diff --git a/content/index.gmi b/content/index.gmi index 0526ff4..57569da 100644 --- a/content/index.gmi +++ b/content/index.gmi @@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ ``` => ./soar.gmi Soar +=> ./sibling.gmi Sibling => ./sail.gmi Sail => ./books/index.gmi Books diff --git a/content/sibling.gmi b/content/sibling.gmi new file mode 100644 index 0000000..091c85e --- /dev/null +++ b/content/sibling.gmi @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +As the second oldest child, Min would bear many of those burdens. +Her parents were still responsible for her and her younger siblings, but now she was the de facto oldest sibling, and so it fell to her to set an example. +She would have to take on responsibilities, cook and clean, keep her siblings safe and fed and learned, as her parents entered their twilight years. +She didn't mind: she loved her family, and her youngest sibling was far from troublesome, little Ren just entering adolescence. + +The first child - in Min's case, her brother Tun - traditionally would leave the village and travel to the city. +There, bearing the family's name, they would be educated, learn a trade and return when they had found a calling and their success. +The second oldest would remain, tending the hearth of home with their parents and other siblings. + +If and when the oldest returned, the second might then entertain the chance to leave - if they were able - to try for the same, but this was far from guaranteed. +Much depended on how much older the first was, whether they found the success they sought and how long they took to do it. +By all counts, it was perfectly likely Tun would be gone for years, or perhaps never return. +Min, being only a year younger than Tun, could expect to stay in the village well into adulthood. + +Min counted herself lucky yet, though, as she knew her village was among the more prosperous. +The land here was fertile and low-lying, so they were able to make their year's harvest without mmuch hardship, most years. +Neighbouring villages were equally comfortable, so the pace of life was laid-back and left plenty of time for personal pursuits. + +In a way, she felt sorry for Tun - his burden was decided more than hers. +He'd been excited to travel to the city, but a gloom has beset him in the weeks before he left. +He'd not complained - he knew his role, accepted it willingly - but Min saw he didn't really want to go. + +The city, they'd heard, was a busy, loud and dirty place. +Great riches and adventure could certainly be found, but at the cost of hard work, health and mental stamina. +They'd heard it could be isolating, lonely, for those not outgoing, energetic or wealthy enough to make friends in the drinking-houses. +Tun would be fine, she thought, after some time, but he'd always preferred to read and paint and walk in the forest, than partake in social events. +He would be fine, but she looked forward to his return. +