If Karin hadn't known better, she might have described Mina as a tomboy. She didn't do anything to care for her appearance and certainly didn't mind getting har hands dirty. Fortunately, Karin knew better.

Brittney had been called a tomboy when she was younger, and hated it. She was essentially forced to grow her hair long and wear dresses and skirts to school, despite being much more comfortable in jeans. It didn't matter what others had thought when they called her a tomboy, all she had heard was a derogatory term that defined her in a way she didn't like. The people teasing her should be very grateful that she didn’t awaken until her teen years.

Something similar had happened with her own son. He had inherited her love for horses, but taken it now in his own direction. Knights, cowboys, cavalry and the like. The boys at school had latched only on to the horse part and teased him about it. Because obviously only girls could ever like horses. Karin had wanted so badly to teach these kids that horses had considered one of the manliest endeavors throughout history. But what did she know? The feeling of frustration. She knew that feeling far too well.

She returned from a trip to the bathroom to find, much to her surprise, Mina talking with Frederick. If the retired man was back so soon, it probably meant that there were storm clouds at home. Karin had never met his wife, but based on her interactions with him she had pieced together an image of a woman with strong opinions.

Why was he talking with Mina, though? His less than charitable opinions made her worry that he was harassing the girl. She could probably stand up for herself, but just in case…

Mina noticed her and made eye contact for a moment. Frederick had his back to her and had yet to notice her. He was in the middle of an animated gesture.

“... had to walk five miles uphill to get water. Both ways!”

“Really?” Mina deadpanned.

“Naw, just pulling your leg, lass." He grunted and his gaze grew distant for a moment. "Jokes aside, 'twas a different time; Hardier. You toughened up, or you didn't last. Had to trust but your fellow man. And sometimes, not even them.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing?”

“Well, sure as hell produced sturdier men than we got today. Men that respected nature, and each other.”

“But how could you respect others if you couldn’t trust them?”

“Ya trust your gut, kid. That fails, you roll with the punches. Or dole them out.”

He playfully dipped his shoulder in a dodge and made like he was punching an imaginary assailant.

“That barely makes sense. If the communities were as close-knit as you describe, surely people took good care of each other?”

“Most certainly did. But there's always snakes. The strangers worming their way into…”

Sounded like he was lecturing Mina about cowboys. Karin gave her a quick wave and retreated before Frederick noticed her; she didn’t want to be pulled into the conversation. He had fortunately stopped attempting to share his tales with her. It took him annoyingly long to take the hint that she just wasn’t interested.

Now it sounded like he had found a willing listener. Mostly willing. Surely she would let him know when she was no longer interested in listening to his rants? Maybe it was a good idea to hover nearby, in case she needed to be rescued from the conversation?

After a good while longer than she had expected, he left. Mina approached her, grimacing.

“That was exhausting. And frustrating.”

“Oh?”

“He was so patronizing. Treated me like a child. Didn’t take my questions seriously. Either that, or he completely lacks social antennae and would do the same to an adult too.”

“Well, from my own experience, he can be quite hard to talk to.”

“I sincerely hope he’s the exception and not the rule. I don’t think I can survive until adulthood if no one is going to take me seriously. I mean, apart from you. I am so grateful you’re not treating me like that.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t think that will be much of a problem, though. You come across as quite mature, so I believe most people will treat you as such.”

“I certainly hope so. Need help with anything?”

“Sure, if you think you’re up for it? There are several spots that need to be scrubbed.”

She showed Mina the closet. The plan was for her to do the task on her own. But her curiosity demanded otherwise.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you wind up talking with Frederick?”

“Well, that was my first mistake. I asked him about the cowboy getup. That was enough to open the floodgates.”

“Yes, he’s not shy about his interests.”

“No, he is fully capable of talking someone’s ears off. I was genuinely interested at first, but I became more and more disheartened as the conversation went on.”

“How so?”

“Setting aside his patronizing lecturing, I don’t think he actually knows very much about authentic cowboy life. What he describes sounds more like the essence of old TV shows and cheap, disposable novels.”

“That makes sense. I don’t think he has any personal experience as a cowboy.”

“Well, even if he had, he still wouldn't know what he’s talking about. I think he was telling me about the Wild West from his childhood dreams, which was probably a place that never existed at any point in time.”

Karin wondered if it was more to his patronizing than the fact he was talking to a child. Well, someone he considered a child. From his attitude yesterday, it wouldn’t surprise her if his prejudices played a role, too.

“Aside from being a bit patronizing, he wasn’t particularly uncouth with you?”

“Well, he made some remarks about ‘people like me’, which I’m pretty sure was not referring to my age.”

“Nothing too untoward, I hope?”

