STOIC

TWO

EMMERSON

Emmerson 4

Stoic 10

~Fourteen years before the dinner~

I WAS A FREE SPIRIT, a child of nature. I loved playing outdoors, getting my hands in the mud, rolling in the grass, and swimming in the river. We lived far away from the sea, surrounded by trees and nature, misty and mysterious, and a bit cold—but I loved it. I always wore hole-filled pants and a dirty T-shirt, with my dark brown super curly and tangled hair spreading in all possible directions, sweat on my forehead, and a big smile on my face. I spent my days climbing trees, chasing squirrels, and dancing to the sound of my father's hammer. My dad, along with his lifelong friend, Erik, were blacksmiths and ran a workshop down the main road.

My mother always struggled to teach me things. I didn't like taking my lessons. I had no idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up, and to be honest, I didn't care. Any time I could, I'd always run and hide from her.

"For the love of God, girl!" I heard my mom scream at me at the top of her lungs.

I was hiding behind a tree, a big grin on my face, trying hard to hold the laughter back.

"Emmerson Silva! Come here, right this instance!"

I kept quietly giggling.

"Come out, or I'm gonna tell Stoic!"

That did it.

She knew he scared the shit out of me. I would always do what he asked me to. I didn't want to get on his wrong side.

I ran straight into my mom's warm arms. She was truly beautiful. There was no one more beautiful than my mother in our village. My father was so lucky. She had the darkest shade of black skin I had ever seen. She shone! My father, on the other hand, came from a more Caucasian background—short blond hair, pale skin, green eyes, thick beard, funny looking, but strong and kind, as kind as a person could get.

I was the youngest in our family. Three kids, and my mom still looked like a model, flawless. My two older brothers, Kenzo and Ethan, and I would give her a run for her money. We all had light brown skin and wild, curly hair. My brothers' eyes were a very dark shade of brown like our mom's, just like a mirror, but not mine. I had light brown with green in them, like my father's. I really was Daddy's little girl.

Since my dad and his best friend had known each other ever since they were children, our families were very close. They lived so close we could see their house from ours. I always saw my Uncle Erik and Auntie Ida as my family. They wouldn't say it out loud, but I knew I was their favorite. They both were redheads and had fair skin, so of course, their son Stoic turned out to be a pale ginger.

Auntie Ida was a very beautiful woman too. Her long, wavy red hair was the envy of the village. She had freckles and pretty light blue eyes. Uncle Erik was a tall, hard man, very strong, like my dad. He was kind, too, but you could see he was also tough. He had long curly hair that reached his shoulders and was slowly turning white, a long beard, and many tattoos. His chest and arms were fully covered with them. He had some on his legs, too. My dad had some on his arms, neck, and chest, but not as many as Uncle Erik.

Stoic took after his father. He was the tallest child his age, over five feet tall. Strong as a bull, but stupid like a rock. Stoic was their only child, and he happened to be just three months younger than my older brother, Kenzo. No surprise, they were best friends. Ethan was only two years younger than them and would always tag along with them to play. The dynamic trio was the talk of the village.