.

I glimpsed at Thea. Her eyes were closed, breathing quiet and regular.

A faint smile on her lips.

And so I closed my eyes, listening into the woods.

Birdsong. Soft breathing. No noise.

Tranquility.

Silence.

Peace.

For the two of us.