Paiwan's Last Chance

Paiwan sat in the middle of the room. He was trying hard not to fidget. He was feeling very hot.

He tried to listen as the elders argued. He was feeling sick about the topic they were arguing about. His eyes began to wander to the opened window.

There were a lot of kids playing outside. His eyes wandered over the children's games. They were playing with marbles - again. What was so fascinating about marbles? He did not remember being so addicted to the stupid things when he was young.

His eyes wandered to the river beyond the children's games. He sighed. He would love to go fishing. He tore his eyes away. It was no use staring at the river. He would not be free to fish until the meeting ended.

He tried to concentrate on what the elders were saying. After all, he was their headman. He should pay attention. But oh, how he wanted to get out of the stuffy room!

His thoughts turned to his father. The position of headman had been handed from father to son for generations. When his father drowned last year, he had been forced to assume the responsibilities of headman.

He remembered the day his father died. He had been out fishing. An old man had fallen into the sea. His father had seen him fall, and had then jumped in to try and save him. Both of them had died instead.

Paiwan was still feeling rebellious over his father's death. The old man had been eighty-three. He didn't have any family members. Why didn't his father leave well enough alone? He didn't have to die. Then, Paiwan would not be in this ridiculous position.

The elders seemed to be discussing a boy named Nikko. He could not understand why they took so long over deciding such a trifle. The boy's parents had been killed in an earthquake while they were returning from another village. The elders were trying to decide what to do with the boy.

Paiwan turned away again. What did it matter what happened to Nikko? He was eight - old enough to earn his living. He could stay with any one of the villagers. They all seemed to be willing to take him in.

He stretched. Elder Andes noticed and glared at him. He blushed a little. He knew he was not behaving well, but he could not help it.

A small grasshopper came in. It hopped over to him. He began to play with it idly.

Suddenly, a hand slapped his head. He looked up sharply. It was Elder Kristen. He leaped up in anger.

"How dare you!" he shouted, "I'm your headman!"

Elder Kristen sneered. "Then act like one!" she said.

Paiwan was beside himself. "You lot owe me respect! I will not be insulted by the likes of you! Apologize at once!"

Elder Simp laughed. "Why should she?" he asked. Paiwan was stumped. He didn't know what to say. Seeing this, Elder Simp continued, "Elder Kristen is right. You do not act like a headman. You do not take your duties seriously. You do not respect our meetings. Why should we respect you?"

Paiwan was ashamed. He hanged his head, blushing furiously. He knew he had not acted well.

Elder Andes said quietly, "Your father would have been ashamed of you."

Paiwan looked up. This was going too far. How dared they presume to speak for his father?

Elder Simp said, "Don't glare at Elder Andes like this. He's right. You're eighteen - you've been considered an adult for the past three years. You have not been acting like one. You only know how to play around."

Paiwan stammered, "B-but the things you discuss... they're so boring..."

Elder Kristen went to the door. She waved a hand at the villagers outside. She said, "Take a look. All these are your people. Their welfare is in your hands. The elders of a village can only advise. The decisions should rest with the headman. We've been making all the decisions for you for the past year. You should take over."

Paiwan looked. He saw Minden, the farmer who had always given him the free run of his fields. He saw Jit, the blacksmith who had given him his first knife. There was Quenet, the bartender's wife. She had made him a new shirt when he had spoilt his shirt playing in the mud.

Paiwan began to see. Villagers depended on each other. He had been very selfish. He had done his apprenticeship with Kamri the fisherman, but he had never caught a fish to feed his people. Every fish he had caught, he had eaten himself.

As he looked at them, he came to a decision. He walked out quickly. He came to Nikko, who was sitting alone with tears in his eyes. He knelt.

"Nikko, don't cry," he said awkwardly, "I promise - as long as I am headman here, you will never want anything."

Paiwan felt richly rewarded as he looked up at Nikko's big grin.