“Knowing him, that may well be part of it. But he had another reason. You may not have known it, but, when you first arrived, you were suffering. You didn’t look like someone filled with hope, excited about creating something new. Kai was very worried about you. He said you’re a workaholic and you get so wrapped up in what you’re doing you forget to sleep and eat. He asked me to make sure you got some proper rest here.”
“He did?”
Kyleid was amazed. The entire time they’d lived together, Kai had never once said anything like that to him.
“He’s hardly the type to admit what he really feels. But if he was willing to ask me for something like this, you must be very important to him.”
“I never even stopped to wonder.”
Rather than be glad his teacher was concerned about him, he felt sorry for all the things he’d never stopped to notice.
“If you wish for him to know how grateful you are, just show him how well you’re doing. It doesn’t have to be for long, but forget about your work. Relax here a while.” Elda winced. “I’m giving orders again, aren’t I? Um… I meant, you can relax here, okay?”
“Sorry, that’s my fault. You don’t need to be so worried about the way you say things,” Kyleid said.
He now regretted having said that to her. If he’d known her better, he’d have never brought it up.
“I’m glad you told me. It made me stop and examine myself. I’m just trying to say that I’m not forcing you. If you want to leave, I won’t stop you.”
Given the broken measuring device, it made sense that he’d want to get back to his workshop as soon as possible. But for some reason, he really didn’t feel like it.
“I won’t get in your way?” he asked.
“A little late for that!” Elda laughed. Reassuringly she added, “I’m a loner by nature, so I never considered living with anyone else. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy having friends drop in for a stay.”
Kyleid took Elda at her word, and, for the next five days, he didn’t think about his job at all. At first she dragged him around the garden, and he helped collect rose and elderberry blossoms. Once he began taking walks of his own accord, she stopped meddling. He didn’t go anywhere near the river, but he did walk around the forest, savoring the colors and scents of the trees, touching their trunks and enjoying the feel of their bark on his palms.
As the days passed, he began thinking about the measuring instrument again.
First, I have to make it more durable.
And he had to stop it from reacting to faeries.
Which means starting over from scratch.
But this thought no longer pained him as the energy to make that fresh start welled up within. The shattered crystals and the need to create the device again gave him a chance to reevaluate himself.
He still wished to have his skill acknowledged, but now it wasn’t everything. The desire to help his friend was definitely still present in his heart.
And now, reminded of the world’s beauty, he wanted to be someone who lived a life without shame.
He returned from his walk, entering through the back door into the kitchen. On the kitchen shelves he saw a stuffed rabbit. It was wearing a black tailcoat, like a character from a children’s story. At nearly fifty centimeters tall, it was hard to overlook.
“Has this stuffed animal been here the whole time?” he asked.
“No, I just brought it down from my room.” Elda reached out and took it off the shelf. “I had a colleague of yours make this for me a long time ago. He’s named Phil. He’d guarded my house for a very long time, but a few months back he stopped working.”
“Oh. Is that why you don’t have a doorbell?”
Elda stroked the rabbit’s head fondly.
“I wanted to send it out for repairs, but the artificer has passed on. I didn’t know who else to ask.”
“So you were thinking about asking me?”
“Basically, yeah.” Elda winked at him. “Of course, only if you feel like it. I just wanted to bring it up before I forgot.”
“I don’t have my tools with me, so I’d have to bring him back to my workshop.”
“Please do.”
Kyleid took Phil and looked into his red eyes.
Had this white rabbit once run around the kitchen and garden, letting Elda know visitors had come? Or had he led guests to the parlor? Kyleid could imagine him doing both. It must have been a lonely day when he stopped working.
He felt a sudden urge to fix Phil right away, so he made up his mind.
“I’ll be leaving tomorrow,” he said.
Elda didn’t look surprised. “Off to make another measuring device?”
“I think I probably will, but that won’t be my only task. I’ll make sure to do other jobs along the way and develop that device at its own pace. I think it’ll take a while, but I don’t want to just give up.”
“Then let me offer you a piece of advice: Get your friend to help you. When things aren’t working out, ask him for advice. You may well find a way to solve your problem,” Elda said.
“But…” Kyleid hesitated. “If Chris says he doesn’t need it, I…”
Even now, he was frightened of Chris’s rejection.
But like a mother watching her child, Elda smiled. “Is this friend of yours incapable of understanding how hard you work? How you feel? Is he the type of person to trample all over good intentions?”
“No, he definitely isn’t.” The strength of his own denial surprised Kyleid.
Elda nodded. “Good. Then you’ll be fine.”
How much had his own fears and inferiority complex tied his hands? He was now aware of how much they’d prevented him from making the right choices.
He hung his head, frozen to the spot. Elda gently put her arms around him.
“Don’t worry. I know you can do it,” she said.
Kyleid couldn’t respond. He buried his face in her shoulder. He’d even forgotten how it felt to rely on someone else.
“Now then. Keep your head up and get ready for your trip home!” she said, slapping him on the back.
When Kyleid left the next morning, Elda walked him to the front gate.
“You’ve been such a help. I can’t thank you enough,” he said. He was so grateful his chest felt ready to burst, but he couldn’t put this feeling into words.
Elda smiled and nodded, as if she understood everything going through his mind.
“Take care of Phil for me, and come visit again sometime. Bring Kai with you, if you like.”
“I’ll make sure he knows the offer stands.”
Part of Kyleid didn’t want to leave, but he brushed that thought aside. This isn’t the end. I can see her again whenever I like.
With that, he quickly walked away, thinking about the future.
When he got home, he had a mountain of work to do. But before any of that, he needed to write a letter to Kai, one that would subtly express his gratitude and let his master know he was all right now.
To my beloved teacher:
Color has been restored to my world.
The End