68 Toad Harvesting (2/2)
”Thank you,”
”Then what in the world are you going to use that animal for then, because I'm not eating it.” Mari protested.
”Look,” Flute pushed the toad's leg. Light brown liquid came out the skin, ”We make spirit with brown water.”
”What!” Sam could not believe the alcohol they were drinking came from the toad's waste. Cyrus' face turned purple as well. However, Mari had no idea the liquid coming out from the toad's legs were its waste. She never saw underground frogs before, while the twins have been interacting with them since childhood. ”Mari, do you not realize what that is?”
”Is it some poison gland?” Mari asked while examining the toad with her hand. She flipped the toad and was surprised to see no anus. ”Strange, how do they do their business.” Mari looked back at Sam, who was looking away, hiding her face, which was trying hard not to laugh.
”Don't know.” Flute shrugged her shoulders.
Mari noticed the other women find countless of horny toads under the ground. One of them nearly filled their basket to the brim despite only harvesting for five minutes. ”Strange, why are there so many underground frogs so close to the surface.” Sam wondered.
”Don't know, but Flute knows good for tribe.”
Mari moved closer to Sam and asked, ”Can I ask you more about your tribe? I always wondered why you and your sister left, from the stories you tell me, it seemed like an amazing place to live in. I mean, I would love to travel everywhere and discover all kinds of things. I didn't even know toads and frogs could live underground.”
Sam looked down on the ground, ”My tribe wasn't all fun. Cyrus is it all right if I share our story.”
”Yeah, that's fine,” Cyrus whispered.
”Cyrus and I lived in the Zhertva tribe. Every thirty years, a child will be born with the gift to see all things. That meant they could visually see mana within a person. We call the child Vidat, and they are seen as gifts from the gods. Crazy stuff. Anyway, they don't know who the next Vidat is going to be, but they do know that all Vidats have a preferred toy. A Vidat will always pick a flying wheel as its toy.”
”So, your tribe gets all the children born on that particular year to choose a toy to play with,” Mari said
”Exactly. Now, I failed the test, but my sister passed. So did twelve other children. The next to determine who is the real Vidat involved our head matriarch. She was the most powerful woman in our tribe and had an overwhelming amount of mana. If a Vidat sees her, the Videt would only be able to see an outline of her body. That's because her mana would be so strong and bright that it makes her body nearly unrecognizable. So they make all the children go to a private room with the matriarch and the child's parents. Now, the matriarch rarely leaves her home, so we had no idea how she looks like. So the thirteen children, including my sister, were asked to describe the matriarch's appearance, and if one of them could not do that, they are crowned as the new Vidat.”
”Interesting. Now, what do they do as a Vidat? Do the current Vidats help teach them how to use their powers.” Mari asked with gleaming eyes.
”There were no other Vidats. Once you are chosen as a Vidat, they take you far away with the elders to be sacrificed in the dessert.”
”What?” Mari was horrified, ”DId you try to escape then? Is that why you are here?”
”No. The children had no idea what being a Vidat meant. So when they tested them, they just said what they saw—no reason for them to try and hide their ability, because they don't know any better. But the tribe was mortified to learn that none of their candidates were Vidat. They all failed, my sister included. They were able to see the matriarch clear as day.” Sam giggled a little, ”She was the ugliest person you could possibly meet. My sister was the second to last, and when she said the word ugly, the matriarch flipped out and failed her on the spot. Not even five minutes passed when she entered the room. But that was not the end of it. They tried so desperately to find the next Vidat, but all of their tests failed. Over the years, our tribe suffered from famine after famine. Our mother died from starvation, and so did many of our tribesmen. Then when the famines ended, a raging sandstorm devasted our tribe every fall. We tried to change our path, but the sandstorm followed to where we landed. Then when that ended, a plague hit us. Before the disease got any worse, our father told us the truth about Vidat and the ritual they performed. It turns out, our tribe was cursed, and if we fail to sacrifice our god a Vidat, we will starve under a storm while sick to our bones till we end on a sword. Or at least, that's what the curse said. Father made us leave before the sword part came. Eventually, we joined a merchant setting sail north. We landed on a port city and heard about job openings for an expedition to a goblin-infested forest. And that's how my sister and I got here.”
Mari embraced Sam, ”I'm sorry to hear all that. I'm sorry I made you remember those painful memories.”
”What are you talking about? They were nothing.” Her voice trembled. Sam tried to stop her eyes from crying, but she eventually gave in and cried on Mari's shoulder. Flute got up and moved the goblin women away from the two to give them space.
Cyrus watched Mari comfort her sister. Cyrus' tail wagged back and forth under her cloak. Eventually, her tail managed to shake off the cloak and revealed itself to the world. The children playing near them saw the dancing tail. One of them sneaked his way closer before grabbing its tip. Cyrus jumped up and yelped.
The children thought her tail was a toy and wanted to play with it, but Sam quickly got up and placed herself between them and her sister. ”Play! Play!” The children cried.
”No, get lost, you brats!” Sam yelled back.
Mabel noticed the children bothering them and rushed over to get the children under control. Afterward, she apologized in place of the other mothers and for her boy, who was the one that grabbed Cyrus' tail.
”It's ok. Alls well.” Mari said before telling the twins that it was time to leave. The three said their goodbyes to Flute and the women.
”Those brats need to learn their place,” Sam muttered under her breath.
”But they don't know any better,” Mari said while mimicking Sam's raspy voice. Cyrus laughed while she was holding on Mari's arms.