Act XV, Hyperpolia (XI)
eleven
"Didn't you always say I should become a craftsman?" Grikly secretly came to Yakov to say goodbye before entering the city. "It's better than guarding barren fields!"
Yakov couldn't persuade him with anything, and Yubi had no logic to reason with him. "I just need you to take care of Dalia for me. She has to raise three children alone, and it's not easy for her." Grikley smiled shyly, "When I have money... if I can afford a piece of land in the city, I'll take them with me!"
“Okay.” Yakov nodded. “I will never let them go hungry.”
The farmer shouldered his pack and left. Yubi watched his lonely figure disappear, then clutched Yakov's sleeve. "Our cellar's been infested with rats lately..." he whispered, "and grain's gotten more expensive..."
“No matter how bad our situation is, we’re still better off than the farmers,” Yakov said, leading him back into the house. “There’ll always be a way to make a living.”
Easter has been over for more than a month, and Trinity is fast approaching, but the little river next to my house still shows no sign of thawing. This is the root of all evil, Yubi thought. If there really is a God, Allah, or some other deity, then this disaster all stems from their cruelty and ruthlessness. The planting season is long over, but the ground is still covered with ice, and not a single seedling can sprout; grass doesn't grow, livestock have nothing to eat, and they neither lay eggs nor produce milk; the river is frozen, so merchant ships cannot set sail, and merchants don't even have the opportunity to wade through the swamp to trade. Workers have no goods to carry, fishermen have no fish to catch, and everything is more expensive; so, the hungry people either manage to enter the city like Grikly, or they try to have Yakov's ability to escape into the forest to survive.
Yubi followed Yakov into the forest, where they occasionally encountered people attacked by wild animals. If they were still alive, Yubi would give them a second chance at life; but if they were already dead, the two could only take the deceased's belongings to the village and ask someone to find their relatives. Over time, some unpleasant rumors reached their ears.
"Don't listen to those lunatics. These people are just jealous!" she angrily comforted Yubi during her visit to Dalia. "I know best that you are devout and kind, not heretics, and you would never do such a thing as murder!"
“It’s alright, we never took it to heart.” Yubi distributed the jerky to the three children. “And you don’t need to speak up for us, lest you be ostracized alone.”
But after leaving the country cottage, Yubi walked north to the birch forest and slipped into Granny Vanera's Chude hut. Before entering, he had to pick some mushrooms in the woods, pretending that he had picked too many and didn't recognize them, and that he had to take a detour to find her for help.
“You come here every day just to bother me. Ask what you need to ask, and don’t bring your Christian stench in here,” Granny Vanella cursed as she ushered him in. Her teeth wobbled as she spoke angrily. The two dogs, skin and bones from hunger, drooled on Yubi’s shoes at the smell of meat.
“I brought you payment.” Yubi ignored all her words and simply placed the smoked fish beside her tidy kitchen. “Who else but you would know about this?”
Every day on his way home, Yubi couldn't help but wonder again and again: was it all just a natural disaster, and not man-made? Yet he couldn't bring himself to condemn the impoverished and destitute, not even allowing them to vent their despairing anger. To be honest, he and Yakov weren't true saints, and they certainly hadn't never killed or harmed anyone before. Even now, Yubi didn't feel he could be innocent out of ignorance, nor did he feel that his yearning for purity, selfishness, and escapism made him superior in any way.
When he got home, he found that Yakov's catch that day was not much either. The hunter skinned the squirrel—it was so thin that it had almost no fat, and could only be stewed in the stove with old radishes to make a bland meat soup. "It'll be enough to fill our stomachs." But he chewed it with relish, saying, "If we don't catch anything, we can sell the horse and the wagon together."
When Yubi saw Yakov's impoverished state, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache, far more painful than when he saw others suffering from hunger. This selfish emotion wouldn't allow him to ignore the urge to refuse, so he solemnly approached the table and stared intently at Yakov's appearance.
"Do you miss the old days...? Do you regret it?" the vampire asked in a low voice. "If we had stayed in Constantinople or Jerusalem... you might still be able to eat the best soufflés and burritos every day."
Yakov peered over from behind the bowl with a pair of clear blue eyes.
“We can go again anytime you want,” he said.
These words of tolerance felt like a reproach, piercing through Yubi's thoughts and leaving him unsettled. "But I also made my own choice to come here," Yubi murmured. "Isn't this considered retreating in the face of difficulty, going back on my word? Only wanting the benefits, and wanting to run away at the first sign of trouble..."
"So what?" Yakov swallowed the soup whole. "We can't stay here forever."
Don't you think I'm childish and impulsive?
“Immature and impulsive is fine,” Yakov said. “We came here to seek freedom, and we can leave to seek freedom.”
Freedom—for some reason, Yubi was moved by this word again. He sighed, leaning against Yakov's back, lost in thought as he pressed his face against the warm, fireplace-like body. Night had fallen. Just as he was secretly removing his ring, intending to plunge his fangs into the blood slave's neck, he heard footsteps approaching from the street outside.
“Dalia’s here.” Yubi slid off Yakov’s shoulder quickly. “She’s brought three children with her.”
The woman burst into tears as soon as she entered. The older child, looking displeased, held the baby who was crying even louder, while a toddler, barely able to walk, stood frozen in place. The small cabin instantly became incredibly awkward. Yubi went to the cellar and fetched some dried cranberries, distributing them to them one by one. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Take your time, tell me slowly."
Dalia was hiccuping as she cried. She grabbed Yubi's hand, stood up, took a few steps, and knelt directly at Yakov's feet.
“Greka… he’s such a fool, an idiot…” she cried and cursed. “Please, save him! Only you can save him. I really don’t know who else to turn to… I’ll do anything if you just bring him back!”
Yakov immediately stood up. "What happened to Grikli?" he asked. "Don't be afraid, tell me first."
“He…he’s not very bright, he’s easily trusting…” Dalia sobbed—her words suddenly became fragmented, “He…he’s in the city, he couldn’t find a job and I wasn’t there to take care of him, alas, he was kidnapped…no, he was robbed, he was scammed…I really can’t do anything, he’s not coming back! How could he be so stupid, so foolish, so unable to think straight?”
"Was he kidnapped, robbed, or scammed?" Yakov asked her sternly. "Who told you that? Where is he now?"
Kadalia fell silent, her face flushed as she pursed her lips, tears streaming down her face. "...Damn Chud people, damn infidels!" After a long silence, she suddenly burst out, cursing, "Couldn't you just drive them away, kill them all, and send them somewhere else? God, please show your power, and let your warriors save your believers!"
What does this have to do with the Chu people? Yubi and Yakov exchanged bewildered glances, neither of them understanding what she was saying. Finally, her eldest child spoke up for her, sounding annoyed.
“A monk came today,” the child said. “He told us that my father had become a bandit in Chude and had been excommunicated and excommunicated.”
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