Ep I Ch 13

1She continued, “But when I was younger, I was never taught whether women or men could have children that way, let alone have them. 2I always thought they appeared out of nowhere, to you and your loved ones. Kind of like the stork delivering your baby by flight.”

3I didn’t understand the analogy, but I understood what she meant. Neither did I know where children came from for a long time. 4I asked, “What was the point of that story? It seemed to have no relevance to the matter at hand.”

5“Which matter do you mean?” she asked. “Do you mean Qui-Gon Jinn’s whereabouts, or doing you mean the subject of men having children? 6Because both are relevant to each other. In a way, that is.”

7I shrugged, now raising my voice. “But I don’t see the connection!”

8“I do,” she said. Her face now became more serious, as if she’d came into her suspected age. Closer to my own, I guessed? If we got along, maybe we had a chance. 9She said to me, “Everything is connected by The Force, sir… John Mihn, I’ve heard?”

10I felt she had more to say, but she stopped, staring straight at me. “Yes,” I answered, hesitantly.

11“Good; we’re on the right track. Now, where was I? Yes. My son, Colton Hargreeves. He came to me out of nowhere, with nothing but the clothes on his back. So did two of his brothers, and two children in tow.

12His brothers, Diego and Klaus, had made residence in my bed overnight. 13Klaus gave me a chocolate coin, and Diego gave me… well, nothing of note. But I did enjoy their companies as I slept in that morning.”

14Now I knew I’d lost the chance to be a suitor. Not if she slept with men regularly like that.

15“Don’t get me wrong — I wanted them out!” she added. “Our bed is reserved for me and my husband only. Boy, do I miss him so.”

16My stomach sank. If she was looking for a husband, maybe I did have a chance with her? I could imagine myself marrying her, settling down, and having children. And there would be happy memories at least once a year. 17I looked back down at the river, searching the bed instead of my reflection. “What is your name?” I asked, not that it was important right now.

18She paused, Then walked to the other side of me. “My name?” she asked. “It’s something quite unusual.” She turned to me and smiled politely. “Please, call me Æzr. Like Azreal. Not ‘Eyzr’, nor is it ‘Eyjr’, or ‘Ah-zr’, or the like — all those names are wrong.”