Reading Day 4
FugivityCP #fiction, #tradition, #normativity, #deviance
In Wovenhand one would grow up feeling a marvelous sense of community. There was an intrinsic beauty emanating from all folklore activities, rituals, and social gatherings. It was easy to absorb a sense of pride for the landscape, the architecture, from the people that created its history, and the traditions that had passed from one generation to the other. David’s position was not different from that of the other children at that time. When going to the shops, older people would ask, with a smile, if he was Peter’s grandson. When replying with a yes, inquirers would feel proud to have recognized the lineage in David’s facial expressions. That was a habit that seemed common among the elderly, they made an effort to acknowledge the offspring of the people they knew from the past. A reassuring act that life was unfolding in a predictable manner. David would always smile back and reply gently, as his grandparents had taught him to do so. A similar ritual would take place with the cordial ‘good day’ David would pronounce when encountering the elderly on the street. He did not know them, nor did they know him, but every time he spoke these words he saw slight contentment in their eyes, internally saying ‘fortunately some children still keep our old values and decency’. The community would provide the fertile ground for children to feel part of something, already in their early ages. Ingredients such as imagination, fantasy, and celebration were carefully crafted to endure the long-lasting effects of the spell of belonging and perfection. Slowly, David, as well as the others, realized that division was also an integral part of the ways of the community. They had initially experienced the art of storytelling from a place of naïvity, but later understood its potential for crudity. Tales of all kinds circulated around the community, but this time not in the same manner as when they were told in the main square, on a stage with a painted background and loud music. These tales were told in ‘petit comité’. The tales going around spoke of the man that fled the country because of his debts, due to drugs, the woman that was caught cheat-
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