Whitebark Stream e[m]barazada

He nodded immediately when she told him not to ask her things. It didn’t matter to him if he did not need to know to help. Ashlar immediately regretted this when he was able to understand what she was asking.

At first he was confused. Then her tears helped to clarify the meaning and he felt a lurch in his stomach. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it as he realized those questions were things she’d asked him not to say.

The deadlock was unlike anything he’d ever known. He wanted to help her, and the thing she was asking for was clear. But Baba had given him this knowledge to show him what to avoid, the ways to keep a mother happy and her children healthy. Would he be helping or harming her by doing as she asked? He knew nothing of her and could find out nothing. So he could not know why.

Or maybe he could ask. But he would find a way to do this that was kind. One that would not hurt her. Ashlar took a breath and felt a small amount of anxious nausea pass over him. He wasn’t sure that this was right, but he knew the alternative was to refuse her outright. That wasn’t something he could do.

I can help. If that’s… if it’s what you want. He began quietly. The words trembled slightly. I… you don’t have to. But I’d… it’d be easier. If I knew why. He would trust her choice if she chose not to say, but her tears made him worry that the choice was not the one she truly wished.