Parted Ways

4

Eight Year Later

Renai’s eyes parted widely by the first sensation that made to her senses, a screechy scream. She hastily hoisted on her saggy mattress and next finding the door of her servant quarter barged open which revealed a fuming Gaia with a pair of shoes in her hand. 

Gaia stomped closer to her and hurled those shoes that smacked against her chest. Clammy mud smeared on her bare chest. Renai grabbed them and meekly looked at her. “W..What happened?” Her heart lurched watching her cousin redden to burst into fury. 

“Why didn’t you polish them last night when I told you? You know what I have to face in front of my friends and their mutuals? They laughed at me. Because of you…because of these shitty shoes. How can you be such an irresponsible bitch?” She screeched and trudged closer to punch her, which landed on her back as she tried to dodge it. Renai hissed as her struggle intensified when she hovered over her. 

“I..I am sorry…I was washing clothes, I couldn’t…I…I…stop…” Renai tried to reason between the rain of punches that Gaia gifted her.

“That is why you need a good lesson so you would not forget again,” Renai tried to toss her to the other side with her feeble hands, but Gaia now sat on her chest, pinning her hands above her head with one hand and the other came for another slap. 

“I couldn’t go school because of you,” She slapped again, earning a whine from her.

“You are such a bitch, I fucking hate you! Some fucking freeloader! I should kill you,” Gaia’s hands went for her neck and the next she was strangling her with full force. Renai’s mouth desperately gasped for air, her frantic heartbeat was ringing in her ears, she hysterically tapped on her shoulder but only received an evil snicker.

When her face started morphing blue and her eyes almost gave up, Gaia withdrew her hands and smirked. Renai coughed and pulled gulps of air to fill her lungs. Gaia alighted from her after jerking her face the other way. 

“You should be thankful I spared your life because I don’t want to end up a slave like you, otherwise you would have been long dead by now,” she sneered and winked at her when Renai’s glossy eyes darted at her. 

“Now get your ass up, mom is calling you for the deliveries,” She said and slam-shut the door, flinching her whole inside. 

Renai’s eyes were on the ceiling when a tear tumbled down from the corner of her eyes. Her legs were numbed like every time when she thought the next moment would be her last moment. But fate liked playing with her. Death wasn’t coming easy to her. She had been meeting her death angel for eight years but never in that span of time, it took the privilege to take her soul away, as if the angel enjoyed watching her in this miserable state.

She considered killing herself many times but the witch would not let her die. She would bring her back and torment her until she would forget the word escape.

“Renai! Don’t make her come to you!” A voice came as a reminder. 

Renai tightly shut her eyes which caused tears to leak even when she willed them to stay back. With a heavy breath, she tossed the thin blanket and leapt out of her mattress, striding outside. Her room was near the stable so every time she walked past the horses, they always neighed at her sight to be patted, but today she walked away without paying them any courtesy.

Renai tried to scamper but the sprain in her ankle wasn’t supporting her action. She saw her aunt standing outside the entrance of her house when she reached their home. Celina sized her up with scathing eyes and scornful uplift of her eyebrows. Renai’s eyes shot to the ground as she found herself amiss to match her gaze. 

“Hmmm, you look fine now.” It was more like telling her than asking. Renai nodded, her voice always got lost in front of her.

“Next time, be on time otherwise it will be your legs that you will lose,” She said snidely and turned around to leave for inside. Renai nodded without knowing she walked away. Celina shouted for Renai to follow her, her legs complied instinctively. Her eyes paced around of their own accord, there were plenty of women engaged in work. 

Renai followed her to the kitchen where large boxes were present to be delivered. Celina stared at her, Renai’s eyes cautiously spared her a glance, her hands firmly tied together. Celina jutted her chin toward the boxes and Renai took the clue and jogged toward the counter. She loaded the boxes on her bicycle. There were eight of them. 

With Celina’s permission, she left to deliver. 

It took her two hours to finish the tasks. Renai headed back to the house.

She was passing by a ground where teenage girls were playing some game. Their chants felt like calling her out but she kept her head toward the road. Her heart lured her into sparing them a glance but she didn’t listen. She knew if she had given them a glance, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from wasting her time. 

But then a loud chant cracked her pledge. Her head snapped at the voices that were clearly celebrating a win. Those were school girls. Her hand went straight for the brakes, a smile broke on her lips when she found girls snatching up one girl over their shoulders. How much she wanted to be one of them. She chuckled at her own thoughts and shook her head. Fanciful dreams.

Before she could waste more time she paddled the cycle into running and pretended like she never saw them. Deep down her heart ached with the feeling of those thoughts that the sight brought in her. 

Her life in the past years. It was her dream to study like these girls and her cousins. She was a seeker of knowledge, she craved to educate herself, unlike her ungrateful cousins who were wasting their prime years for boys. 

