Honoring Those Who Are Gone
In times of mourning, remembering the past, or thinking of those lost to time, Dexurn’s mind would always go to Auntie Shikori. As a young slave boy under a selfish Oban noble, having the warm, friendly companionship of the sweet older woman had been his lifeline. Surrounded by people who thought of him as little more than a pet and amusement, Dex might have completely lost himself if it had not been for auntie. He had been bought as a toddler from his parents, well, from the master of his parents, so he did not have much of a chance to learn about what he liked or did not like, what he wanted or what he needed. Shikori helped him see that there was more to him than just some entertainment, taking him under her wing as much as she could. She may not have been his aunt by blood, but certainly was by the bond that grew between them.
When he thought about Shikori, Dex always had a moment of anger. If that so-called ‘noble’ had treated those under his ‘care’ better, perhaps such a warm and wonderful woman would not have died on that exhausting trip to the secret home the coward and his family ran to hide at... Perhaps Shikori would have still been around to meet Shadiya, and help out when Kyril and Koril were born. She might even be alive still to meet Cahira and Shierra and Pynar; perhaps that was a bit of a stretch, but it was nice to imagine. After all, Shikori had not been any kind of spring xaraan in Dex’s memory. The process of aging and death was often such an unfair fiend, and he felt it was all the more so in Shikori’s case.
He knew his old guardian would have loved Shade and the children though. She had always been drawn to assisting those slaves of the younger age group, and had even been one of the main nannies for the master’s snotty children. Despite the situation she was in, Shikori managed to always have a smile for him and his fellow younglings. Thankfully, the master had a greater need for workers of age enough to work around the homestead, so there were not too many younglings around. Even when he reached his teenage years, growing withdrawn and doubtful of the outside world, Shikori had endless patience and warmth and encouragement to give him.
Shikori was not there, though. Shikori had died before Pynar, Shierra, and Cahira. Shikori had died before Koril and Kyril. Shikori had died before Shadiya. Shikori had died before she had the chance to experience life as a free woman again. There was so much to miss out on just for one family’s selfish greed. There was no headstone for the honorable woman. She was just another skeleton lost in the sands of Oba, her few belongings either broken down by nature or stolen by bandits. He had nothing but his memories of her.
As angry as it made him, Dex could never hold it for long. After bringing justice on his old, corrupt master a few years ago, it was even easier to let go of the anger and focus on the good Auntie Shikori had given him. With pretty much everything Dex did, he did so with the thought in the back of his mind of whether or not Shikori would be proud of him. She was a woman worth honoring, and he wanted to do his best to show that her consistent care for him had not been for nothing. He worked hard at his job and in training. He was utterly devoted to his wife and family. He was trying to raise his children to be good and contributing youths. In their innocence and growth, he could see Shikori’s influence hinting through. Those children were proof of Shikori’s life. Perhaps others on the outside would not know, and perhaps even they did not completely understand what it meant. For Dex though, he was utterly proud of his whole family, and knew that he had Shikori to thank for it. She had not had the chance to meet a single one, but she had affected all of them through him.
He could not imagine what he would have been like without Auntie Shikori’s gentle guidance. Would he be as broken as some freed slaves he knew? Would he have a horrible temper and hatred of the world? He certainly would not have been good enough for Shadiya, which means that he would have had nothing.
No headstone to visit, and no trinket to hold onto... but Shikori was definitely there with Dexurn and his family. She was no longer a physical entity, but a mental and emotional one that would last far beyond a stone or cloth.
Word Count: 806 *5points
