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“A trader,” Nighteko said. “He moves from village to village trading his wares.”
The wheel of his wagon had snapped off and lay in a shallow ditch. He grumbled under his breath and struggled with mending it.
Nighteko stepped through the damp leaves and held it open for me to pass through first.
“Uh, hi,” I said.
The trader straightened up and first appraised me, then the big lug standing behind me. The robe he wore reminded me of the sackcloth monks wore in monasteries.
“Do you need a hand?” I said.
“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind,” the trader said.
He turned to Nighteko and nodded at the broken wagon.
Nighteko crouched and braced the cart on his back.
“On the count of three,” he said. “One, two, three…”
He grunted as he lifted the cart. The trader watched him in awe before hurrying to slip the wheel back in place. Then Nighteko lowered it back down again. He clapped the dirt off his hands.
“Thank you very much, stranger,” the old trader said. “This wheel always has had a habit of slipping off. Where are you headed? I could give you a lift if you’re heading my way.”
“We’re headed to Klaxxon,” Nighteko said.
“Oh,” the trader said. “I’m sorry about that. I’m headed in the opposite direction, I’m afraid. But I won’t let you go empty-handed for your kindness.”
Nighteko waved his hands. “That’s not necessary.”
The trader stepped on a spoke of the mended wheel to reach into the back of his cart. He came out with a single container. “It’s not much, I’m afraid, but enough to keep you going for a day.”
He opened it, revealing a small amount of cooked food. It looked like a rice stirfry but I couldn’t identify most of the ingredients.
I wanted to turn him down, to tell him there was no need, but then my stomach grumbled.
“I can only spare one, I’m afraid,” the trader said. “I carry everything I own with me. My food has to last me until I reach the next village where I can bargain for more. But please, take this.”
His face was gaunt and I suddenly realized why Nighteko refused it.
This was all the food the trader had.
But he was a trader. Maybe he was willing to go a little hungrier if I gave him something in return…
I slipped the bracelet from my wrist and gave it to him. “How much food will you give us for this?”
Nighteko shook his head. “Don’t give it away. It’s worth too much.”
“If it helps us see the end of this day, I think it’s worth it,” I said.
Nighteko was starving too. Still, he didn’t like to see me lose the only keepsake I had of my father.
The trader held it up to the light.
“It’s made from silver,” I said. “I don’t know what it’s worth on this planet but it’s worth good money where I’m from.”
The trader opened the locket, revealing the images of my parents. He handed it back to me. “I can’t take this.”
“I don’t need it,” I said, and I tapped my temple. “I have everything I need to remember them up here.”
