A Dry Summer

Dieric Bouts

When Tindle had returned empty handed, the people of Trent on Shore were relieved to see him still alive, and they proved perspect on the losses this honest boy had made. Seasoned with both former bad fortune and many regrets; they had been all too aware of what was asked of him time and time again before, and generously forgave him for losing their savings on this pilgrimage.

And so it did not go so badly as he had imagined, and to Tindle’s relief, life would carry on somewhat the same - save for the voluntary tasks he now was employed with, as well as his own. As an act of propriety and conscience, Tindle would help where he could, in service to the whole community he called home.

One such labor of charity was to assist the travellers cross over the inlet waters to the other side where slumped a small wooden chapel. The priest would travel to his spiritual homestead twice a week and once on Sundays to hold the consecrative act. For this reason, the set times required passage over a full and virulent river way, depending on the rains prior.

And because the rivulet travelled down into the sea from higher ground, the movement of the waters was rapid - too fast for a tiny boat to cross. The depths were fickle also, as the riverbed was uneven, and the rocks also, proved a hazard to the traveller. Yet with Tindle’s great height, and oilskin dungarees, there was a way that each of the forty worshippers could be carried there and back, upon his broad back, with safety. 

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series