Chapter 25
The days passed quietly. Romeo stayed in a little hut next to the house, in full earshot of Gloria’s room (especially when the windows were open), and he switched nights with Anwyn to look after her.
The way he looked at her with such admiration, it was as if he had never seen such a creature in his life. And baby Gloria loved him too. She cooed when he came near, slept better when he was in the same room as her, and she acted like he was her father. He was the only father she had ever known.
Anwyn stayed on their tiny island, tending to the plants that fed them, fishing for the protein that they needed. She would go to the priestess’s home once a week or so, but that was more out of obligation. They invited her and since she lived so close she couldn’t exactly say no.
Her family had moved to a larger island where they could raise their children in a more community centric atmosphere, and Anwyn didn’t visit them without having to be dragged there by one of them or Romeo. She didn’t feel like she had the energy for it.
At first they all thought that it was just Anwyn grieving for Liam, but it persisted. She didn’t seem to take an interest in anything, sleeping most of the day when she didn’t have a chore to do. She wasn’t recreational besides her gardening, and she isolated herself from those who cared for her. If it weren’t for their agreement to honor Liam’s wish of Romeo making sure that Gloria had a father, he doubted that Anwyn would let him come and visit at all.
She would do the laundry with a vacant look on her face, she would clean the dishes and forget to wipe the table, or she wouldn’t eat at all, barely remembering to prepare food for Gloria. Romeo was worried, everyone was.
~*~
The night was chilly, and Gloria had been put to bed, resting comfortably in her room. A year had gone by now, and she was toddling all over the place making messes wherever she went. To have her be sleeping was a small miracle each night.
“Anwyn, I need to ask you something.” Romeo said, hoping he wouldn’t make Anwyn recede into her internal shell.
“What about?” she answered casually.
Romeo gave a short sigh, knowing that this could end badly. “I need to know about you. How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m feeling fine.” she answered skeptically, wondering where this was going.
“That’s- Anwyn, you’re- you're like a shell of the person you used to be. I know that Liam’s passing was really hard on you but there are things here and now that need you. Gloria needs you to be present.” he spilled, feeling guilty that he didn’t sugarcoat it.
Anwyn stared at him. “I am a good mother to Gloria!” she retorted. “People change, and maybe I’m not as active as you think I should be, but this is who I am now. What about you? You stay around here all day and you never leave! I know that you want a life, to make something of yourself, why don’t you do that? I can handle a toddler, don’t pause your life for me.”
“I’m not pausing my life, I’m raising our daughter! With you! But it feels a bit one sided when you sleep half the day and can’t get dressed most days.”
Anwyn looked furious. “I’m tired, ok?” her face started to waver. “There is this heavy load that I can’t shake and it pulls me down everyday. It’s physically hard to move, most days. I can’t focus on anything, not without thinking about how I can’t be with Liam because I have Gloria and I can’t leave her!”
Romeo’s eyes grew wide. “You- You want to die?” he asked simply.
“I- I-” Anwyn looked like the dammed up emotions would break at any moment, and she looked for the right words to channel them. “I want Liam back.” she said, and then she started crying.
Romeo moved over to give her a hug, to quiet her tears. “We both do. But we’re not going to make him happy if you’re sad all the time. I thought you wanted to open a school. We can focus on that.”
Anwyn laughed a bitter laugh. “I don’t think I know enough to teach. There’s so much I don't know, and who’s to say that it will make anything better? I can’t even help myself, I can’t help a community. It’s just not possible.”
“By helping the community, I think that they will help you. You will be a part of something that is bigger than yourself.” he moved to look into her eyes. “I’m not saying that you’ll be fine, I’m saying that you’ll be better. And that’s all we can ever hope for in this life. Please, for me, we can talk to the council about opening up a school.”
Anwyn looked like she was scared, but she nodded. “It doesn’t hurt to ask. And I’ve been thinking about it, the possibility of it. I have a basic idea of what we could do, but it’s rocky. I’ll need you to help me.” she said.
“Consider it done. Anything you need.” he assured. “It got late and dark, I’ll leave you alone. The day after tomorrow we can go. The girls on the hill will take care of looking after Gloria for the afternoon.” he smiled, hoping that this solution to Anwyn’s isolation would stick.
~*~
“Good morning, Ms. Cupshire. How may we help you?” asked the head councilwoman.
