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One year later
Rhea got up from the floor with her body aching. She hissed as she stood up. The sun's rays came inside the mansion through the broken window. It was later than the time she has woken up for her work. She got up and went outside. She hissed when she stepped on a thorn.
She saw her face in the water outside the house. It reflected how unkept she was. Her forehead and chin were bruised, her hair disheveled and her dress dirty. “My, I was a fool,” she said and ignored all the contemptuous stares and whispers as she walked to the buffet.
The place was filled with guests and many stared at her as she stood at the entrance. The owner gave Rhea a disdainful gaze as she saw her. She hurriedly went up to her and said, “You plan to show up like this?! I wish I had not taken you for work!”
“It’s not too late for that,” said Rhea taking the owner by surprise.
—
She returned to the place and saw how messy that was. This must be the last. It was time for her to put an end to this. She cleaned out all the broken things and threw them outside. She emptied the house and went out. She would no longer contemplate all these treatments. She had a dream. A dream where her grandmother dies.
She had said, “Rhea, you can be a singer,” and she fell as the ground swallowed her. This was more like a nightmare but she was used to this. Ever since that night her grandma passed away, she has been having all of these crazy nightmares where her grandma tells her something and then she dies.
However, today was different, something just touched her this time. Perhaps Rhea never understood what her grandmother meant.
Stand and stay strong when others push you down was her advice all the time and Rhea was so disappointed when she realized that it meant how many hardships she go through, she must always be in the middle of it with a mind to accept. Her grandma told her to accept, not conquer. Because people were always going to push her down no matter what and she can’t control their actions. And by the time her entire body was wounded, she would fall by herself and not get up.
That’s what her grandmother taught her. That’s what she had understood. But just, just what if her grandmother meant staying strong as something like staying away? What if she had to choose another path to stay strong? She can get up all the time but if the people around her are the same, they will keep pushing her. If she had to only stand, she can just stay on the same path and let people push her down but if she were to remain strong and healthy, she must choose an utterly different path with different people. Could this be what her grandma meant? When you don’t like where you are and people push you, stand, stay away, and grow stronger.
All the other people gazed at her as if she was crazy when she slammed the door of the house. She had to eat now but she did not have any money. So, she went to a river on a mountain that was near the village and collected branches and dried-up leaves for lighting them up with stones. She then caught some fish and grilled them on the fire. She then took a bite and her face was instantly lit up with sparkle. It was delicious.
She then took a deep breath and said, “Thank you for this food.” She had practiced gratitude this year. Everything that comes with her is blessings and the optimistic side must be seen in every situation. At least to remain in a place where you’re supposed to accept every bad thing one can do to you.
She took another bite and heard a voice, “I am obliged.”
Rhea looked around the forest but there was nobody.
“Who are you searching for?” asked the voice again with a light chuckle.
“You,” replied Rhea, “Where are you?”
“I’m the spirit of the forest in this mountain. I talk from all these trees here.” replied the voice.
Rhea hummed in response.
“So, why did you want my fish to fill your stomach?” asked the voice.
“I don’t have any money and humans will not give me food for free. So I had to eat from nature,” Rhea took another bite.
“Oh, why don’t you have any money?” asked the forest.
“I worked hard but all my money was stolen,” replied Rhea chewing her fish.
“That is challenging. What are you planning to do?” asked the spirit.
“I don’t plan on doing anything,” replied she.
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked the forest god.
“I’m happy this way. I’ll stay happy and thank you every day for the fish you will give me,” replied Rhea.
“How are you happy? You’ve been threatened, you have no money in your hand, you have lost your work and people will talk behind your back,” voiced the spirit with a tint of surprise in its tone.
“No. I don’t care what others say. I am letting go of all the things that caused me bruises. In that way, I’ll show God that I trust him. After all, it was he who gave me this strong body that withstood all worries. This is my sign to do what I want to do.”
There was a moment of silence in the place after hearing Rhea reply to the spirit’s question.
“Well then, I shower my blessings and my fish upon you,” said the forest spirit lighting a gleaming smile on Rhea’s face.
