The Magic Rain

Chapter Two: My Father

Jo-Bri stopped in the doorway of the practice room. His father was seated on the padded floor, legs crossed beneath him, eyes closed, hands resting loosely on his knees.

"Come in, son," his father said quietly.

Jo-Bri entered the room.

His father unwound himself from his cross-legged sitting position and stood, in one smooth motion.

Jo-Bri looked up at his father, who stood two feet taller than he did. His father sighed. Even more guilt and shame flowed over Jo-Bri. He was bringing hardship to this great man.

"Your mother told me what happened today."

Jo-Bri looked down.

"Look up!" his father snapped, and Jo-Bri immediately obeyed, looking up into his father’s eyes.

"Never be afraid to face another person," his father said, "even if you’ve done the most horrible thing you can imagine and you’re facing the person to whom you did that horrible thing. Give them your full attention. It is an insult to do anything else."

Jo-Bri nodded.

His father studied his son’s face. "You needlessly killed a fellow being simply to… what? Prove yourself?"

His father stared at him. Jo-Bri did not look away. He had been trying to prove himself out there, to prove that even someone as short as he was could… what?

"You don’t prove yourself with so-called heroics, Jo-Bri," his father said. His voice was quieter now, but filled with sadness. "You prove yourself by being a good man,” Jo-Bri’s father continued, “by taking care of your family and your chores and responsibilities, by honoring your commitments and relationships, by honoring the worth of those around you, even those who are hateful or dangerous or so different from you that you might mistakenly consider them as somehow beneath you or subservient to you. You prove yourself by being there when your loved ones are hurt or sick or even merely in need; by risking your life to protect them and risking your heart to love them. There is more valor and courage and goodness in waking up in the middle of the night to change your child’s diaper because you know your wife is tired, than from killing a hundred Ghiri with your bare hands."

Jo-Bri waited until he knew his father had finished. He waited a moment longer, just in case, and then sank to his knees, staring up at the man who had given him life.

"I am sorry, father," he said. "I am ashamed."

"You lost something today that you will never regain," his father said. "Your innocence."

That hit Jo-Bri like a war lance in the belly. He knew it was true, but to hear his father intone those words…

"Losing your innocence is like losing your sight," his father said. "You learn to live without it, but you spend your life remembering what it was like before that loss."

Jo-Bri clenched his teeth.

"Still," his father said, "today you also became a man. Not for facing the Ghiri, but for facing me."

Jo-Bri nodded. He should have felt triumph or at least relief at his father’s praise, but instead all he felt was more fear.

"You are afraid of your own success," his father said and Jo-Bri started. He knew that his father could read minds, though his mother was far better at it, but it always surprised him when either of them would repeat to him his own closely held thoughts.

"You are afraid that more success will be expected of you."

Jo-Bri immediately knew it was true, and again felt ashamed.

His father laughed, surprising Jo-Bri even further. "Do you think I was always the great wizard? Before me, my father was wizard, and he expected things of me I knew I could never perform, so I did even less, thinking that less would be expected of me. I survived and so will you." He paused, studying Jo-Bri. "In fact – and if you repeat this to anyone I will deny it –"

Jo-Bri smiled at the thought of his father lying -- ever.

"You will one day be a greater wizard than I have ever been."

Jo-Bri nodded slowly. "Yes, Father," he said, trying not to show the skepticism he felt.

His father laughed again. "I know. I didn’t believe it when my father told me either."

Jo-Bri smiled mischievously. "Grandfather told you I would be a better wizard than you?"

Jo-Bri’s father laughed, then let the laugh slowly fade, staring at his son with such love that it made Jo-Bri uncomfortable, because this too was an expectation, that somehow he would find a way to match his father’s love.

"Josiah Brian!" he heard his mother call.

His father frowned thoughtfully and placed a huge hand on the side of Jo-Bri’s face and Jo-Bri stared up in awe, then suddenly his father’s smile returned. "Hurry, son," he said, "never keep a woman waiting."

Jo-Bri smiled, turned and hurried from the room, his head spinning. He had entered his father’s practice room with fear, and now left with a stronger sense of his place in the world, and an appreciation for his father that he swore he would pass on to his children and his children’s children, for he had just been in the presence of a great man who happened to be his father.

***

"Mother!" he whined as his mother fussed over him. He turned to look up at her, because of course she was a foot taller than he was. He had asked his parents often enough about spells that could make him taller, but after his talk with his father he realized he needed to be a bigger man inside, not outside. And he was determined to be, even if now he felt like a little boy as his mother spit into her hand and ran that hand through his hair.

"Mother!" he exclaimed, pulling away. "You put spit in my hair!"

"Oh, for goodness sake!" his mother replied, laughing. "That’s what mothers are for, to put spit in your hair so that you don’t look like a wild man all the time!"

