Short Story — Days in Enro

Welcome friends. In my increasing fascination with the game of Magic: The Gathering, I started doing what every TCG player in their 20s does: try designing my own. As it turns out, game design is hard, so not much progress has been made mechanically. However, while toiling with some characters and settings, this piece focused on who I envision being the central characters of the narrative emerged and came out pretty alright. Thus, it felt worth sharing with the internet. Enjoy!

The public gardens at the east and west corners of town were just about the only place one could expect any relief from dealings that went on everywhere else. Ships came by the dozen from far-off places hoping to hit foreign markets. Thousands of bodies walked in and out of the ports and nearby markets on a daily basis. Enro was, first and foremost, a premier trading center, even 200 years past its founding.

As a baby, Izana would watch as her mother held her from the second-story balcony of a house overlooking all of it, the horizon covered by hundreds of miles of oceans. Now, the magic of it all was gone, the comfort of her mother’s arms a distant memory. Now, it was about survival.

“Izzy, what are you doing? You’re gonna get us caught.”

“Calm down, you worry too much.”

Izana emerged from the alley near her home, leaving Jolin to watch in nervous fear as she went to grab some high-quality meat from vendors looking to serve hungry traders. She knew he was just looking out for her, but Jolin was definitely the type to worry way too much. After all, a quick walk down the pier and about 15 minutes later, she emerged behind him with a tap on the shoulder and a leather bag full of the best pork in town.

“You really are a headache sometimes, you know that?”

“Say what you will, but try to save room in that face hole of yours for some stew later”

Izana began the journey back to the eastern gardens with Jolin following behind, still amazed at how she got away with it all. The two walked side by side, talking about the weather or whatever else felt comfortable. Gods knew there was plenty between the two of them that wasn’t. Despite Jolin’s tendency towards caution and rule-obeying, he admired her confidence and quick thinking.

Eventually, the two made it back to the public gardens, just in time to find Sanria face-deep in a book, sitting around one of the free-use stoves under which a fire was just getting to temp. The group bookworm had yet to notice the two walking up to her, at which point Izana decided to put down her bag and sneak up behind her. Izana then used her hands to playfully cover both of Sanria’s eyes. She would have been amused if it wasn’t the millionth time her friend had done something like that. The lack of reaction saddened Izana but didn’t really surprise her.

The group began prepping dinner at their makeshift kitchen, messily chopping up the delicious-looking pig that came out of Izana’s bag, looking worthwhile enough to put in. The water soon came to a healthy boil, at which point Sanria began seasoning the water with a spice mix she got from her grandmother. Apparently, her grandmother had been using it since she was a young woman, but age made her no more willing to give it up, at least not until the time was right she would tell Sanria.

The group largely ate in silence. The stew was good, as Izana had teased Jolin about earlier. However, the days were also long. The three of them were tired, even with the supposedly boundless energy of youth on their side. Even inside their relatively predictable trading town, there was so much going on. Izana, Jolin, and Sanria found comfort in each other, and filling their empty stomachs next to each other was enough for the moment.

By the time they finished cooking and ate their meal, it had already gotten too late. The street lights surrounding the Eastern Gardens had started to turn on. In their glow, the group could see the hues of various flowerbeds sprinkled among the vegetation. Sanria pulled out three blankets from among her things and laid them on the ground just outside the stove area. Soon, the stars popped into the sky one by one like freshly polished marbles. Izana lay in the middle with Jolin to her left and Sanria to her right. She began speaking in Jolin’s direction.

“Guess I was right about the stew.”

“Eh, it could use some work,” Jolin said, trying to be snarky in return.

“You’re just saying that because you hate when Izana’s right,” Sanria said, chiming in at the end.

The young man blushed a bit, “no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sanria happened to be looking at the two of them when she replied, “Uh-huh, sure.”

“I’m just glad we got to do this, the three of us. Life would be so much harder without you all around.” Izana wrapped her arms around her two best friends, holding them a little tighter than usual. The sun had faltered from the sky but they were still left to bathe in each other’s warmth, the glow of their bonds blanketing them just as completely. She had lost most of her family, and yet, it didn’t feel like it. Thoughts of returning to empty homes floated between them, but for now, this…this was enough.

Thanks for reading!

Originally published at http://vivianscheibelein.wordpress.com on September 23, 2024.