She returned home with a filled stomach and packed some clothes. She was going to the next village. She doesn’t need to serve dishes and drinks to earn. She would sing and the people who hear her can give her what they can. She can just earn that way. She’ll sell this house to the dealer and pay off her debts. It would be way easier to sleep on the streets than to sleep in a home that someone would burn if the debt was not paid off. All of Rhea’s clothes were dirty and hence, she went to the river at the end of the village to wash them.
Her foot hurt from traveling for the day. To forget the pain, she sang while washing them.
Laa la laa laa
Laa laa laa laa
La la laa laa naa naa
She was immersed in her song that she did not notice two men standing in behind her. She went silent when she saw them both approaching her.
“Greetings, my lady. We’re from the royal palace. This is Orion Onassis, the king of this land and I’m his minister Ares. We have come here to take a look around the countryside and see for developments. Our cart was damaged in the mountain, can we get the route to village Haion?” asked a man in a light-brown cape. The other man who he introduced as a king was in a dark-brown cape. He was rather composed and looked reserved. He did not utter a word and the time Rhea looked in his blue orbs, he rather looked like a dominant superior than an ordinary middle-aged man. Both of the men had swords with them. Grandma had badmouthed Orion when she was younger. She stated that he was the reason why her daughter left the capital. But when she grew older, Rhea never heard her grandmother talk that way again.
Rhea maintained the speechless air for some moments until she spoke, “You are in the south end of Haion. If you walk straight from here, you will reach the center of the village,” and pointed to the left.
“I appreciate that. Thank you for your service,” said the minister.
When Rhea was to continue washing her clothes, the blue-eyed man spoke, “Is there something going on in the village that must need my concern?”
It was not a surprise that he asked a question like that because Rhea looked like someone who needed concern right now. She might have lost her composure for a second. This was the first time someone has ever asked her what the problem was.
“Yes. Brigands are out of control. They demand money for debt but also at the same time know they cannot pay it. So they go around destroying properties, threatening the poor, and stealing money,” said Rhea. She must have spouted that like it did not happen to her but this felt like talking her feelings out and venting her emotions even just for some time.
“Do they also use violence?” asked the king firmly. Maybe he could not have been a bad king like Grandma ranted he was. The minister threw a concerned look at the king but his sight did not leave Rhea’s. This discussion more likely seemed that the king wanted to know what was happening to her than know what was happening in the village.
“Sometimes,” replied Rhea.
“Well, I think that’s something they must take care of. They must pay the debt. Let’s go, Your Majesty,” commented the old minister as he tried to get the king out of more trouble.
“Take me to the brigands,” ordered the king.
Rhea sharply replied, “I can’t, if punishing them is your intent. I don’t intend on implying that they are innocent but in a conservative village like Heion, I would spoil my name and my grandfather’s if I were to seek help from you. I brought this to your knowledge only because of the sole reason that you are the King and that you must know what was going on in this small village but I truly don’t need any of your influence for I neither hold any grudge against them nor I intend to harm them for what they have done to me.”
“So, what will you do? Keep suffering?” asked the King with a frown. On a second closer look, Rhea found out that his eyebrows were of golden color.
“I’ve already planned on how I would pay my debt. So I request Your Majesty not to interrupt,” stated Rhea.
“I am not a king if I turn a blind eye to a crime. No matter what, I want them to pay for the crimes they’ve committed,” stated the King.
“Well then, you may make them pay if they have committed other crimes than what they did to me,” replied Rhea.
“Then you mean you don’t want me to do anything?” asked the King glaring at Rhea.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Ask me for something then,” stated the King.
“I can’t sleep if I don’t punish them. But if you, who has been hurt by them, don’t want me to punish them, then I would not. In turn, I would like to award you something of your kindness,” said the King, “Anything.”
“Do I have the honor?” asked Rhea in amusement.
The King nodded, and she said, “I want to sing. Can I ask you to find me a music teacher?”
For a brief moment, Orion smiled before he spoke, “Very well. You may take singing lessons with my daughter in the capital and once I see you fit, you may sing in my court.”
Something inside Rhea started beating louder each second, and her eyes became teary as she bowed and said with a raised voice, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
“Ares, see to it that our soldiers accompany this lady to her home to pack her clothes and things,” instructed the King.
To be continued
The story does not end here, there's a little bit more to it. I look forward to your comments, opinions, feedback, and suggestions. <3225Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRIdeX9ecw
Akshe <3225Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbcWXdjgl0
