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Mama Ohen

When Percy was very young he didn't really understand why the other boys of his village had fathers and he didn't. As he grew, however, it became increasingly clear that his family was not like theirs. In addition to being the only child in the family, he also had just one parent-- his was a household of two while the rest of the kids around him counted their families at no less than five or six.

When he spoke with his mother about it she was kind and calm, patient and caring as she explained that his father had died just before he was born, and she had no interest in taking another husband. It was the only explanation he required when he was young but, as he grew, more questions started to come to mind. Worse, by the time he was 10, the ridicule of being without a father started and things got worse for him.

His mother tried to do what she could to help comfort him when he was picked on by the other boys but that only made them pick on him harder. They started calling him Percy-No-Father or Percy-Mama's-Boy. She sheltered him which, in turn, earned him more ridicule which led his mother to trying even harder to protect him, invariably resulting in them picking on him even more. It was a painfully circular escalation with no real end in sight.

By the time he was twelve, Percy had pulled away from the other village kids and, at the same time, started pulling away from his mother. He sought to become independent, attempting to find jobs for someone his age, seeking to apprentice first with the cobbler, then the blacksmith, and even the tanner, but, invariably, they gave him the same answer: a boy that grew up without a father had no understanding of a man's work. At one point he thought to apprentice under the village baker, but the baker's son was one of the boys who picked on him the most.

As of his fourteenth birthday Percy still had no job and no prospects. The other boys had their odd jobs, their day work, or their apprenticeships started by the time they were 13, which meant, again, he was left behind. His mother told him not to worry about things and that he would be able to get his life started in his own time-- until then she was more than happy to see after him-- his father, as it turned out, had been a member of the town guard and his pension was more than enough to keep them both comfortable. The teasing, sadly, only got worse.

His sixteenth birthday came and went with no real change. Percy was desperate for a change and constantly suggested to his mother that they relocate-- they could find another village and start fresh. She could only inform him that the pension they collected would end if they left and then they would have nothing-- no, for his safety and their welfare, she insisted that they remained in their home. By the end of that week, however, Percy realized a change had to be made, and it was at the insistence of the teens who continued to torment him.

He'd been called many things ever since he could remember, but the worst was most recent: they started calling him a sissy. They insisted that he wasn't a man and that no man would be kept by his mother for sixteen years. They said in order to prove he was a man he had to go visit Old Mama Ohen outside of town. The old crone was never seen within town, and only ever visited by the most stalwart of supplicants seeking her powers of prognostication, for she was a powerful seer... powerful and frightening. Yes, they insisted-- if he was a man then he would be able to go to her and have his fortune read.

All of those thoughts and more streamed through Percy's head as he approached the dilapidated cabin, taking each step along the overgrown flagstone pathway which joined the distance between the muddy game path that led through the woods and the simple rectangular paving stone creating the stoop in front of the cottage's door. The broken-down simple, untreated wood that created the picket fence surrounding the mostly-dead yard and the weed-filled herb garden looked older than he, but was still probably half the age of the thatched hut, yet Percy continued onward, not stopping until his feet were planted firmly on the porch... and he knocked.

Despite the many stories told by the villagers about Mama Ohen, Percy really didn't know what to expect. The people of the town generally avoided her unless they were courageous enough (or desperate enough) to seek her help with mysticism, prophecy and, if some of the rumors were to be true: a little witchcraft. Although most of the stories were vague there were a few consistent threads that ran through all of them: Mama Ohen was an ancient bird woman. She hated to be disturbed or bothered... especially by young children-- which was one of the points his bullies reiterated: if he wasn't a baby then she wouldn't have a problem meeting with him. That, of course, would only be true if he was willing to pay her fee, which was a final consistent key in every single story.

None of the townsfolk knew why, but Mama Ohen only ever accepted payment in jewelry. Whether ring, necklace, bangle, bracelet, brooch, torque, amulet, anklet, or any other number of adornments that Percy didn't know existed, the mystical Crow woman demanded that the cost of her service be settled in jewelry. Having none of his own, Percy, knowing he would never be free of torment, stole a necklace from his mother's jewelry box. He hated having to do it, but he desperately needed to satisfy his bullies and prove that he was a man.

He struck the door rhythmically three times with his knuckles and, not knowing how long he would wait, was surprised immediately as the door opened a moment later. Percy took an involuntary step backward as he was greeted by the cottage's occupant, but what caught him first was her voice: a gnarled, raspy thing that was so strangely devoid of emotion that it sounded surreal and unsettling. "Well... what have we here? A supplicant seeking guidance from old Mama Ohen, methinks."

Percy didn't respond right away, staring at the old woman even as her milky white eyes gazed past him. She was evidently blind and yet every time he leaned this-way-or-that, she seemed to follow him with her unsettling gaze. The ancient-looking Crow was several inches shorter than he and had a stooped posture that reminded him somewhat of a bird on the ground. Her hands were exceptionally wrinkled, but her incredibly long fingers ended in even longer talons; Percy didn't want to think about how well they would serve as a weapons if some of the stories about her flaying small children alive were true.

What caught his attention the most, however, were not any specific physical features about her: it was her jewelry. Mama Ohen had the support of an unspectacular wooden walking cane and her talons were resting atop it, providing Percy with a clear view of her digits, each adorned with at least one ring-- some rings had two or even three on them. The rings varied in material and quality-- some were very obviously costume jewelry while others, at least to Percy's untrained eyes, looked like they were priceless.

