Chapter 4 - Misleading Book

Luis was really happy as he made his way to the market too, there was money inside that box but he just didn't know how much, to satisfy his curiosity he brought out the box to see for himself how much was really in there, his eyes widened as he looked into the box, this was going to be enough to feed him for a week, he felt disturbed, why would she give him such amount of money? he hoped she wasn't stealing from her parents.

"Hello Luis," Leo said seeing Luis walk into the premises, he was fixing a torn net."I haven't seen you for a while"

"I've been busy," Luis said dropping his back on a small wooden chair, then he used his eyes to scan the whole environment, in the market everyone used tents, they would put up the tents put their goods there and bring out some samples so that buyers could know what they were selling, that was the reason why Leo was always busy with either making a new tent or fixing the ones that had already worn out, but still for all his hard work he hardly got enough money to take care of himself and his family. Tentmaking was regarded as a job for the weak and incompetent because of that the politicians who were close to the king had told him that it had no value because it was too easy to do and with that, the king made a decree setting a certain little amount that should be paid to tentmakers for every work done, the king was the one that declared the price of any commodity in the market, he didn't care whether you made a profit or not, that was one of the advice given to him by his advisors and politicians.

"Have you gotten anything today?" Luis asked.

Leo turned his gaze away from what he was doing and had it on Luis, his eyes were filled with sadness, Luis knew what that meant, he still hadn't made anything reasonable.

"Don't worry you'll have something by the end of the day" Luis said picking a rope on the floor.

Leo's eye seemed to have brightened up hearing Luis say that."Well you should get yourself busy then" he said patting a wooden stool beside him."I'm just mending tents today"

Luis didn't only come to Luis just because he would get little money to feed himself, yes he was only after the money at first but then he had grown to love this man, he tested him like a son, he was kind, generous and he hardly complained about anything, he would make some mistakes on a tent and would expect him to shout, scold, or even beat him, the worst was that he could decide not to pay him but still, none of those things would happen, he would just pat him on the back and tell him that he almost got it, Luis had gotten used to being treated harshly by his aunt that he had believed that kind people didn't exist, but this man had proved him wrong, he was like the father he never had.

"Leo"

"What is it, boy?" Leo asked, raising his gaze to him, this was the first time he had raised his gaze since he sat down to help him mend some torn tents, he looked more serious than usual today.

"Do you know my parents?"Luis had been thinking about the dream he had last night, that dream had him start to miss something, something that he never had but felt like it had been with him since he was a kid, maybe it was his parents.

Leo was silent as he studied Luis' face, for some moment there Luis thought he wasn't going to say anything but then he started.

"Your Father" he sighed like he was finding it difficult to say this."He was a good man with a pure heart"

"What's his name?"

Luis looked at him with astonishment and he knew why, he was supposed to know his parents' names even though he never knew them, but he didn't probably because his aunt never spoke about him.

"Your father's name is Greg"

"Greg who?" Luis asked with a voice filled with curiosity, he had seen that name before, it was the one written on that brown ancient mystics book.

"Greg Miles"

So the Greg Miles was his father.

"What about my mother?" Luis asked.

"Your mother" why did he have to talk like this now? he was usually fast but composed when speaking but right now he was speaking like someone who had lost everything he had."She was also a good woman, who had a beauty that could never be compared with anyone"

"Ok" Luis felt awkward that he was speaking about his mother like that.

"Her eyes were just like yours," Leo said staring directly into his eyes.

Now it had finally come to him, the woman he saw in his dream, she was his mother, now he was curious to know what happened to them, why did they go away? because that was the last thing he saw them do in his dream.

"What..."

"Her name was Elena" that wasn't what he wanted to ask but it was useful to know his mother's name.

"What happened to them?" he asked the question that was really in his mind, for some reason he didn't believe that his parents died.

"They...….they" Leo stuttered.

"What?"

"I hope you are done with my tent Leo?" a woman had walked into the premises.

"Yes" it was hard before that came out, when did he turn into a stammerer?

Leo searched through the many tents on the floor until he found a bus one, then he began to fold it.

"Here," he said handing the tent over to the woman.

"Here's your money" the woman gave him two pieces of silver after collecting her tent, that was all he could get for all his hard work, while others like the blacksmith were able to make twenty pieces for anything he did whether it was meaningful or not whether he worked hard on it or not.

"Can't you pay him a little more for all his hard work?" Luis said as the woman was about to leave, Leo turned his gaze to him, he wanted him to keep quiet but he wouldn't, it was all too much for him to hold in.

"And why would I break the king's order?" she turned with a smirk on her face.

Luis opened his mouth to reply to her but was immediately cut short.

"Yeah why would she do that?" it was the blacksmith, he stood near his tent spinning a knife on his finger, he had that look on his face, the one that he puts on whenever he wanted to make fun of Leo.

"Ma'am" Luis turned to the woman, but she was afraid, maybe she had more important things to do rather than listen to whatever he wanted to say.

"The king has made a decree, don't try to change it," the blacksmith said, he was mocking Leo again and Luis didn't like that." Your work is just too pathetic" he chuckled.

Luis wanted to confront him now and tell him all the things that he had been holding in but Leo covered his mouth before he even opened it.

"Let him be," he said to him with a calm voice, Luis wondered why this wasn't bothering him, but it was because once he was sure that he wouldn't say anything he left him and walked inside his tent.

"Zero quality," the blacksmith said before walking off to see a man who was standing a little distance from his tent, Luis felt like meeting him and telling him all kinds of terrible things, the only thing that kept him from doing that was the whipping that he would receive in front of the whole town, children who insulted adults were whipped in front of the whole town and just watching those children scream would affect Luis both physically and emotionally.

Luis felt tired, hungry and defeated but at least he had enough money on him to buy enough food for himself and Leo, he opened his bag but the box Tania had given him was no longer there but he took out something that he didn't put there.

The brown book!

He hadn't put it there but right now it was here and his only hope of eating for a week was gone, he felt frustrated and wanted to throw the book away but then something caught his attention, the blacksmith had just dropped his bag on the wooden stool outside his tent and had gone inside, Luis had once seen him put money in that bag and it was no little money if he should get that money he would be really rich for a month or two.

"No" Luis shook off the idea of stealing, but then the book in his hand opened to his favorite page and his eyes widened looking at what was written there now.

"Follow your heart, do what it tells you now!"