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The Hermit’s Cottage

Bek’s shroom stood at the far end of the village, tucked away and almost hidden from the rest of the inhabitants. His small garden encroaching on the forest edge until his last few climbing roses entwined themselves along the trunk and branches of the trees themselves. The shroom was small with only two floors and a cellar and seemed wilted with age. Several cracks had appeared around the door and window; a few also seen in the cap itself. The shroom mirrored Bek in that he was stooped with age and although no cracks could be seen his seamed and lined face gave him the same look as his home. Bek had once had hair as bright as a copper coin but now only one or two could be seen amongst the silver which ringed his shiny, bald pate. Stooped now in his younger day he had been a tall man strong and upright. Once he had lived nearer the centre of the village with his wife Chenna and they had been a handsome couple, joining in with village life, Chenna regularly helped the village healer in her work and both were a valued part of the community. When they discovered after five years of marriage that they were to have a child their happiness was complete. Chenna was a healthy young woman and carried her pregnancy well until during the last month she became unwell, her health deteriorated bit by bit and the healer was unable to explain what caused her illness. By her due date she was very weak and the strain of bringing her son into the world was too much for her and after naming him Liett and kissing her husband goodbye she passed.

Bek was never the same again; he shut himself and his young son away from the rest of the village and eventually moved into the shroom on the far edge of the village. He raised his son well and Liett was a strong healthy child who soon grew into a fine young man much loved by the mothers of the village who made sure he had a woman’s hand in his upbringing. He eventually fell for Nusas a young girl in the next village and moved away with his new wife. They visited Bek often and although he was becoming more and more withdrawn from village life; he brightened when the two came especially after they had a son of their own – Tewman. It was Bek who first saw Tewman’s affinity with metals and suggested that when he came of age he was apprenticed to the village smithy. Tewman took to the working of metals as if he had been doing it all his life and when the original smithy retired he took over the forge.

Many had tried to befriend Bek and bring him out of himself, casseroles were cooked and offered and were gratefully received but Bek preferred his own company and although polite did not offer anything in return. Now Tewman was the only regular visitor to Bek’s shroom, and being much like his grandfather they often said little but sat in companionable silence, occasionally sharing a gem of news or commented on the garden or the price of coke for the forge. He would stay for an hour or two and then leave Bek to his memories and solitude.

The

Hermit’s Cottage

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