When morning light crept into the sky, the fire was nothing but warm ashes, Kit was nowhere to be seen, and his bed was untouched.
They checked their belongings. Nothing was missing.
“I haven’t thought of any reason he can’t come with us,” Ilika said. “Have any of you?”
They shook their heads.
“He certainly has a mind of his own, so even if he comes along, we have to be ready to let go of him at any time.”
“We know,” Kibi said, nodding. “He’s a free spirit.”
Kit pranced into the cave entrance just as they were preparing breakfast, with wild flowers for all the girls. His appetite was as good as ever.
“Kit, we have decided to invite you to come with us,” Kibi said as they were nibbling pieces of fruit at the end of the meal.
“Go?” he said with a confused look on his face.
“We are leaving soon, probably tomorrow,” Buna explained.
Ilika nodded. “We’re traveling north up the coast, then into the mountains. Have you ever seen the mountains?”
Kit was frowning.
“If you come with us,” Neti added, “you can eat every meal with us, and we’ll get you some clothes and blankets and a little pack . . .”
“But you will always be free,” Kibi said. “You aren’t a slave and we never want to make . . .”
“NO!” Kit yelled suddenly. “Mommy!” he said in a defiant voice.
“Mommy?” Ilika questioned. “This changes things.”
“Where’s Mommy?” Neti asked Kit.
Kit pointed toward the town. Then he jumped to his feet and grabbed Neti’s hand and tried to pull her up. “Go Mommy!” he begged.
“Well, Neti, it’s your turn to go into town,” Ilika said. “It looks like you, Miko, and Boro should visit Mommy and see what the situation is. High tide isn’t until almost noon, so you could get out now if you wanted.”
“Sounds like we should,” Boro said. “Shopping?”
“Vegetables.”
“Soft cheese or butter.”
“Sweets.”
“Sell those two extra saddlebags.”
The three students were soon ready, and Kit was clearly excited. The rest waved good-bye as the foursome headed up the beach toward the rocky hill.
As the tide was coming in, those who remained at the camp hurried to do anything outside that needed to be done. Since they would be trapped in the cave at lunchtime, they decided to make hot soup.
After lunch, Ilika did some reading with Buna, math with Kibi and Mati, and writing with Toli and Rini, all of whom were a little weak in those subjects.
Sata knelt at the cave entrance when the tide reached its peak, breathing deeply. Sometimes her face bore a smile, at other times a frown.
When Mati finished her math review with Ilika, she wandered out to see what her friend was doing, and overheard Sata mumbling, “. . . with a smile on your face . . . with a smile on your face . . .”
“Hi,” Mati said.
“Hi, Mati. Welcome to Sata’s Test.”
Mati looked puzzled.
“I’m doing good at all the lessons. The ocean will decide if I can be on Ilika’s crew or not — and other things bigger than me that make me want to run back to my parents’ inn and wash tables.”
Mati nodded. “I think my big test is Tera, and I don’t think it’s over just
because I can ride.”
As soon as the shoppers trudged into the cave, Miko flopped onto his bed without a word. Boro looked very glum as he unloaded food. Neti had obviously been crying.
“Where’s Kit?” Buna demanded.
“Oh . . . visiting Mommy,” Boro said with a strained voice.
“I thought being a slave was the worst thing that could happen to someone,” Neti said, tears returning. “I was wrong.”
“Mommy must be pretty bad,” Toli speculated.
“Mommy is DEAD!” Boro roared. “We were in the stupid GRAVEYARD on the hill!”
“And Kit has old blankets stashed there,” Miko said from his bed. “He SLEEPS on her grave every night, VISITS her every day!”
Everyone was silent. Neti curled into a ball on her bed beside Miko. Boro sat down at the fire, chin in his hands.
“I’m sorry,” Ilika said softly. “How long ago?”
“It’s a peasant’s grave,” Boro muttered, “just an old piece of wood that says
‘Mira.’ But the grass has grown up. I’d say two years, maybe three.”
“What was Kit like when he was there?”
“Seemed completely happy!” Miko blurted out.
“It’s off in a corner, behind some bushes,” Boro explained. “He lives there.
No one will ever know. He even stacks his broken crocks in a neat pile behind a tree. It’s his little world, him and Mommy.”
“Were you guys . . . respectful?”
“What do you mean?” Neti asked with an edge to her voice.
“There is certainly a lot wrong with this situation, a lot to be sorry about.
But Kit is dealing with the loss of his mother, he appears to have no one else, and he is surviving. He invited you into his secret place. Were you respectful?”
“I . . . started crying,” Neti said, getting up and coming to the fire. “But I didn’t yell at him or anything.”
“Miko and I kept our thoughts to ourselves,” Boro said.
“Do you think he will come back here tonight?”
“I think so,” Boro said. “He curled up in his blankets like he wanted to take a nap. We told him again that he was welcome to come with us, and then we left. I see now that we could have been more respectful.”
“I think you did pretty well,” Ilika complimented, “considering how unexpected it was.”
The tide was very low as they collected mussels and a few clams for dinner.
“If Kit comes back,” Rini said, “but doesn’t want to go with us, I think we should give him a gift.”
“I wonder what he would like,” Sata thought out loud. “A bedroll with new blankets?”
“A bunch of copper pieces so he can buy food?” Kibi suggested.
“I like both ideas,” Ilika said, “but if he starts spending money, the thieves will take an interest in him.”
“Not good,” Kibi said.
“I know!” Boro burst out. “Remember how we paid the baker what we owed the healer? We could do the same for Kit, but more than a silver!”
Kibi smiled and nodded.
“Boro, did he walk through town freely this morning,” Ilika asked,
“without any fear of the guards?”
“Yeah. And they took no interest in him.”
“Okay, we have a plan, and everyone can get him a gift as we go through town tomorrow.”
Moments later, Kit toddled up the beach, ready to help with dinner. They all greeted him warmly, and those who had seen his mother’s grave were very respectful.
Dinner was tasty, and at Ilika’s suggestion, they told stories from their adventures. Several had been shared with Noni, but two new stories were told for the first time — Mati and the Stubborn Donkey, and Miko and the Steam Vent. Miko even showed Kit his burned hand, harder and pinker than the other, and the little boy’s eyes widened.
Kibi invited Kit to have breakfast the following morning, and then walk across town with them as they began their journey northward.
He nodded and everyone could see the sparkles in his eyes, but he disappeared as soon as they were done telling stories. The tide was rapidly rising.
Deep Learning Notes
When thinking about Kit’s situation, and the group’s possible responses, it is important to remember the cultural setting. It is easy to suggest that Ilika should have told someone about him so that Kit would be taken care of, until we stop to remember that the only social safety net in that culture was slavery.
In your opinion, would Kit have been better off in slavery than as a petty thief?
Since the guards ignored Kit, does that mean his situation and life-style were effectively within the law?
In what ways was Kit NOT like other people who landed in slavery in that culture?
When Ilika challenged his students to respect Kit and his situation, he was presenting a different definition of “respect” than we are used to. How is it different from ours?