When his shift ended, Conor took a stroll through the back streets of Jinstain. He was not in a mood to go back to the apartment right now and risk running into Jessica. As he rounded a corner, he heard children playing. His aimless walking had brought him to the community center near the center of town. The old run-down building sat nearly hidden between several warehouses but still had a decent courtyard for the kids to congregate in. to Conor's joy, he spotted Cara off in a corner playing with a group of girls.
"Cara!"
"Conor! What brings you by today?! Care to join us?"
Conor smiled around at the kids, "Oh I suppose I could be convinced."
As Conor played with Cara and the young kids, he noticed the various aspects of the community center. Many of the windows were cracked or broken completely, which would never be good for the cold winter ahead. Much of the concrete the kids were playing on was chipped and in desperate need of repair.
"Mr. Conor," a small girl tugged on his sleeve, "will you paint with us?"
"Paint? Do you have paint?"
"Well... we have this," she held up a stub of old chalk.
"I see. Do you enjoy coloring?"
"YES!!!"
"and what is your name again,"
"I'm Hannah. I'm six.
Conor looked over at Cara, a bit perplexed. She replied, "many of their parents have no other options. If they work in the factories or out at the mines, there is no child care of any kind. This place may not be much, but it is where the kids have always come. I try to be here with Johnathan as often as I can. There are a few others, but there just isn't funding for full time staff. Hannah has an older sister here somewhere, but that is about it."
Conor crouched down with Hannah and accepted the chalk from her and began drawing a hopscotch field. "Want to play a game?"
Conor saw Cara smile as she watched them play, returning to her own group. Conor loved the simple joy of entertaining these kids who seemed to have nothing else going for them. Johnathan came over and observed for a bit. When Conor stood to leave, he said, "If you ever want to come back and visit, Mr. Brantley, you are always welcome here. We can always use the help."
"Is there more than can be done for this place?"
"There is always more that can be done. however, for the most part, the simple things have the most impact right now. Unless we can get a whole new building, even a new set of chalk for young Hannah would brighten their day.
"Thank you, Johnathan, for caring enough to keep this work going."
"It is my life's calling, and Celia has blessed me for it."
Cara came over then, "are you leaving?"
"For now, I still have to get home and do a few things, but I think I will be back. You really do have a great thing here," Conor said, glancing around at the broken down center, "A bit rusty, but I see why it's so loved."
"Be sure to visit again soon, Conor. It's good for the kids to see people in the community caring about them."
"Perhaps I can find some fresh chalk for them.
Conor settled in for a grind. He had promised Jessica he was going to make this work, and finally things were in place to make that possible. Work at Jackson's may be mundane, but he knew that with enough time, his other investments would give them both the room they needed to breathe, and, eventually, to thrive. He longed to give Jessica a life worthy of her upbringing. She had reluctantly agreed to the arranged marriage because he had potential, now was his chance to live up to that.
He knew that once the deal with NewAge Gaming was complete, he would be able to start making rapid progress in his pursuits so the tedious work at Jackson's no longer felt like a slog. Instead, it was a race to get through this one month. He pushed harder each day to accomplish tasks and his mind raced with possibilities.
A highlight to his week came every Tuesday and Thursday when he would head to the Spice Emporium for sampling night. The environment was amazing as the crowds grew as the winter weather set in and everyone enjoyed walking the streets, preparing for the winter solstice. The seasonal cheer of seeing the various vendors and smelling amazing scents from the food merchants was evident everywhere.
Cara had even gotten in the habit of scheduling her shifts around the spice night so she could come over and join Conor to watch people pucker as they tried Mr. Arroz's newest salsa blend of the day. They would sit together and chat about anything and everything from Cara's passion for the art of taking photos in the perfect light to the latest gossip from the capital about the queen and her ladies. During their second week of these rendezvous, Cara got a letter from her uncle with some gossip from the courts.
"They are saying that the temple of Abrasax has almost as much influence in the capital now as Celia's high priestess did five years ago," Cara told Conor.
Conor visibly tensed as she said this.
"What's the matter? Did you know someone at the temple? You had mentioned a few weeks ago growing up around there."
Conor took a minute to collect himself, "The high priestess was my mother." He choked out.
"Oh, Conor" She hugged him as he tried to dry the tears.
"It's been long enough that the pain is not as raw, but still. What were they saying?"
"Apparently your mother had the ear of the Royal court. She was very well respected."
"I know I saw several dignitaries over the years but never the royal family in person."
"Well, apparently there is a young priestess who gained Abrasax's blessing, much as your mother did. She was sixteen at the time apparently. That was about eight years ago now. I never really understood what that meant 'having the blessing' of the god."
Conor thought about that before saying, "There is some I can't share, but essentially, there are sacred artifacts that react to certain people. It is said that the gods chose their own vessels to speak through and communicate with and thus whichever priest or priestess is able to interact with the artifacts holds enormous power within the temple. Though, from what I remember even my mother as high priestess and chosen of Celia still dealt with a good bit of political war within the temple from various faction leaders."
"Really? What could they have to fight over if she was high priestess?" asked Cara
"Some wanted to bring back the worship of Falak, the patron god of Pinon Province in the far west. But what is odd is Pinon Province has not had a temple to Falak in centuries. From what my mother told me, most of the people there either worship Celia or Abrasax or both in their own ways."
"This is so odd, the gossip from the capital also talked about Falak, but it was as if the followers of Falak were some kind of rebel army against the king, not a sect within the temple."
Conor thought for a long moment. "My mother said the vessels of the dragons at one time were regarded as a higher authority than even the king. So, I can see how the king or anyone in the court would fear a rising within the dragon orders."
"You don't think...?" Cara asked wide eyed.
"Again, Falak hasn't had a following in a long time. I have no idea what they would even be centering their cause on Falak, let alone if they had any rationale for it."
From the back, Mr. Arroz hollered, "If you two are done chatting, I could use some help moving things back here!"
They both looked at each other and said in unison, "Coming, Mr. Arroz!"