A Fairytale In The Making

1. SLEEPING DEITY

I would've argued back to her when she was here but not anymore. Not after that winter when Soli had forsaken us for too long and sinister winter had managed to sink its claws into her.

We waited, prayed, begged, and at last Soli had returned to vanquish the frosty demon. The white grim reaper had fled wearing its snowy cloak but not before leaving a reflection of itself in some of the villagers and mama.

Like winter, one by one they too had become cold and lifeless.

That winter a year ago had left me orphaned and selling flowers to the villagers at the age of 16. I'm gonna be honest, it wasn't a profitable business but it gave me enough to go by as well as save some to reopen mama's tailoring shop.

I remember mama's sad face as I sold her tools one by one to afford her medicine and our food at a very high price when the rations ran out. In the end, we had to close the shop when it became obvious that people around us were too busy surviving to spend money on tailoring clothes. I don't blame them.

 The only luxury our poor village could afford that winter was food and firewood.

Shaking myself out of depressing thoughts, I climb out of my bed and went to boil water for a quick bath.

Then off I was; on my way to the "Blessed rock" to pluck some of the simple yet vibrant yellow flowers around it.

Just like every morning, I crossed the fragile wooden bridge over the lake carefully. Just like every morning, the mesmerizing sight before me managed to leave me stunned.

This place was truly a magnificent witness to nature's eternity. A wide-field, beside the lake, beneath the trees, was wholly covered in yellow flowers fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

But why do the villagers call it the "Blessed Rock"? Well, because right in the middle of the field were the remains of what probably was a temple. The keyword is "Was" because now it is nothing more than piled-up rocks scattered here and there.

There was, however, one curious thing about the rocks. They were covered with symbols. Symbols that do not match with any from the Book of Life in the village temple. Unknown Symbols that frightened the villagers even though they do not know their meaning. Symbols that sometimes feel to be calling me. Today was like that too.

"Why would the ruins of a forgetting temple built, probably, for a forgotten deity be calling to you? It was just your imagination," mama would say. So I decide to pay no attention to the calling and continue my work.

But to no avail. My mind wanders off to the ruins. Today, it feels to be calling louder, more desperately than other days. As if it knows today was the first birthday I'm spending without mama. As if the moment I decide to listen, I'll hear its whisper.

And I do! "Isolde" it calls me, in a hypnotic voice, similar to my mama's but not at the same time. My feet drag me towards it, against my wish. Like a puppet whose strings are being pulled by the fingers of a mysterious puppeteer in the ruins.

My mind begins to finally listen to me after I reach the elevated land which, I'm guessing, used to be the alter. My heart beats loudly as I realize I've ventured far beyond what mama deemed safe. My mind swirls with mama's warnings as I stand in the center of the alter. My limbs feel numb when I feel someone's gaze on me from above.

 I look up to the statue of the unknown deity staring down at me. Its marvel eyes look hauntingly real for a minute and I start to walk backward.

There was someone here beside me and I wasn't very keen on knowing who.

GLOSSARY

*Sol: The Sun God in Roman mythology. Greek counterpart is Helios. The principle God Soli in this book is based of on him.

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Hope you liked this chapter. I'm super nervous and excited. Please leave comments.