Today I live in a mud house, but in a few days I will live in a wood house, just like in the mainland! My house will be the envy of the whole village! A workshop made of wood, that’s what a real artisan needs to do quality work!

Half a ship worth of wood, probably more than enough to build my house and use the leftovers for maintenance. And the best part is that Carlos will need to use a small part of his share for the village, so he won’t build a house like mine! That will eat him alive for years!

The bastard tried to renegotiate the terms, saying that half is to much for a single man and I needed to think about the good of the whole village. Like I would buy that kind of crap from him, he just wants more wood for himself.

But soon his time as village chief will ended and he knows. The way that the boy talked to Lord Bannus, I just couldn’t believe, even Lord Bannus was impressed and said that he expected great things from him!

Once the boy become a man, he will be responsible for trade and that old fool will need to start doing some real work to put food in the table. He will no longer live off from my hard work.

That’s why the old bastard is so desperate to make as much as possible in the next few years. Like I would let something like that happen, he thinks he is the only smart man in the island and everyone else is a moron. I will show him who the moron is!

I look to my side and see the boy calmly looking at me as if he is waiting for something.

-“You must be happy, soon not only you will live in a wood house, but will have your own room!”

The boy looks happy for once, but who wouldn't be? I will finally have the respect that I deserve. I will no longer be a slave to the village.

-“When and how are we going to bring the wood back and start the work?”

-“In the next few days, first we must be sure that those pirates are out of the island.”

And how we are going to bring the wood back? The trail is to small to bring the beams. We could cut them but they would still be to big for the trail. Sail the ship? The pirates must have taken everything not nailed down and even if them didn't, nobody know how to sail something that big.

I could ask the villagers to make the trail bigger, but they would ask to much for the job. Besides, that would take months and they can't be away from their farms that long. What now? All that wood and no way to bring back!

-“There might be a way to bring the wood back.”

-“ Don`t talk about what you know nothing! If were that simple I would know, what you can think that I can’t?!”

What a stupid boy, when I finally think he is maturing he tries to be a smartass! I need to break that kind of habit before he starts to negotiate for the village. And how did he know what I was thinking?

-“Antonio and the other fishermen have small boats, they cannot go to open sea, but them can travel close to the beach and go to other side and collect the wood and bring it back”.

Now that’s an idea, they would still charge me a lot, but it could be done. I could always promise to pay back in metal instead of wood. No, that won't work.

-“The ships are to small, they would barely bring any wood and would run the risk of been lost at sea, the whole island would starve if that happened.”

What stupid solution, I need to be more firm with him.

-“ If only we could build bigger fishing ships, we could go get the wood.”

Build ships, like that would be easy! Only Matias knows something about carpentry in the island, and he only does small projects. I don’t think he even has the equipments for a project like this.

-“And where we would get the wood for that? Even the wood for the port and the small boats that we have are from a shipwreck, there is no good wood in the island for that.”

-“Why not use the ship's wood to build larger fishing ships? Antonio is always complain that his ship is to small. We build a few and offer one of them as payment for Antonio or any other fishermen that accepts.”

-“Do you understand how rare this wood is for us? And you just want to just give away? What’s wrong with you!”

Should be a limit for his naivety, he wants to throw away years of my hard work and just give away! He is worst than Carlos! And he has the nerve to look angry at me for refusing his stupid idea.

-“I not saying that you should give away the ship. We make a offer they can`t refuse, the ship will be yours and he will use to work, after every day a part of the catch is yours and the rest can be share between the fishermen.”

-“Are you saying that I can’t feed my family boy!”

The bastard, he eats thanks to me and complain? When was the last time that I give him a good beaten?

-“I didn’t said that, but with the extra fish we can exchange for other goods that you can’t make. And this is the only way for you to make them helps us and keep the wood, them won’t work for free.”

-“They should! Its thanks to me that this place has any trade. They should be happy that I even let them keep half without doing nothing!

The boy stops looking at me and turns his head to the house.

-“It’s your wood and your decision. But while I was coming here, I heard Carlos saying that this was his plan. He would build bigger fishing ships and offer them to the fishermen in exchange for part of their catch, he would only keep a bit of the wood for some reforms at his house. Not only that, he would them charge a lot to bring your share here and use the payment to build a bigger house for him and give the older and improved one to his son.”

So that’s what the bastard is planning? Fucker wants my share now?

-“ And how he plans to build the ships hein? Matias is the closest thing to a carpenter and he doesn’t have the tools to build ships!”

-“He said that when you realized that you have no way to bring the wood, he will make you build what is necessary. He would pay a couple of wood beams, but he would get them back when it's time to charge to bring your share.”

That son of a bitch, so he was planning to scam me again. Good thing the boy heard the conversation!

-“Did he told when he is going to talk to the men in the village about his plan?”

-“After the festival, in a few days.”

-“Good, so that means I can talk to the men first and propose the deal. The bastard will spit blood when he realizes that I got him this time!”

There is no time to lose, I must immediately talk to Matias and them Antonio about this deal. Maybe I can get all the wood in the end! I leave the boy looking at the house and walk to Matias house.

--

-“Your brother looks happy.”

I look where Taís is pointing and I see Nestor laughing and playing with the other children. That is weird, he normally stay with my parents sulking and doesn’t talk to anyone.

-“My father took him to trade. He probably thinks that he is a grown up now.”

-“But then he should try to stays with the men, not the children. My brother when he decided that he was a adult decided to stop playing games and to stay with the other adults.”

-“He is a weirdo and it’s not like it matters.”

But she is right, what’s wrong with him today? Not only him, but also my father is acting strange. Since he come back from trading, he didn't stop talking about having a wood house, but today after talking to Nestor he run to the village to talk to someone.

I try asking to Nestor what was happing, but he just smiled and walked away, the nerve of the little bastard. Acting all important just because he went to the other side of the island, like that is a big deal.

One moment he pretends to be all grow up and after a while he is playing in the mud with the other kids, what a crazy kid.

-“My father is acting weird too, he is scary that he will get cheat by the merchants and won’t received the wood.”

-“Is he planning on building a new house too? My father won’t stop talking about.”

-“He is, can’t shut up about how the village chief needs a wood house.”

We laugh at them. Mother says they hate each other so much because they are too similar.

-“Not that matter to much for me. Soon I will leave my family house and go to my husband house.”

And I hate that, to just be give away like a propriety and be a slave for my mother-in-law until she dies. I can remember the horror histories that my mother told me about how much she suffered when my grandmother was still alive.

Of course I will only be luck enough to be a slave if I survive child birthed. I used to have two good friends, but Maria died along her first child. I remember the day of the funeral like was yesterday.

They just dug a small grave and dumped her and the baby's body. No one was even sad, and her bastard of husband was at the funeral already talking to my father about marrying me!

The only person besides me and Taís that was mad with him was Nestor. I still remember how he passed the next few days saying how the bastard was lazy and worst of all a close friend of Carlos.

If you listed him talking the man was Carlos best friend. After that when the bastard tried to negotiate the dowry, my father threatened to beat him if he tried to get close to me again

. I never asked why he did that, but I still remember his confused face during the funeral. Not sadness, but some other feeling.

I don’t like to think about pregnancy, especially now that Taís is pregnant. She sees me looking at her belly and smiles.

-“Don’t worry, my family has a easy time given birth, my mother said so, in a few moons you will be a aunt!”

-“And you will be a mother, I believe that’s more important then me becoming an aunt. You silly girl.”

She shows me her tongue and we laugh. And perhaps it’s time to accept my fate and find a husband, I better look for someone with a dead mother or at least a very sick one.