“I have a proposal to make. As I’m sure you’re aware, I have two three younger siblings, two of which I have aided in educating. Back on the mainland, quite a while ago, I had thought that I would open a school and teach as an occupation, but we didn’t have a very large group of children. I know that there are too many islands for there to be a school for all of them, but I believe that there are enough children on some of the larger islands to arrange a school. They could go home in the evening that way, or the children that live further away could be housed in homes of people willing to foster them while they are in town. Or a dormitory could be built.” Anwyn explained, measuredly.
“That’s quite the proposal.” said the elderly woman. “Families typically teach their own children, we don’t concern ourselves with their teaching as long as they can do the basic reading and math.”
“But is there not a way to improve the system? If the children were taught to learn the same things, grammar, math, history, we could make it so that no child was left behind and everyone learned. Can we trust parents, with their possibly limited knowledge, to teach their children everything they need to know? And, if the children were at school, their parents would have time to do their jobs instead of having to look after their children all day. More productivity would be possible.”
The council buzzed for a bit. “And how often would you want the children to be in attendance?” Asked the man with bright face paint.
“About three or four times a week, with a little take home work to keep the knowledge fresh in their minds until they get back. They would still be able to help at home with work, but as a mother, I know how hard it can be getting any work done with a child constantly running around.”
The council buzzed a bit more. “We will discuss the matter further. We will summon you tomorrow, to tell you our verdict, have a good evening, Ms. Cupshire.”
Anwyn exited the room and met Romeo waiting outside the door. “They’re going to talk about it, I hope I convinced them. I think I’m ready for this, Romeo. I think I can do it.” she smiled a bit, adrenaline making her shaky.
“Let’s get some food, you look a bit hungry. Come on.” he said. “I’m happy that you feel up to the challenge.” he smiled.
~*~
“Annie! Romeo! It’s nice to see you, I wish I had known you were coming, I would have set a spot for you at the table!” Lara exclaimed as she welcomed them in from the storm outside.
“Don’t be silly, we ate at one of those food stalls and you know how much food they give you. I don’t think we could eat another bite!” Anwyn laughed. Lara and Romeo shared a look at the sound of her laugh, surprised to hear it.
Lara carefully moved around her little kitchen, and her husband peaked his head out of the bathroom. “Oh! Anwyn and Romeo! What a surprise!” he went back to brushing his teeth, then came out. “How are you? Heck of a storm, huh? Do you guys need to stay the night? Can’t really go sailing in weather like this.” he asked.
“That would be wonderful. I didn’t want to have to ask, but when the storm rolled in, I figured that it was the best option. I can’t go to mom’s, she would just pepper us with questions, you know.” Anwyn answered.
“Of course she would.” smiled Lara. “Why are you guys in town anyway? You don’t get over here very often.”
“We were talking to the council about opening a school. Something to help-” Romeo answered.
“Help the community.” Anwyn finished. “It can be tough finding the time to teach a child while the parents are working hard all the time, and you know I wanted to back home.”
“Yes, I remember.” Lara smiled.
They chatted nicely for the rest of the evening, and an easy conversation flowed. Anwyn felt on edge about not having Gloria close, but she was also at ease in the presence of her sister, her best friend in this world.
The next day, the ground was muddy, but the sun had returned, which meant that the journey home would probably be a good one.
Standing in front of the council again, Anwyn was biting her lip. She felt more alive over the past 24 hours than she had felt most of the past year, and she felt that if approved this plan would bring the winds of change, hopefully for the better.
The man with faint white marks on his face spoke. “Ms. Cupshire, we thought hard about this. As you know, it has been the culture for parents to teach their children’ it has been that way for generations. However, you bring up good points. Not everyone gets the same education, and parents don’t always have the time to teach their children how to read and write and so on.
“It was a hard choice to make, but we believe that a school would be a wise addition to the community here, and if it goes well we would spread the idea to other communities as well. We will find a location for the building, and we will go from there. Congratulations, Ms. Cupshire. May it be a happy place.” he gave a warm smile, and Anwyn felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She beamed at the council. “Thank you so much. This means the world to me, thank you!”
The young woman showed Anwyn to the door, where she jumped into Romeo’s arms, exploding with happiness. “I did it! We’re going to have a school!” she squealed.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be playing animal crossing while I formulate what happens next lol. Take it easy!
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