“Nothing I didn’t expect. I have to admit, I listened in on your conversation with him yesterday.”

Karin felt a cold chill down her spine. She didn’t say anything that could have been misunderstood, did she?

“Relax, I’m not traumatized or anything,” Mina assured her. “Frederick has some issues, obviously.”

“I’m sorry you had to hear that. He is somewhat eccentric.”

“It’s hard to disagree with that, but I have a feeling his opinion of ‘people like me’ isn't that uncommon.”

Karin pulled the slightly chubby girl into a side hug. “Most people will see you for the adorable young lady you are, I’m sure.”

Letting out the tension with a long breath, Mina seemed to relax a bit.

“I guess I just have to wait and see."

To be honest, Karin struggled a bit with how she ought to treat Mina herself. Most of the time, she appeared quite mature. Other times, the young girl shone through. How much of it was common for girls that age, and how much was due to Mina's special circumstances? Karin couldn't for the life of her remember how Anders had acted at that age; it had just been too long. It was not very relevant, as the difference between the genders could be huge at that age. Not only genders, individual personalities, too.

"I have something else I want to talk to you about," Mina broke her out of her thoughts, "I’m somewhat uncomfortable with you wanting to give me so much.”

“What do you mean?" She looked down at the girl and gave her another squeeze. "Isn't it only normal hospitality to offer food and a bed to someone in need?”

“Yes, but after listening to you yesterday, I’m afraid you’re going to offer me a lot more than I can gracefully accept.”

“Well, I’m just concerned about you, and want the best for you.”

The girl looked up at her with a serious expression.

“A sentiment I am very grateful for. But don’t give away more than you can afford.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

Mina didn’t look entirely convinced, but didn’t press the issue. Maybe for good reason. She had been more charitable than she should have in the past, at least according to Britney.

Mina worked hard. She put a lot of effort into all the tasks. Maybe too much. By spending so much effort without really knowing the how’s and why’s, she made a lot more mistakes than necessary. Fortunately, she was willing to take constructive criticism.

After a few hours, she was visibly tired, and very happy when Karin announced that it was time for lunch. Karin fried up some potatoes, onion and bacon while Mina set the table. She wondered if she was setting a bad presence here. The girl might need a healthy diet with plenty of greens, yet here she was providing her the opposite. Then again, she had been working hard, and burned a lot of energy.

While eating, she decided to spill the beans.

“Mina, I have discussed your predicament with two friends of mine.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I needed to talk to someone in order to make the best possible decision. These are people I trust. I’ve invited them here tonight, so we can all talk together.”

“I see. I’m not angry or anything, just a bit nervous.”

“Don’t be. One of them is my best friend from primary school, Britney.”

“Yeah, Martin used to tease the two of you.”

“I haven't forgotten. The last one is Camille. She also attended the same school, but in a different class. I got to know her later.”

“Camille? Curly, blond hair, freckles, smile like the sun?”

“Yes, you know her?”

“Martin did, in high school. He was in love with her. Called her Sunshine.”

“Her too? How many girls was he in love with, really?”

“Hah, many. But he didn’t stay in love with most for very long. He did pine for Camille all three years of high school. It never went anywhere. He talked a lot with her, even helped her with school work, but that was about it. Still, he appreciated their friendship.”

“You’d almost be tempted to believe a boy and a girl can enjoy friendship and not just romance,” Karin quipped, “Mind if I share this with Camille when she comes by later?”

“Feel free. Martin is dead. He won’t mind, and neither will I.”

Karin rose from the table and put away the dishes.

“So…” Mina sounded a bit uncomfortable, “Is ‘discussing my predicament’ an allegory for a makeover session or something?”

“Haha… No, that’s not it. Although that could be pretty interesting.

“How about a ‘Hooray, you have female genitalia’-intervention?”

“Hahahahaha,” Karin laughed out loud, “No, nothing of that sort at all. In fact, it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a girl.”

“Okay…? What are we going to discuss regarding my ‘predicament’, then?”

Ah, how to answer this. Perhaps the best choice would be not to.

“I can’t tell you until we are all gathered. Sorry. I promise that all three of us will do our best to help you out.”

“Still not super reassuring, but okay. I trust you, Karin. Thank you very much.”

The statement of gratitude gave Karin a good, warm feeling inside. It confirmed that it was the right idea to help her. The alternative was unthinkable.

"Okay. I need to head out to buy some groceries. You'll be fine on your own, I take it?"

"No worries. My phone -- well, Martin's phone -- is probably charged now. I got a charging symbol, so I think it still works. Wish me luck on my first ever venture on the world wide web."

"Beware of radioactive spiders. See you soon."