We continued our tour.
The village square pulsed with music and laughter, paper lanterns strung between stalls painting the dusk in gold and scarlet.
Cole Kinney tossed a knife into the air, caught it by the blade, and grinned at the crowd of kids holding their breath in wonder.
"Bet you a dollar you can't hit that apple from here, Prince Cole" one of the kids told him.
"Well, Sonja...I bet you 50 dollars that I can" He pulled out 50 dollars and waved it around.
"Easiest money I will ever make" the little boy grinned and leaned in to whisper to me. "Big brother Cole is terrible at impaling things"
"Oh really!" Cole yelled at him. "Game on, shorty"
He had this way of relating to people...it made him instantly beloved.
"You'll kill old Marta's goat beside the apple. You are terrible at throwing knives!" a boy shouted.
"Then she'll finally make decent stew," Cole shot back, winking.