She also had a similarly eclectic collection of bracelets on her ever-so-thin-wrists, some loose enough that they'd slid up her forearms to settle into the crease on the opposite side of her elbows. From there, Percy caught sight of her necklaces; the bird woman wore so many necklaces, amulets, strings of pearls, chains, torques and even a gorget that she could have been mistaken at a distance for having been adorned in chain mail. The longest of the accessories drooped down nearly to her belly button, and the shorted appeared to be tightly gripping her neck, almost as if she were trying to restrain the loose folds of flesh that almost gave her a chicken hen appearance.

Percy hadn't realized that he'd neglected to respond to her inquiry until she tapped the wooden floor of her cabin twice with her cane and she spoke again. "Well? Out with it, boy. Mama Ohen does not accept mute callers."

"I-I'm...I'm Percy."

Her milky white eyes blinked. "Ah. Well good for you."

Depsite her dismissive statement she continued to stand at her door; perhaps that was permission to continue. Alternating his weight from his right foot to left them back again, the young man took in a deep breath and added "I--"

She interrupted him. "Yes. I will read your fortune and answer a question if you are willing to pay my fee."

Before he could respond one of her clawed talons reached out, stopping dangerously close to his face; had he been leaning forward just a little more he could have lost an eye. He took an involuntary step back and very nearly fell off of the paving stone serving as her porch but, once he was sure he wouldn't trip, Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out his mother's necklace, holding it out. "Ah... uh... y-yes. I... I have payment here."

Mana Ohen accepted it as if accepting a baby from a new mother, cradling the jewelry carefully in one palm as the index claw of her other talon gingerly poked at it. "And where did you get this payment, boy?"

He wasn't really looking to discuss that, still feeling guilty for stealing it. "D-does it matter?"

She cackled, turning about as she hobbled her way back into her cottage. "Ah... the bearer of jewelry who asks if it matters is rarely the original owner."

Percy lingered on the porch, hating how pointed her comments were. "It's from my mom."

Mama Ohen paused, turning around to stare at him again with her unsettling white eyes. "So you have come to ask a question on her behalf? And stop gawking... I will not read any fortunes if you linger in my doorway."

The young man stepped inside; the cottage was dark and cramped, and felt several degrees cooler than the forest outside. "I-- n-no. I-it's my question."

The frail-looking Crow woman settled into a seat slowly, legs shaking as she sat. "Then your loving mother gave you this necklace so that you could seek out Old Mama Ohen's help?" She gave the necklace in her talon a little shake to accentuate her question.

Percy chewed his cheek for several seconds before mumbling "Something like that."

She unerringly managed to gaze straight at him again, her old, wrinkled face wrinkling even more as she scowled. "If you answer me with vagueness I am likely to do the same in return, boy-named-Percy. Speak truth here, or I will know."

He grit his teeth. "I took it. She doesn't know."

Mama Ohen held the necklace up before her face as if she could see it, seemingly marveling at the small trinket. "Ah... well that is a different matter altogether. Come, boy-named-Percy... I accept your payment and will gift you with insight."

Letting out a slow, restrained breath, Percy looked around and moved to sit in the chair closest to the door. "O-okay..."

The Crow woman set the necklace on the table before her. "First, I have one final question for you."

He fidgeted. "W-what is it?"

Her withered talons still somehow managed to open the clasp of his mother's necklace and she began affixing it around her neck; it was not the largest nor the smallest, and was probably one of the lesser ones adorning her, but it was noticeable to the boy's eyes. "Why would you steal something from your mother?"

The question hung in the air for many long moments as Percy considered the seer's question. There were a number of answers he could give-- some where better than others but, in the end, he went for the most honest one he could think of. "I'm tired of being picked on by the boys in town and they said that they would stop picking on me if I came to see you and had you read my fortune."

Silence prevailed yet again for many long moments and, just when Percy opened his mouth to speak again in case she hadn't heard him the first time, she started making a sound that made a shiver run down his spine and made his teeth vibrate in his jaw-- it was a laugh. The sound was sinister in the way of a crow cawing at night... only more so. Her follow-up words, however, made Percy somehow relieved. "Then you will get what you desire. Not long from now they will no longer tease you."

He stood up immediately, forgetting himself and his surroundings in that moment as relief was finally within reach. "Really?! When?!"

The crone stared at him with her blank eyes. "So quick to ask your one question... you are still very much immature, boy-named-Percy.. but I will answer it nevertheless. In eight days time the boys of this town will no longer tease you. This is the future as I have seen it, and this is the truth that will come to pass."

Percy paused. "Wait, I--"

Her eyes narrowed and the room felt as though it got even colder. Her raspy, monotone voice felt suffocating to his ears as she declared "You have asked your question and I have answered. Come again with more payment if you seek further words... now go!"

The strange force behind her cawing order was enough to get Percy to leap up from the chair and race out the still-open door. He didn't stop running until the cottage was far behind him and the village was within view. The strange terror he felt from her dismissal dissipated quickly thereafter, replaced with the bubbly exuberance as her prognostication settled into his mind: he had only a little over a week left to deal with the village bullies. Presumably they'd accept that he'd faced Mama Ohen and realize that he was no longer a little boy, but he honestly didn't care why they'd be done tormenting him. He should have.

Percy's victorious return to town was cut short by the scene of a catastrophe. He didn't realize what it was at first due to the numerous people gathered around but, as he drew nearer, he overheard people talking about a man on horseback accidentally running someone down. One of the folks closest to the scene of the accident turned and saw Percy, and moved toward him immediately; the shifting of the woman's position allowed him to see past her and in that moment he caught sight of his mother's broken body. He went numb immediately.

The young man lost track of time after that, numb to everything going on around him. He was taken in by one of his neighbors for that night and, a week later, he was sent to live with his uncle. He never saw any of the village boys again after that.