As we left town a crowd of onlookers came to see us off. Just as it had this morning, the buggy started up with a roar and rumbled down the road. For some reason, I found the sound to be relaxing on the return trip.
“Whew. It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it? That’s tough on my old bones. But get ready, brats! The real work starts tomorrow. It’s not easy to handle your chores at home and work an outside job. If you get lazy and start overlooking things, I’m gonna have something to say about it.”
We nodded at Wolf’s outburst, letting him know we understood. It really had been a tiring day. Personally, I felt more worn out mentally than physically. I’d met a bunch of different kinds of people, especially adults from the town, and made more small talk than I ever had before, so it was only natural that I’d be exhausted. And yet I didn’t feel bad, just tired.
“Hey, Wolf,” said Bepo, out of the blue.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Is it really true that you don’t want to live in town, like you said to that officer?” Bepo inquired. “People there really seem to look up to you, and it would make shopping for supplies much easier. What’s the downside?”
“I already told you, I like the way I live now,” Wolf replied. “Besides, what would happen if I moved my workshop into town and one of my experiments exploded? There’s also the matter of… Well, never mind. My point is, it’s better off for everyone if I’m not in that town.”
Something about Wolf’s last muttered statement sounded sad and lonely, and none of us wanted to try to force him to talk about it, so we left the topic alone. I had my own dark past, and the other boys had theirs; surely Wolf had his own memories to wrestle with. It didn’t seem right for us to intrude, so we gave him his privacy.
“Oh!” Bepo shouted from the back seat. “I forgot to say thanks for helping us! I was afraid at first, but thanks to you, I’ve realized that there are people out there I can trust after all.”
“Me too,” said Shachi. “I tried not to think about it once we were all living together, but I never stopped worrying about my aunt and uncle coming to take me back. Now that you took care of the situation, I never have to worry about it again. Thank you!”
Wolf’s face went red, and he hemmed and hawed a bit before finally saying, “Hmph, it’s just the way life works, give-and-take.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Our lives became much busier after that day. In the mornings, we’d ride Wolf’s electric bicycles into town. (Wolf wanted to call them ‘Super Comets,’ but we vetoed that name.) Then we did our jobs during the day and rode back home. At home we cooked, did laundry, and sometimes helped with the crops or with Wolf’s inventions, depending on what was needed. All of those things were hard enough to manage on their own, but Wolf also wanted to make sure that we set aside time for pursuing our own interests and studies.
Shachi and Penguin had become much better at using the sword and gun, and Bepo started learning to fight with his fists in addition to teaching himself about navigation. I didn’t know if it had something to do with his being a Mink, but Bepo picked up new things very quickly. I convinced him to try out a spinning roundhouse kick, and before I knew it, he was almost able to knock me off my feet with it.
Despite the constant activity, however, we made sure that all five of us were present for breakfast and dinner each day. Even when we were busy with our own activities, the fact that we could make time to eat together made us feel connected.
✦ ✦ ✦
My job in town was a lot more fun than I had expected. The clinic was a small one, with just one doctor and one nurse, but there was plenty to learn, and the doctor was willing to teach me everything he knew. He told me about previous patients, diseases that were difficult to treat, the time he felt anemic and passed out in the middle of an operation, the state of medicine in other countries, and all manner of symptoms and techniques that I’d never heard about before. I was fascinated by everything he told me.
I wasn’t the best at dealing with patients, but the doctor valued my knowledge and skill, and before long he was letting me carry out some of the simpler operations. These procedures were fun for me, not because I got to cut people up, but because I had the opportunity to heal those who were in pain or in medical danger. Getting them on the road to recovery was very fulfilling.
“You’re going to make a good doctor, Law,” my employer said one day, beaming.
A good doctor… What does that mean? Good at surgery? Knowledgeable about medicine? Successful and wealthy?
It was probably some combination of those things, but I couldn’t narrow it down to one answer. I suspected I’d have to think for a long while to figure out exactly what I wanted.
✦ ✦ ✦
One night we were joking and goofing around in our room when Penguin brought up a story he’d heard in town.
“I heard some of the customers talking about it—apparently there’s a legend of hidden treasure on Swallow Island.”
“Treasure? There’s treasure on this island?!” Bepo asked excitedly.
“Yep. Sixty years ago an infamous band of pirates came to this island, but they had been infected with a plague during their travels, and they all died when they got here. Before he died, the captain supposedly hid their treasure somewhere on the island.”
“Hmm. That’s interesting, if true. But if it hasn’t been found in sixty years, I don’t know how likely it is that the treasure even exists.”
“C’mon, Law, can’t you dream a little? It’s real… It has to be real! And after we find it, we’re gonna lead a life of decadence and luxury.”
“Calm down, Bepo,” I said. “Why are you so obsessed with this treasure? It’s just a story—you’re not supposed to take it seriously.”
“Speaking of stories, I heard a good one, too,” Shachi interrupted. “Apparently, there’s a swallow on this island that can fly through the sea.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? If it’s in the sea, wouldn’t it be swimming, not flying?” I pointed out.
“This story’s not as old as the other one. On a number of occasions in the last few years, fishermen here have seen an enormous swallow under the waves. And whenever the swallow shows itself, you can hear a loud cry echoing across the island.”
A swallow under the waves with a very loud cry. Interesting…
“What is it, Law? You look really intense,” said Bepo, who was watching me closely.
“I was just thinking…” I said, “I might have heard that cry before.”
“What? Really?!”
“Yeah,” I explained. “It was a day when I didn’t have to go to work, and I was alone in the house. It was just after lunch…and I was swinging my sword in the back when I heard this loud, high-pitched noise. It went away after thirty seconds or a minute or so, but it was totally freaky.”
“Wow! So the swallow that flies through the sea is real!” Penguin marveled.
“I didn’t say that. It sure didn’t sound like a bird to me,” I responded.
“Well, if it’s a really rare and special swallow, then it probably doesn’t sound like a normal bird!” Penguin reasoned.
“Yeah, that must be it! And if the story about the swallow that flies through the sea is real, then maybe the story of Swallow Island’s hidden treasure is real too!” exclaimed Shachi.
We continued to chat sleepily about how we might catch that swallow, and where the treasure could be hidden, until we finally fell asleep. Something about these stories aroused my sense of adventure, and I became more excited than usual. Of course, I didn’t know if the stories were true, but they seemed worth considering if only because of the thrilling feeling they gave me.
Hold up—is that Bepo and the others? My shift at the clinic had just ended and I was riding my bike home when I spotted the other three at the town gate.
“Hey, Law!” said Shachi, waving at me.