A Hand-Woven Universe 22 22. Soup For You

"Porose," Tommy had spent half of the day trying to catch the cook, who had been scrambling around the city with a large pot of medicinal soup on his back.

Yesterday night Tommy had gone home with a small jar of soup that he had finished before he went to bed. Initially it helped him feel better, his cough had cleared up and he was able to sleep soundly.

When he woke up the next morning though, the cough had returned, and his body felt heavier than it had before.

In fact, he was not the only one. There were a number of people in Tapestry who now had a small incessant cough. None of the elders had caught it though. So with the soup Porose had made, the spread was being contained to the few people who already contracted it.

Porose turned around, careful not to knock into anything with the pot that was strapped to him. Tommy then saw another pot which was strapped to his front. Porose looked at his old friend, examining his body. "Not feeling too well either, huh?"

Tommy's eyebrows scrunched up. A lot of thoughts were going through his mind. "Yeah. The soup helped last night, but when I woke up this morning my whole body felt heavy."

Porose nodded his head but did not comment. "Follow me back to my kitchen, I will give you enough for a week. That should clear it up. The librarian had it a while ago too, but he is as bright as a sunstone now."

Tommy quickly agreed, following Porose back into the heart of the city.

…

"70 to 100 years…" Liter looked like death, with him was Elder Azelle who was slumped into a chair, his hands covering his eyes.

Neither knew what to say.

When the elder had beckoned Liter to join him after Noone pulled his stunt, they had made way directly to the secret primordial section of the library.

"According to the records... in less than 50 years his body will degrade into something barely functional… the normal process of aging before we inherited the common heritage."

Elder Azelle didn't respond.

"And after that he will live out the few years he has left weak and incapable of mustering any notable strength-"

"HE'S STILL A CHILD!" Elder Azelle shouted. "100 years at most? That's nothing! There's no way that he will only…" He let the words trail off, afraid of the consequences of him saying it aloud.

When they arrived at the library a day ago, Elder Azelle wanted to know exactly how long Noone had. What Noone had said - standing strong on the outcropping staring down at all of tapestry - had struck the elder. His heart was moved by Noone's willingness to take his life into his own hands.

They scoured the records of before. The time before the Common Heritage of the Ancestor. They looked for any clues and references to the lives of people who had yet to inherit the Common Heritage.

"I am sorry Elder…" Liter also looked a bit lost.

To beings that lived for well over 500 years, to live out a full life and grow old in a mere 100...? How could the universe be that cruel? As far as they were concerned, at 100 years Noone should be a young strapping man with the world beneath his feet! Not... that.

This fate was indeed too cruel.

Liter stood up and began to put back the books they had scoured from the shelf. No matter how distraught his emotions were, he couldn't neglect his duties as a librarian.

"Elder…" Liter brought a ladder to with him, placing a thin book onto one of the other shelves. "Soon... when Noone returns, you will be leaving to go into the world above."

The elder listened but did not respond. He knew where Liter was going with this.
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"If…"

"If it is Liter, then it will be grand. And Noone may have a chance to live a full life. But if it is not… Then a.s.suming we don't die immediately after setting foot into the world above, there is a good chance that I, even with my meager lifespan left, will outlive him."

The thought weighed heavily on the elder's shoulders, even to Liter he seemed to visually age.

"Liter, if you don't mind, I would like to be alone. May I leave this to you?"

Liter stopped what he was doing. "Of course, Elder. Please, take what time you need."

"Mm."

The elder stood up slowly, the simple movement was straining to him. He didn't want to move.

"Noone…"

….

Adria was sat at the edge of Tapestry, she looked down into the clouds below.

"You should have entered them by now... just... don't be reckless." She mumbled silently to herself.

Adria had not left the outcrop yet. She knew that she couldn't remain there forever, but in this moment, she didn't want to move either. The memories of her own coming of age were vivid in her mind. She thought about each trial, every dangerous moment, and considered Noone's strength. Would he be able to handle it? He must be…

When she considered the possibilities though, anxiety rose within her.

Many of the air attuned of Tapestry were also gathered on the outcropping, they all sat circled around the smallest of the elders who talked to them about compression and decompression.

They had initially thought to invite Adria to listen in with them, however a girl who had seen what transpired earlier quietly told them about what had happened. Their faces were shocked when they had found out.

Instead of bothering Adria, they left her alone and waited for the elder.

….

Tommy arrived at Porose's kitchen and was immediately stunned by the most intense medicinal smell he had ever experienced. As he looked around, he saw a pot being simmered over an open flame in the middle of the room. Lined all around the edges were jar after jar of soup.

Porose closed the door behind him and rushed over to the simmering pot in the middle of the room, stirring it carefully.

"If I don't stir this once every hour, the ingredients will burn to the side of the pot and ruin the entire mixture." Porose looked back at Tommy bitterly. He had not needed to work this hard to maintain a kitchen operation since he had inherited the enterprise from his own father. In his mind, Tommy had it much easier - merely needing to look over the miners.

"Porose… is all of this soup really necessary?" Tommy had experienced the bug that had gripped the colony a hundred years ago, and a hundred years before that, and a hundred years before that. While it was certainly annoying, and some came on stronger than others - there was enough soup in this room to feed one bowl to every person in Tapestry for a week.

"Elders orders Tommy." Porose shook his head, he too always thought it was overkill. However, he also understood the need for it. "We are the last Humans, if something happens to us, who else is there?"

After he finished stirring the pot, Porose got a large jar from one of the walls.

"This is enough soup to feed you 2 bowls a day for a week." He tightened the top a.s.suring it would not spill. "Plus, a little extra for your beautiful wife." He wiggled his eyebrows and chuckled at the look on Tommy's face.

Tommy s.n.a.t.c.hed the jar from his hands, giving him a solid glare before making for the door.

"Tahmel… stay inside for the week until you get better, you don't want to give this to any of the other miners you know." Porose said carefully.

"Mm."

"It's not just you, I am telling everyone. I'm serious."

For a moment Tommy thought he saw a hint of worry in his friends' eyes.