Three Spheres

Chapter 65 - Family

_ We've arrived! _ Amadeo exclaims, stopping in front of a wooden gate.

Through the fence it is possible to see the infinity of plantations, a set of small houses, a stable, a barn and two silos. Nothing different from the other farms connected by the vicinal roads of Weindorf. Há uma placa de madeira desbotada em que se lê "Alscher". Johan wears the hood of his uniform, but Amadeo rebels:

_ Come on, stop it! _ He takes off the hood _ The haircut looks great! _ He laughs; Johan looks away, unaccustomed with the undercut _ Well, now that we're here, I'll make one thing clear... My family's VERY big! Maybe it'll shocking. Hehe! Although not everyone should be here. _ Johan is startled _ Not to mention that they're very hospitable! So... good luck!

Amadeo ballad the bell of the gate and whistles afterwards. It doesn't take long before a crowd of blond heads appear, overly excited. Five children, no more than 8 years old, run towards the gate shouting: "AMADEO ARRIVED!". Opening the fence without difficulty, the Paragon welcomes them in a big hug. The adults then arrive and exclaim phrases of appreciation, alternating them with kisses and more hugs. Johan has never felt so out of place in his entire life. He also never saw so many look-a-like people at the same time. It is even difficult to distinguish Amadeo from the others...

_ OWWWWWW! A Giant!!! _ One of the children exclaims, approaching the man.

_ Ahah! _ Amadeo laughs, taking the little one in his arms _ This is Johan! He's my partner at ACU! _ He hands the child over to the other, with a wink.

A set of "ooh!" emanates from the crowd that greets Johan with smiles and handshakes. He can't decide whether to put the child down or not, but it doesn't take long before the little ones decide to him ask to lift them very, very high!

_ Son!! _ A woman in an apron says, next to a man with brown curls.

_ Mom! Dad! _ He embraces them with a special affection _ Sorry for taking so long to come...

The woman holds him by the face and delivers a thousand of kisses. Amadeo laughs as he claims to be no longer a child. She replies:

_ You haven't been home for 2 years! I'll stop when I want to!! _ She gives him more kisses _ By the way, young man, one letter a month is not enough! Write us more!

_ Ah, sorry... It's just that these last few months were very busy!

_ And how long will you stay, huh? _ An uncle asks _ It'd be great if you stayed a while to help repair the barn like last time! _ Even his laughter has an accent.

_ We're leaving tomorrow morning, but don't worry, I brought this big guy to help up with the heavy work! _ He smiles at Johan _ It's the motto of the Alschers...

_ Who doesn't work, doesn't eat! _ Everyone says in unison; then laugh.

It doesn't take long for the pair to be assimilated into the family context of simple farmers. Even children, after finishing their school lessons, help with small household chores. Sometimes they stop to play with their cousin and the "nice Giant".

Amadeo uses magic to restore the ground, while applying accumulated knowledge of arithmetics to improve the strength of the barn roof. Johan, in turn, shortens the workday by loading more than half of the giant crates of flour all by himself. An uncle says:

_ Have ya' worked on this before, boya?

_ Hm, yeah. _ He answers, supporting a crate on his shoulder _ I was a longshoreman in my city for a few years... _ His voice becomes nostalgic.

_ 'Course! _ He hits him with a slap _ With arms like this, it's be waste to do something else!

"Hmph...!", Johan murmurs. All of that is strangely fun. The atmosphere is light. Each of those people is dedicated to their work for the benefit of the whole family. And Amadeo is radiant, even in manual and tedious labors. Johan remembers Nayla saying, several months ago: "Amadeo's very different from everyone else and he feels a little lonely for that. I think he saw himself in you"... Finally, that sentence makes sense.