They had no idea what they had been granted. 

With these thoughts brewing in her head, she reached home to pick up other deliveries. It was her daily life. She came back at eleven in the evening and did the dishes after their dinner. At midnight, she had her stale food and went to bed. 

This was the worst time of her day. The time when her ghosts would come back to follow her. Ghosts, in the shape of the sword of honour and his army. 

Her body still reacted to the terror she felt among them. She blacked out and woke up three days later in her aunt’s house. That was the last time when she saw her father, she wondered what he would be doing right now. Did he ever miss her? 

Her pillow soaked her tears when they crept down. He had never missed her, she was sure of it. 

She flipped to the right side and tried to shut her bombarding mind. It took her an hour but she finally managed to slip into her slumber. 

The next morning, she woke up early and went to the stable to comb the horses. It helped her in unknotting her tense muscles. She was engrossed in brushing its back when a sudden pat hit her back. She hurriedly turned around and found Cassia flinging mud at her. Cassia scooted again while laughing whereas she shielded her face with her arms. 

Cassia threw again and this time it smudged on her stomach. Renai tried to dodge her several times but couldn’t and at last, she ran back to her servant quarter. 

"Go back to your shithole, you bitch," Cassia laughed watching her run like a mouse. 

Renai successfully managed to sprint back to her room, her back pinned against the door when she locked her room and took a breath of relief. After taking two slow steps, her eyes fell on her dress through the scruffy mirror. 

A wobbly breath left her. She sucked her tears and shook her head. She went to her filled bucket at the corner of the hood and took a bath. After changing into second out of five dresses, she went to the house without looking here and there. 

Her day started in a blink and ended with the same pattern. Working and working. 

She came back at nine and was taking a dirty-laundry basket to wash that had mountains of clothes when Celina called her out. She dropped the chore and promptly followed the direction of the voice to not fall under her wrath. Celina was in her room, her spectacles sitting low bar the bridge of her nose as she skimmed through the register and calculated figures regarding her business. She performed calculations for fifteen minutes while Renai patiently stood until she dropped the quill. 

Celina exchanged a glance and looked back at the register. She blinked, waiting for her command. A whole minute later she was blessed to hear. “Pack your luggage,” Her unpredicted words puzzled Renai, Celina curtly looked at her to feed on her reaction, whereas Renai was staring at her with stupefied eyes.

She tilted her head and bit her lower lip, mustering courage was a big exercise for asking. “W..Why?” Celina lowly huffed and shot a glare, disappointment danced in her orbs that was brought by her question. 

“You are going back to your shithole, that’s why,” She told her tersely, taking Renai aback to the hilt. This was the same woman who scared her to death by hoaxing her into believing her death awaited her to step into her native land.  

“S..Sebria?” Renai couldn’t fathom what she was originally feeling over her homeland’s mention. One second she felt enraptured over the thought of going back but the other replaced it by illustrating breath-ceasing scenarios. 

“You are leaving at midnight,” Celina replied, sipping on her tea. 

Renai again blinked dumbfoundedly. She knew it was better to leave than ask her why so she nodded and turned around. Just as she took three steps, “Don’t you want to know why are you leaving?” Her question ceased her motion and made her swivel back. 

She bit the insides of her mouth and nodded. Celina smirked in amusement, “Your father has arranged your marriage with one of his labourers,” The revelation stunned Renai into a statue. Her heart sank in the pit of her stomach hearing the information. “He wanted to marry you off with his own hands,” She paused and took a sip again while Renai’s senses numbed, fending her off of hearing ability as the shock electrified her. 

“But alas, God had some other plans for him, he died yesterday morning due to cardiac arrest,” Renai’s eyes flung to her, now that hit her like a train. Her breathing turned rough as tears pooled in her eyes. Her chin wobbled and despite resisting with every fibre of her body, she gave in to tears and sobbed impotently. 

Her knees touched the floor and her hands glided to cup her face as she let tears fall. Myriad of memories of her father flashed back before her eyes. Though she wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he hated her but she loved him. She loved him exactly like a daughter would love her father, like he was her hero even when all he ever showed her was disappointment in the name of a father. She still looked up to him as her protector, and now when he also left her, she felt terribly lonely and scared.

Her mourning went on for a few minutes until she apprehended there was also someone in the room. She levered up her head with a snivel and peeked at Celina who seemed unbothered by her brother’s death. 

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “Would you not come with me?” Renai asked impotently. 

Celina gave her a curt look. “No, I don’t want to waste my time and my tears for fake lamenting in front of people,” she said, deadpan. 

A tear streamed down. She stood on her feet and left for her room to pick up a few things and clothes. All the while her mind went over one question. 

How would Sebria treat me?