章 21: Mac's Donald
Mac's POV
I lived in this place my whole life. Long as I can remember. Maybe it's been too long.
Been a farmer for even longer. I don't mind farming no more but it ain't my callin' in life.
I always had two callin's. The first was always clear as day; it was Donald.
Donald grew up in the same town I did but we couldn't be more different. Donald was delicate but smart. I ain't ever had much thoughts in my head but I always been good with my hands. I can push heavy things carry them far and takin' a quick breath I'm good to go. Donald would carry something and need to rest and rest, but his head always had thoughts. He thought about how to make it easier to carry things for less trips and how to make the plants grow better, yield more.
I always tried to take care of Donald so he wouldn't get so tired and he tried to make my work easier. I took all of Donald's advice, he just knew so much more than me. I was never really sure where he learned the things he did but I think I kind of know. Donald would talk to travelers that would come through the town.
His favorite thing to talk about was herbs. He always wanted to help people and herbs could help him do that. He used to say since he couldn't use his body like I could, he should use what he was good at. When he learned about herbs he went to the forest to search for them and I of course was right by his side.
His way of telling the herbs apart was hard for me to understand. I was complicated things about leaves shape with words I didn't understand. I did do my best to tell them apart and help him pick things the right way. Harvesting is harvesting herbs or crop each plant has it's own way. After some trial and error with him showing me the way I was decent help.
Donald soon got good at mixing the herbs for people. He could cure their ills and make them right as rain. He got good enough at that they decided not to have him farming no more. Once he weren't farming I was doin' it by myself. I'd always tried to help him with his portion of work but even with less needing done once I was by myself it always took to long without him.
In the mornings before dawn I'd head out to the forest with Donald and we'd harvest the herbs we could find. We would go our separate ways; him to mix of preserve the herbs and me to the field, at the light of dawn. At lunch I'd come find him bringing him some food and I hated having to go back without him. I couldn't make him come with me so I tried every trick Donald used to use to finish by lunch.
After lunch we would do foraging or preserving the herbs unless there were any travelers visiting. When Donald was first getting older and taller I noticed one of the travelers messin' with some wood and a knife. The wood whittled away and became a small bird. I was so fascinated by this I tried my hand at it. My second calling so became apparent; woodworking.
It might have started as whittling but I was looking at all the things that wood could be and everything around us was made of wood; tools, wagons, utensils, houses, and it could become other things as well. It reminded me of Donald while wood isn't as strong as metal it was still strong enough to adapt to what it needed to be.
I would carve things around me any time my hands were free. Little things if I had places to be, slightly bigger things if I was sitting, and if it was just me and Donald in a room; I would work on my projects. I went from carving animal figurines to boxes with designs to furniture. I made what I could to help Donald and would gift it to him seeing him use the things I made would brighten my day.
When I started getting taller and larger than Donald it became clear to me we were becoming adults and we might not be able to stay together since adults tended to live near their respective work spaces. I wanted to stay with Donald so I made the hard choice to work on a Huge project even though that meant we couldn't spent the afternoons together. It took days upon days upon days to complete. At one point Donald was supposed to leave as an adult but since he was the only one who did what he did in town, there was no where for him to go.
Right before I was done, the town eldest told me I was an adult I was to leave the kids house. I begged for just a few more days. Two days later Donald approached me to convince me to move out. I was shocked and thought he didn't like living with me. We fought about this topic for 3 days on our morning walks and at lunch. I was too busy trying to finish my project but it was taking longer since I was concerned about our arguments.
Every time we talked he kept saying strange things.
"You should just move out your an adult with a place to go."
"Your good at farming just go be a farmer"
"I can do this just fine I don't require your help".
At the time I never really understood why he was saying this but I always tried to respond
"I know but I won't go just yet I have things to do"
"I am a farmer though"
"You never have"
Finally on the fourth day during our walk I asked about it. "Do you hate spending time with me?"
"No" He put on this pouty face "Your the one always saying your too busy to hang out after lunch"
I had another question for him "If you had somewhere to go out of the kids house would you want to go there"
He seemed to think I was asking for advise "If you don't have anything holding you back you should move out. If I didn't I would"
"I plan to leave myself I just wanted to finish what I was working on"
Donald looks at me and sighs "What would you need to work on that you can't finish it after you leave"
"I'll tell you when it's done"
Donald rolls his eyes "When will that be"
"I should be done today then I should move out"
Donald stopped walking "Oh" He starts walking again "I see" After he says that he stays strangely quite through both the walk and lunch.
After lunch I rush to do the finishing touches before the sun sets. I go to town to look for Donald, it takes me a while before I find him talking to the elder. I come over to them and I catch the elders eye "Oh Mac I have a question for you" Donald spins around to look at me. I nod at the elder.
"Do you still have anything stopping you from leaving?"
" No Elder I finally finished what I had to these last few days thank you for letting me take a few more days to leave."
"That's good" The elder smiles
"Elder if you are done talking to Donald may we leave I need to talk to him"
"Certainly"
"Donald come with me I have something to show you"
"O-ok" as we start to walk away Donald asks "What is it that you need to show me"
"My project"
"The one you've been working on all this time?"
"Yup"
"Why do I need to see it? It's been years since you showed me your projects?"
"I show you all my projects, this one just took days and days and days to complete. If it's been years then this is the result of all those years" We finally arrive.
"This whole time on one project?" He's looking at me and not at the project to his left how has he not noticed it?
I turn him around towards it "Yup, it's for you. Do you like it? I was hoping to share it with you but if that's not ok I can move in with the Farmers."
" You built a house. You built it for us to share? What were all those afternoons about, I could have been here"
"You have real things to do, herbs are hard and only you can do it; I can't help. So I did what I could near you, but this would have interrupted your work so I couldn't just do it next to you."
I look at Donald and see him crying I lean down to wipe his tears and he grabs my head and plants his lips firmly on mine.
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