"Mother, it’s a dance, not a coronation!" he said, careful to stay out of reach of her hands – and her spittle.

His mother’s expression shifted and he felt an immediate pang of guilt though he didn’t really know what he had done.

"I’m sorry, Mother," he said, stepping forward, making himself available for more fussing and spit.

She shook her head, smiling sadly. "No, it’s all right, Josiah Brian."

He sighed. He knew he could conquer the known world and she could still instantly make him a little boy simply by saying his full name the way only a mother could.

"I was just…" she began, and shook her head again, waving her hand as if shooing away some errant thought.

"What?" Jo-Bri asked.

"Well, if you must know," she said, studying him to see if he really did need or want to know.

"I must," he said, mocking her, and they both laughed. He made a note to do that more – make his mother laugh. Maybe he was growing up after all.

"Well, I was remembering when your father was court wizard for the emperor," she said, and Jo-Bri nearly gasped. No one dared mentioned the emperor anymore, not since Hodon had come to power.

"You see, your father had been the wizard for the emperor’s father, so when the new emperor ascended to the throne, your father invited me to the coronation."

"You were his wife, of course you went to the coronation," Jo-Bri said, though he had to admit he was impressed. It was one thing to have the local wizard as your father, but to be reminded that he had been the emperor’s own wizard –

His mother laughed again and he realized how beautiful she was.

"No, no," she said, "That was our first date!"

Jo-Bri laughed. He was a boy, so things like weddings were outside his area of interest, but he could still appreciate the humor of your first date occurring at the emperor’s coronation.

"I’ll tell you a secret," she said, and leaned forward. "Just before we went into the grand ballroom, I noticed that your father’s cowlick was sticking straight up, so I –"

"No!" Jo-Bri said, his eyes getting big.

His mother nodded, giddy with the humor of it. "I spit into my hand and – "

"Slathered my hair down into place," his father said, entering the room and placing a hand on Jo-Bri’s mother’s shoulder in a way so intimate that Jo-Bri actually blushed, and wished that he had someone he could share that kind of feeling with.

"So you see, Jo-Bri," his father said, "it’s a family tradition. Get used to it."

Jo-Bri laughed.

"All right, you’ve washed the Ghiri off you," his father said.

"You’ve got new clothes," his mother added.

"And spit in your hair," his father finished.

His father and mother glanced at each other, then turned to Jo-Bri and said together: "Go to the dance!"

Jo-Bri felt the butterflies in his stomach but after the events of the day, to worry about a silly dance seemed… well… silly. So he turned and walked away from his parents, and toward his doom.

***

The sun was starting to set, the shadows beginning to grow and merge as Jo-Bri set off. It was a short walk to the town square from Jo-Bri’s parents’ house.

Jo-Bri shook his head. His father, the great wizard. The Emperor’s wizard! All his life he had been dealing with that. The other kids had teased him, of course, though not as much as they had teased him about his height. Then one day every village child of Jo-Bri’s age had gone mute for twenty-four hours. Just like that. Jo-Bri smiled. He had been furious with his father at the time -- it was like having your mother stand up to the school bully for you. But he had been grateful too. Though there would be the occasional incident after the "day of the silent children," they had been rare, and nothing Jo-Bri couldn’t handle.

Besides, being short had toughened him. He had gone from girls beating him up to being able to stand up to even the worst male bullies and at least earn their respect, even if it had cost him cuts, bruises and even broken bones.

But he was who he was. He thought of his earlier confrontation with his father and took a deep breath, again overwhelmed with gratitude and amazement. Now, the next challenge: the annual village harvest dance.

Jo-Bri stopped on the edge of the town square and saw nearly the entire village already gathered. Musicians played wind, string and percussion instruments. Some couples danced in the center of the square while others chatted on the periphery, smiling and laughing.

Gaggles of girls stood to one side, waiting for the boys to risk rejection by asking them to dance.

Every girl was at least a head taller than Jo-Bri. Most were at least a foot taller. And one, a red haired beauty, stood at least three or four inches taller than all the other females.

Damn, Jo-Bri thought. Why Janessa? Why couldn’t he have fallen in love with the shortest girl in the village, even if she was still several inches taller than he was? Why a giantess with the beauty of a goddess and the sensuality of…

Jo-Bri took a deep breath and started walking around the edge of the town square, which was lit by a multitude of torches.

"Jo-Bri!" Jo-Bri glanced back with a tight smile, and saw his friends Willen, Ori and Keto. Jo-Bri waived and as he turned back to his task, he saw a look of horror on Willen’s face as his friend realized what Jo-Bri was about to do.

He remembered once asking his father about a love spell or potion. His father had said it was wrong to control anyone against their will, except in times of war or battle, or to protect an innocent from an evil force. His father had then looked him in the eye and said: "If you really think you need that kind of help…" and had left the rest up in the air. Jo-Bri had blushed, shook his head and walked quickly away. His father had a way of putting things in perspective.

