"I had this dream last night Eva," said Elias, slyly.
"NO, Elias, I don't want to hear it. You always tell me horrible dreams that I bet you don't even have and then I get scared!" Eva retorted. Last time Elias told her about his dreams, in great detail she may add, Eva hadn't slept for two nights. Elias was always doing this to her, he knew how much of a coward she was!
"I was a brave knight, trying to take out a green, blood thirsty dragon, that was protecting it's gold!" Elias gushed, getting all excited. "It was very dark and I couldn't see the dragon unless it was breathing fire," he continued. "I thought it was finally dead and started making my way to the gold, when BLAM!!! The dragon jumped up and ate me whole!" he finished with a flourish of his arms.
"Elias!" shrieked Eva. "I told you I didn't want to know! I hate dragons! I don't know why I am friends with you, you love to make me scared," she groaned.
"Aww, come on Eva, you know I wouldn't let a dragon eat you, I would chop off its head and give it to you as a present!" Elias soothed.
"Oh ha ha, you are so funny Elias," Eva said sarcastically. "Now stop being horrible and help me with this snowman!" she said, trying to smother a giggle. Eva thought Elias was great really. They were neighbours, born a day apart and had grown up together. He was like an annoying brother, some days she wanted to punch him, other days she didn't know what she would do without him.
Elias stood watching Eva attempting to build a snowman. If it was anything like the one she built behind him, it was a waste of her time really. He knew Eva got scared really easily, but he loved to make her laugh afterward. Anything to distract her, and even himself, from their difficult lives.
Winter in Dragon Valley was always a harsh time. Sure the snow was a lot of fun, but poor families like Eva's and Elias's always struggled to survive. Warmth was sparse and food was even sparser. Many people got sick and some died. Some days Elias would go to Eva's home to ask for food, other days, she would come to his. Everyone had to look out for each other.
All the poor homes had been built the same. The stone walls helped a little to keep the heat in but mostly everyone was cold all winter. Every home had a fireplace to cook on, a sink to wash up in and a pantry to store whatever small amounts of food there was available.
The homes all had only one window, which was actually a good thing. There was no glass in the windows so it was basically an air vent to let air in and out of the room. There could be up to 8 people living in one home at a time and with only two rooms, things could get smelly pretty fast.
The toilet was just a hollow wooden box basically. Not comfy and definitely not sanitary. It was a part of the main living area, sometimes the smell would make Elias's eyes water. There was also a makeshift 'shower'. A barrel of water that would be filled up and a hollowed log for the water to pour out of. It got the job done.
Elias knew the Nobles of the town thought poor people were filthy, and they were. However, poor people actually tried to keep themselves very clean, it was the way they were forced to live that meant getting clean was near on impossible. It was so easy to be judgemental, Elias thought, when you have lots of money and don't have to work in the fields all day just to earn enough to eat food that day.
Elias looked over at Eva, determinedly building her snowman. She was so thin and he could see the hunger on her face. One day, he promised himself, Eva would never have to be hungry again. Once he was grown up, he would find a real dragon to slay and take all its gold back to her.
Eva looked up from her snowman and saw Elias was lost in thought, yet again. He did that all the time, zoned out with a dreamy look on his face. Probably thinking about slaying his stupid imaginary dragons again. Well Elias could live in his fantasy world all he liked. Eva lived in the real world and she had promised herself some time ago that when she was grown up, she would work her hands to to bone to make sure Elias could have a better life. She couldn't count on him to get the job done, everyone knows dragons aren't real!
No comments:
Post a Comment