The sun beat down mercilessly on Aquila’s back, as she was counting all the herbs she stored in her satchel. The day’s findings had been excellent. Her parents would be thrilled when they saw everything she had managed to find. Hearing a noise that startled her, Aquila glanced up and saw her older brother, Axio, walking towards her. He had moved back home the past two seasons, helping with her parents’ apothecary business.
Axio was staring at the ground, his head hung dejected, while his pace quickened with every step. Aquila hesitated, unsure if she dared to bring him out of his trance.
“Axio!” Aquila heard her own voice call out. His head snapped up.
“Hey there,” he replied, a smile just starting to form on the corners of his mouth. Axio shuffled right past her and into their house. Aquila watched his frame disappear through the doorway - into the welcoming darkness. She shook her head, not sure of what to think. He had shown up on her family’s doorstep two seasons ago, claiming he was done with drinking and gambling away their mizas. Aquila had gone through her entire life hearing stories of her brother, each one testifying to his rotten nature. Now her family was supposed to welcome him back and trust him again?
Aquila’s mind was muddled with all the thoughts swirling around in her head, threatening to overflow. Axio had seemed changed recently. She didn’t know of a single thing he did wrong. Her parents didn’t seem to have any doubts about him, so why should she? Aquila still felt a little uneasy with her brother’s sudden appearance though, no matter how hard she tried to be glad he was back into her life.
“Aquila!” Her mother’s voice rang out. Aquila sighed, grabbed her satchel, and went to find out what her mother wanted.
The noise woke her up first. It sounded like glass shattering against the stone floor. Aquila sat up in her bed, rigid and alert. Is there an intruder in the house? She slowly lowered herself down to the floor. The stone greeted her feet with a coolness that was more than vacant during the summer season. Heart throbbing with so much anticipation, she could hardly breathe. Aquila slowly crept to where she thought the sound came from.
This is it. The kitchen. I can do this. Breathe Aquila. Her body was pressed against a wall. Daring a peek, she poked her head around the corner to see in the kitchen. There was a shadow. As she bit her tongue to keep from gasping, Aquila’s mother stepped forward.
“Aquila?” Her voice was uncertain, fragile. Aquila too, stepped forward.
“Mother? What’s going on…” The words left her mouth. Her mother’s face was white – as if all the blood in her body had simply vanished. Feeling her throat go dry, Aquila looked to her mother for an explanation. None came. Then she spotted the miza jar, normally on a secret shelf, which was where they kept their money. It was empty.
Axio. Axio. Axio. His name pounded to the rhythm of her heartbeat. Axio. She sprinted to his room to see what she dreaded to find. Axio. Axio. Sure enough, there was nothing and no one in his room. He had taken off in the night, stealing all their mizas. Her dirty rotten scoundrel of a brother. The smudge on her family’s name. An urge to scream exploded in her, but she quelled it. She would find him. The sun was just beginning to shine through Axio’s window, making the stone floors gleam brightly. Aquila knew what she was going to do. The resolution forced her lips into a grim smile; she walked away from his room.
Time to get started.