The girls saw him coming and as one turned toward him. Jo-Bri wasn’t sure if he had felt this much fear when facing the three Ghiri. "Hello Jo-Bri," Janessa said as he stopped in front of her, looking up – damn, always looking up. He suddenly remembered that as children Janessa had once picked him up against his will and carried him around, claiming he was her new doll.

Jo-Bri’s face caught fire, as he stood transfixed by the memory and by the sudden realization of what he was doing.

She waited. He began to panic. "Would you like to dance," he heard himself say and the other girls tittered.

She hesitated and his heart felt as if it were about to explode. "Maybe later," she said and her smile did not touch her eyes. He thought he would never again meet any girl as beautiful as this one.

He turned and walked away.

"Hi, Jo-Bri," someone said, and he glanced to his left, to see Kawille standing there, smiling shyly. She was short – no more than four or five inches taller than he was, and slightly plump. But what Jo-Bri saw most was the same kind of fear in Kawille that he himself had just felt in walking up to Janessa. Jo-Bri walked up to her. "Kawille, would you dance with me?" he asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth. The girlish laughter behind him rose in volume.

Suddenly Orin, Willen and Keto were by his side. Kawille had been standing amongst a group of other girls who were, like her, a bit short, a bit plump; not the "in" crowd that surrounded Janessa.

"Would you dance with me?" he heard Orin ask, followed by similar questions asked by Keto and Willen.

Jo-Bri glanced first left and then right, and saw that his friends were asking Kawille’s shy young friends to dance and completely ignoring Janessa and her friends.

"I would love to, thank you," Kawille replied, and held out her hand. Jo-Bri had two sudden realizations. First, that his three friends, the most desirable males of their age in the village, really were his friends. Second, that he, Jo-Bri, had just made the wonderful girl in front of him his second choice. He had, in front of everyone, asked the unattainable Janessa to dance, and then "settled" for the plump "little" Kawille. He blushed again, this time more ashamed than he was embarrassed.

He gently drew Kawille into his arms. He stared up at her face and realized how lovely it was. He wondered what she would look like if she lost weight and then immediately castigated himself again. She was lovely just the way she was, and he realized just how exciting it actually was to be holding her in his arms, her soft, fragrant body so close to his.

She smiled tentatively, as if afraid this might be some kind of joke. He realized something else – she wasn’t looking at him as if he were someone she had to settle for, she was looking at him with longing, and a sweetness that broke his heart and stirred his loins. Suddenly Janessa seemed completely unattractive in the only way that really mattered – as a person.

Jo-Bri moved to the music with this beautiful young woman in his arms, staring adoringly down at him. He could see his friends doing the same with their partners out of the corner of his vision. He smiled, startling Kawille.

"What?" Jo-Bri asked, seeing her reaction.

Kawille shook her head. "No – nothing. I just…"

"What?’ he repeated, still moving, thinking of the dance lessons his mother had given him when he had been young enough to allow that kind of intimacy with his mother.

"Your smile," she said, and he heard in her voice all the pain she had experienced in her young life, never being the pretty one, never being the popular one, "it’s… beautiful."

He laughed and drew her closer. He tilted his head back, kissing her gently on the lips, lingering there while they moved to the music, then letting the movement of the dance slowly draw them slightly apart. He was stunned to see that there were tears in her eyes that now spilled down her cheeks.

He shook his head. He wondered how many times he had ignored her over the years. One thing was for sure; he did not remember her ever treating him cruelly, making jokes at his expense or carrying him around like her little doll.

"My turn," he heard someone say and looked up – way up, to see Janessa standing there beside them, an angry frown on her face, her hands held out, ready to take over from Kawille.

Kawille gasped and tried to back away from Jo-Bri, but he tightened his grip on her. "I don’t think so," he said to Janessa, then returned his attention to his partner. Kawille stared at him in amazement and then glanced up at Janessa in fear.

Jo-Bri drew Kawille back against him and kissed her again, this time a little longer, a little more passionately. It was Janessa, who gasped now, in complete indignation.

Jo-Bri, still attached to Kawille at the lips, began to laugh, and it was only a moment before Kawille joined him. Jo-Bri moved his head back, their lips breaking contact, and swept Kawille into a daring turn and dip, away from the astonished and furious Janessa.

Kawille laughed out loud as Jo-Bri lifted her out of the dip and twirled her about the village square. "This is the best day of my life," Kawille exclaimed, and then looked shocked at herself, realizing what a risk she had just taken, not knowing whether she could even trust Jo-Bri yet.

"Me too," he said, laughing as well so that now they were both laughing, twirling about the square, the towering Janessa standing in the middle of the whirling couples, glaring helplessly about for someone to rescue her.