the green Ravens: departure into uncertainty

The father and his daughter

The first rays of sunlight were just beginning to rise above the hills and trees and gradually settled over the fields and meadows of the small village of Pihlus. The first birds flew through the air or sang their songs. The village was also awakening slowly. The baker took the first loaves of bread out of the oven. The farmers headed for their fields and the blacksmith preheated his forge. Everything was quiet and peaceful. A little outside the village, near a forest, in the middle of a field, there was a small farm with a well-constructed wooden cottage. It was made of brown wooden slats nailed together. Windows of solid glass revealed glimpses of the inside of the house. The black wooden planks on the roof were already illuminated by the sun. Directly next to the cottage there was a small shed, which was somewhat plainer than the house. Opposite the wooden cottage, there was a large barn and an equally spacious stable, from which the loud sounds of cows and horses could already be heard. The entire yard was surrounded by a small wooden fence, but it was past its prime. The sun's rays shone through the windows of the cottage onto a wooden bed with white bed linen and upon the face of a little girl. She pressed her face, covered with numerous freckles, onto the pillow and tried not to wake up. But with the sun's rays and the sounds from outside, it was not easy for her at all. Then, through the door of her room, a loud call rang out: „Sahra, wake up. You have to help me with the cows and you have to eat something." Although she was still tired, Sahra slowly got out of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and headed for a cupboard that was on the other side of her room.

As she did so, she walked across a thick carpet knitted from plain brown wool. When she reached the wardrobe, she opened it and took out a small brown dress and a pair of trousers. She put them on slowly and kept yawning.

„Sahra, the cows are waiting," she heard again through the door. Finally, Sahra had put on her clothes and walked out of her room. Before that, she put on simple canvas shoes and stroked her curly, short red hair. As soon as she left the room, a tall and strong man appeared in front of her. He wore a simple shirt, leather trousers and well-worn black leather boots. His short black hair was clean, if a little messy. An annoyed face could be seen and his folded arms also indicated that he had been waiting for quite a while.

„You've finally made it, Sahra. Come and eat something before you and I get to work."

„Yes, father," she replied and they both sat down at a simple but sturdy wooden table where there was already bread and cheese as well as some apples and a bowl of porridge. Sahra immediately grabbed the bowl and quickly ate a few spoonfuls.

„Slow down, Sahra, don't choke," her father said to her. Sahra then slowed down a little, even though she still tried to eat quickly. Her father helped himself to several slices of bread and topped them with some cheese before eating them. After her father had eaten his first slice of bread, he glanced over at Sahra. He brushed the crumbs off his beard with the sleeve of his shirt.

„After you and I have milked the cows and fed the horses, you will go to the village and pick up something from the blacksmith for me, do you understand?"

„Y... Yes father!" Sahra was evidently taken aback. Her father had never asked her to do anything like this before. She had walked to the village on her own to fetch vegetables or other small things quite a few times, but never to fetch anything from the blacksmith. Until now, her father had always done that himself and she had never been allowed to go there either. Sahra stopped eating after her father's speech.

„Can you manage that, Sahra?" her father asked. She looked at him with an uncertain look.

„Yes of course, father, I can do it." She tried to sound confident in her voice. She was only 8 years old, but already very mature for her age and was eager to show her father that she was no longer a small child.