Scoga and the Island in the Waters of Time: Part 4

Scoga and The Island in the Waters of Time

Part 4: Papa's Shop

Scoga and I walked for five minutes down the dusty lane until we came to a house on the edge of town. A small house, with a shop on the first story, and presumably living quarters on the second. The shop was a tool store of some kind, or maybe a woodsman's shop, or woodcraft store. Maybe a general store of some kind. Scoga motioned me inside.

Scoga spoke. “Papa won't be home until lunch. He closes up shop every Saturday morning. He has to patrol then. So come and see the store.” There were four long aisles with shelves piled high with everything you might need. As I walked down the first one I saw foodstuffs, salted, preserved, you name it. The second one was designated for clothing and gear. The third was for shovels and axes, hammers and nails, and many other tools. The fourth ran outside to a lumberyard, and samples of the different wood rested on those shelves. I noticed a little sign with a picture of a bed, and then a picture of an ale mug. Scoga explained. “Papa keeps a little inn here too. It's a little hobby of my dad's. A bunch of people come down here every night, and also the occasional traveller from the other village. It's the only inn in town. I was puzzled. “I thought there was only one settlement.” “That day the clouds hid your view of the other village.”said Scoga “What you must have thought the sea was actually a bay. There is more land on that side of the bay. Not as much as over here though. That is where the other village is. We get all our grain and vegetables from them. The land is much more fertile than this rocky soil. We should go visit it sometime. ” I began to see this island was more than a mile long. It was more like twenty. Scoga then led me upstairs.

It was a cozy little upstairs, furnished quite nicely. “My papa gets a lot of business, you can imagine, but he has to buy all the stuff too, so we don't make a lot of money. But we have made this upstairs more livable as the years have gone by.” Scoga laughed. “When I was little, This place was all one room.” He then told me to do as I liked while he made lunch. I wandered around the little place, seeing what was to be seen. There was a kitchen, with a bench and table, and two bedrooms.

I called back to Scoga. “Where's your mom?” Scoga replied “she died when I was a baby.”

I wondered how that had affected his life. Then I heard his father coming up the stairs.

Scoga went up to him. “Papa, this is Fire-hair. He was the one who washed ashore that I was sent to get.” His father was a man of middling height, thin, and looked like a man of great endurance and strength. He had kind brown eyes, and long jet black hair. “Nice to meet you,” He said, smiling,

“I always like to have company over. Stay as long as you like. Scoga, where's lunch? I'm starving.”

Scoga looked down. “I just got back from the chief's house and I got lunch started only five minutes ago. “Well well, that's fine. I can wait.” He said. Then he headed to the kitchen, but then stopped.

He turned to me. “You may address me as Gani. And stay wherever you like in my house. The inn included.” Then Gani walked into the kitchen. I decided to have a look around the inn and house again. I ran downstairs and peeped into the inn. It was closed, I realized, so I walked in. There was a high counter with stools on one side. On the other was a barrel with a tap screwed into it. There was also a door. I crept behind and opened the door. I looked down and saw- more barrels. The beer cellar, of course! I went back out and saw two more doors. Both were open, and I saw a bed in each, along with a chair and table. Nothing like a hotel room.

I decided I was hungry. I ran upstairs and sat with Scoga and Gani, who were just finishing their lunch. Scoga said “After lunch, I'll show you round town. Lots of things to see!” I finished my lunch and we headed out. All of a sudden, someone in the street yelled “Fire!”