Roam pushed back his bowl with a satisfied sigh. Leaning back in his chair, he spoke to the elderly woman sitting across from him.

“Another fine soup tonight Mola. You spoil me.”

“Please,” she responded. “You’ll embarrass this old crone. It’s a pleasure to see someone consume my cooking with such gusto. And it’s an honor to get to serve you, your Trueness.”

“Ahh, Ms. Mola how many times have I told you how much I dislike that title? It sounds silly between friends. Please just call me Roam.”

A wry grin broke out on Mola’s face as she gave a small chuckle.

“Very well Mr. Roam, if you insist. In any case, how was your storytelling to the children today? These ones were particularly young yes? Was it their first storytelling?”

“Indeed, it was,” Roam responded. “And it went rather well, I think. Only a handful of children nodded off in the middle.”

Mola gave another chuckle.

“Ha! Ungrateful little sods. Their parents should have taught them better than that.”

“Oh, I’m not too concerned about them. With stories as long as those, there’s always bound to be a few sleepyheads among the bunch. No, what really caught my attention was a young girl who stopped to ask me questions. I rarely get inquisitive souls like her.”

She glanced at Roam with curiosity.

“Oh? And who might this curious little runt be?”

“She introduced herself as Myra Kahani.”

Instantly, Mola’s expression curdled.

“Ahh, I see. You know she’s…”

“Yes. I saw her hair.”

Mola sighed as she stood and began to gather the bowls and plates.

“It’s a tragedy what happened to her family. Her poor father. Do you know of it, Mr. Roam?”

“No, not at all. I was hoping you would be able to tell me more about her.”

Mola stacked the two bowls and cups before continuing.

“Her father, Darius is his name, met her mother while they were both fighting on the eastern front. When the last campaign ended, they moved here and had a beautiful baby girl that they named Katy. They were happy here. Darius worked as a smith for a time and his wife Lila was head of the city guard. Regular pillars of the community, they were. Then, Lila became pregnant again and gave birth to little Myra. It was a difficult labor, however, and poor Lila did not survive it. Darius was devastated of course. But fate was even crueler to the poor man. Five years later, Myra wakes up with blue hair, and, well, you can imagine how that went. Somehow, word about Myra got around to that priest Apo. You remember that horrible man?”

“Yes,” Roam responded quietly. “All too well I’m afraid.”

“Well, you can probably imagine what happened next then. That disgusting monster sent one of his Acolytes to deal with Myra. He broke in while their father was away at work. Poor Katy tried to protect her little sister and was killed by that coward. Imagine, killing a defenseless little girl trying to defend her sister with her bare fists. Senseless it was. Lucky for Myra, her screams were heard by a passing neighbor, Mr. Bellat if I remember rightly, who came running in to investigate the disturbance. That spineless Acolyte turned and fled at the first sign of trouble. Shortly after, the King managed to hunt down Apo and his followers, but it was too little too late for poor Katy.”

Roam sat and digested the story for a while.

“What about their father?”

“Word didn’t reach him until it was all over, I’m afraid. He…he didn’t take it well. Understandably of course. But, since then, he’s been a shell of his former self. He’s become completely withdrawn. He doesn’t work anymore, and he rarely leaves his house. Little Myra has been forced to grow up perhaps a little too quickly as a result.”

Silence settled in the room as Mola’s tale came to a close.

“I see,” said Roam. “In that case, I’m glad that I invited her to hear more stories tomorrow evening. I imagine that any distraction must be nice for that poor child. I hope you don’t mind that I invited her here.”

“Of course not, sir.”

Roam nodded his head as he pushed up from the table.

“Thank you, Mola, for telling me this story about Myra. I’ll be sure to remember it. Now then, it’s getting late and I have things to attend to tomorrow before she arrives.”

“Ahh yes of course sir. You have a…” Mola hesitated with her wording before continuing. “A family to visit tomorrow?”

“Indeed. That and a bit more. But you know I cannot say anything more than that. Goodnight Ms. Mola.”

‘Goodnight, your Trueness.”

Roam threw her a sharp glance.

“Ahh, I mean goodnight, Mr. Roam.”