»Who do you suppose lives up there nowadays?» Cid asked out of the blue and put the rest of the clean pints in the cupboard.
His father picked up two tipped over chairs off the floor and set them upside down on top of a table. After wiping some crums off the table he asked his son: »Who lives where?»
Cid nodded at the northside window and pointed at the distant mountains one could clearly see through it.
»Up in Ravenwise Alley», Cid explained.
»Don't they teach you anything at school?» his father asked after crawling under the corner table to retrieve someone's lost purse. »You're 17. You oughta know everything about the Alley by now.»
Cid closed the cupboard, adjusted the glasses on his nose and gave his father an all-knowing smirk.
»Books only tell about the past», he said, »but does anyone really know what's going on there right now?»
»Probably nothing», his father replied while locking the door. »Why do you ask?»
»Some guys were talking about it at school.»
»What guys?»
»Some guys.»
»What did they talk about then?»
»That there are dead people there.»
»Well, there are dead people pretty much everywhere.»
»No, I mean, dead people who aren't really dead but moving around and... kind of alive, I guess.»
Cid's father casted a worried look upon him. He walked up to Cid who was still looking out the window, his gaze locked onto the faraway mountains.
»There are no such things», he said and put his hand on Cid's head. »If anything the place is still infested with ravens. Granted those bastards can spook you as well as any zombie if it's dark outside.»
Cid's father's words were wasted on him. Cid had already sunken deep into the river of his thoughts, fantasizing about a faraway land with undead creatures, dangerous quests and valuable treasures he would find.
»It's probably cold up there», he whispered, »but I would build a campfire every night and share stories with travelers passing by. I would find Ravenwise Alley and discover what it's hiding.»
Cid didn't believe in the paranormal. He hardly believed in anything. But there was something up there. There had to be. Why else would everyone at school keep talking about it all the time?
His father sighed and took his hand off Cid's head. He crouched down to Cid's level and patted him on the back.
»How about I pour you a pint before bed, huh?» Cid's father asked.
»Really?»
»Yeah, I figure you're old enough now.»
They moved to the bar counter, Cid on the customer side and his father on the other. His father opened up the cupboard Cid had just filled with clean dishes, took out the biggest pint he could find and set it on the table, near a barrel of ale. He turned open the faucet on the side of the barrel while Cid was staring with an excited but patient look in his eyes. He followed the surface of the ale that was slowly filling the glass, his gaze wandering from one tiny bubble to another as they quickly built up a good cover of foam on top of the pint.
The pint was full.
He reached out and touched the cold, moist surface of the glass pint. Moving it closer to himself on the recently wiped counter, he was looking at the reflection the pint was casting below itself. Upside down it looked like a tall snowglobe, with the bubbles going down and building up into a thick coat of white foam at the bottom.
Finally he brought his thirsty mouth closer to the pint, tipped it and took a good big sip out of it. His first pint of ale. He felt so proud he didn't dare tell his father it tasted terrible and was trying to hide his expression as he forced down one mouthful too much of that ungodly liquid.
Maybe it takes some getting used to, Cid thought to himself. But he doubted he'd ever manage to do that.
»So, how does it feel to drink a real man's drink, son?» his father asked.
»It's good!» Cid lied.
»Just take it easy with it, ok? Wouldn't want you to get sick.»
There's no way I won't get sick if I keep drinking this, Cid thought.
»You finish that up while I go check the locks on the door.»
Cid's father had already checked the locks and they both knew it. Cid sat there quietly, staring at the glass hoping the drink would evaporate on its own. He could hear his father trying to cover up his sobbing and didn't look at him when he was wiping a few tears off his face, just like most other nights. Cid wanted to say something encouraging but couldn't find the words.
Cid drank down his ale quickly. It didn't make him feel as bad as he had feared but didn't make him feel as good as he had hoped either. He looked up at his father who was still standing by the door, facing away from Cid.
Then Cid found the words.
»I will go there one day», he said. »I will go to Ravenwise Alley and bring you back barrels of whatever exotic drinks they have up there. You can charge so much for just one pint that we can eat like kings for a whole week! I will go up there and—»
Then Cid lost the words again when his father looked at him with an expression he had never quite seen on his face before. Sad, but he was smiling. He said: »I look forward to it.»
»Now that you're done with that pint», he continued, »I'm sure you'll sleep like a log. How about I help you to bed now? I'll finish up here in the morning.»
»Okay», Cid replied and put the pint on the counter.
His father pushed Cid's wheelchair through the door behind the counter into his bedroom, lifted him up and laid him on the bed. He straightened out Cid's legs for him and tucked them warmly under the covers.
Cid fell asleep. His father put up drapes on the northside window.