Summer Solstice

Food For Thought

I should have felt a little uncomfortable sitting in a car full boys, or magical beings, either way. But I felt oddly comfortable. Most likely due to the fact that they were guardians and protectors of the tribes. I watched as Miki scribbled more notes in his book, and a thought occurred to me.

"Why were you guys the only ones out at the clearing?" I shifted to look at Miki, I didn't want to distract Konai from the road.

He frowned and looked up, "What do you mean?"

"There are tons of tribal families in the area that have boys as the oldest sibling. Where were they?"

"That may be true, but guardians only come from the family lines of the original guardians." He looked back down at his book.

"I guess that makes sense, but then why weren't the other men from your families there? Like your dads and grandfathers, why weren't they out in the clearing practicing with you?"

Konai answered softly, "They aren't guardians anymore."

I turned around, a bit shocked. "I don't understand, you can stop being a guardian? Like quitting a job?"

The boys all laughed at me, but Konai looked frustrated. "Well no, that's not exactly right."

Miki cleared his throat. "Perhaps I could help." He turned and pushed his glasses back up his nose, "The entities being linked lasts as long as there is a continuation of the lineage, or until opposing forces...." Tin leaned forward and shoved Miki aside.

Miki swore softly under his breath, and Tin leaned over the back of the seat and smiled at me, "Being a guardian is kind of like wearing a pair of shoes. Only one person can wear the shoes at one time." He tilted his head to the side, "Unless each person is wearing one shoe..." Miki reached up and smacked Tin on the shoulder with his book. He chuckled, "Sorry, getting off subject."

Tin rubbed his shoulder, and Dasan leaned forward smiling. "He's right though. Only one person wears the 'shoes'," he made quotations with his fingers. "And the ability to be a guardian is only ever passed down in the descendants of the original guardians. Those guardians each had a son who became a guardian, continuing on down the family tree. On their eighteenth birthday, it's passed on from father to son. That's why there's only one guardian in each of the descendants families."

I turned back to look at Konai. "So your dad was a guardian, until a few days ago?"

He nodded. "Some traits can last as long as a year, but after that they're just regular guys again." He sounded a bit sad.

"Does he miss it?"

"Maybe, just a little. But he's also happy that I am what I am now. I'm carrying on the family line." He smiled, though it looked a bit forced. "Besides, all the guardians are raised to understand that when they have children, they'll be passing the guardianship down to them when they turn eighteen."

"Okay.... but what about the other guy's dads? The ones who haven't changed yet? Shouldn't they have been out at the field?"

Konai glanced to me, then back to the road. "It's tradition that the first to change is trained by the elders for most of their lives, while the others are only instructed by their fathers, starting when they first become teenagers. After the younger boys show signs of being guardians, gaining those first few traits, the first one to change starts to train them."

"So that's why you're kind of the teacher?" I asked.

He smirked, "Yes, that's why I'm the teacher."

"Thank goodness for that. I don't know if I could handle being out there with my dad telling me what to do all day," Dasan snorted.

Konai nodded his head in agreement, "You're right about that."