I can never get over the last words I heard from my grangrand before she passed away. She had said to me the night she died, “Barbara my dear, Wait for the one who will be your galaxy, someone with substance who sends shockwaves and soul. Someone who explores your temptations and traces your constellations. Someone who fuels your flowering fires and ignites smouldering shine. Someone who offers echoes of inspiration and embraces the eclipse. Wait for the one who reminds you of the star you’ve always been”
The words seems to replay in my head every time I have to just sit down and gaze at the sky. My grandmother knew more than anybody how I’ve always dreamed of leaving Moonriver village to see the world. Our men always had the privilege to do so, we women belonged in the house, tending to the animals and the children before the men came back. Before she passed, there’s been a rumour about some fierce men from the East who went scaling the west for gold and treasures. But I knew there was more to it. Alaric always told me about his father’s discussions after they return from the other towns. And in a matter of Winters, there’d been a rumour in the village about a certain city called London. Alaric said it’s still very small like our village but much stronger with it’s forces. They were impenetrable. A winter ago, just before grandmother passed away, he’d told me that the East men happened across it while scaling the nearby cities. London soldiers had defeated them, taking many of them as prisoners.
I’ve never been able to get the thoughts out of my head every since. I spent moonnights dreaming about this strange place called London. Surely, they don’t think women needs only to be forced into marriages and remain in this village tending to their children while waiting for their men to return after doing all the biddings alone. When I’d told grangrand about my dreams and desires, she’d told me about settling and waiting for the men to return so I’d get married. She had died after I’d left the hut to tend to mother’s cooking at the back fire.
I sat counting Winters after Winters, moonnights after moonnights, waiting for the men to return. Seated at the steep side of the ignite rocks, where the sun slowly turned into twilight, I started to hear bleats and neighing of horses. I rose to my feet, furiously dusting the dirt off my cotton dress. The men! They’re back! I stretched to see above the trees as I started to hear voices. I ran back towards the village just in time to see the five horses of polkadots, vega, morphy, Janine and Rusty. The sixth horse was empty. My da’s horse. Seeing the sadness in the men’s faces as they stood before our ranch, I sped in.
My da is standing before the doctor that had tended to my grangrand in his absence. The sadness of losing his mother in his absence. Then I excused them.
Later in the moonnight, the men gathered around the fires, discussing seriously. Mother forbade me from joining them;I was too young. But as I listened from the stables behind, I could hear their conversation fine and clear. The East men are scaling the mountains and taking slaves. The elders resolution is to host them and make peace with them.
But the following morning, I’d woken up to the sounds of screams and rumblings. “Barb!” I jerked up at the screaming of my name, my eyes growing wide at the sight in front of me. Our ranch has been thrown apart, the rooftop falling to the side. The screams continue at the background. My mother rushes over to me, pulling at my arm “we have to go!”the urgency and fear in her voice was alarming. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I followed her through the back, only to come face to face with a much taller and bigger figure. What was happening? Did the East men come attacking us too? But with the number of people around, from what I’ve heard, these were no East men.
Just then, a big hand is grabbing me, pulling me away from my ma. I screamed, we both screamed. How is this happening? Where was Da? I fought to be let out of the man’s grip but he only switched his hold on my arm to my hair and pulled. I tried to jerk him away but I was awarded with a slap that got me falling to the rough group, hitting my side against a tree.
“You piss!”he screamed, leaning over me. That’s when I actually saw his face. His face is rough and scarred all over, his teeth barely complete as he grinned sinisterly down at me. I tried to sit up and backed into the tree. Then he started pulling his leather shots down. I tried to scream but I knew that was pointless. We’ve lost.
Just then another man walks to us, yelling what sounded like the scarred man’s name cause he suddenly stopped stalking towards me and turned around to the intruder.
“Wha’ ya dowin’?”the intruder asks authoritatively.
The former quickly looks down and screamed, “I’m sorry, Mi Lord!” adjusting his pants. He runs off immediately and I just sat there, the pain he’d inflicted earlier starting to take effect.
I began to hear the latter man walk towards me and I tried to find anything to hit him with. Before I could hit him with a twig, he caught my arm, now squatting in front of me.
His presence was alarming and somehow appeasing. He watched me and I did too, my heartbeat slowing down. He looks younger than the scar face, and more decent looking, his eyes a deep blue. Suddenly, his lips twisted into a smile and he leaned into me, causing me to back into the tree.
“Look wha’ we haive hya”his words barely made sense to me. The moment his hand touched my arm, a strange cold reaped through my body and I found my eyes shutting close in a depth of complete tiredness. The last thing I remembered was his hands coming towards me before blackness took over.
**
October 10th, 1630.
I can never get over the last words I heard from my grangrand before she passed away. She had said to me the night she died, “Barbara my dear, Wait for the one who will be your galaxy, someone with substance who sends shockwaves and soul. Someone who explores your temptations and traces your constellations. Someone who fuels your flowering fires and ignites smouldering shine. Someone who offers echoes of inspiration and embraces the eclipse. Wait for the one who reminds you of the star you’ve always been”
The words seems to replay in my head every time I have to just sit down and gaze at the sky. My grandmother knew more than anybody how I’ve always dreamed of leaving Moonriver village to see the world. Our men always had the privilege to do so, we women belonged in the house, tending to the animals and the children before the men came back. Before she passed, there’s been a rumour about some fierce men from the East who went scaling the west for gold and treasures. But I knew there was more to it. Alaric always told me about his father’s discussions after they return from the other towns. And in a matter of Winters, there’d been a rumour in the village about a certain city called London. Alaric said it’s still very small like our village but much stronger with it’s forces. They were impenetrable. A winter ago, just before grandmother passed away, he’d told me that the East men happened across it while scaling the nearby cities. London soldiers had defeated them, taking many of them as prisoners.
I’ve never been able to get the thoughts out of my head every since. I spent moonnights dreaming about this strange place called London. Surely, they don’t think women needs only to be forced into marriages and remain in this village tending to their children while waiting for their men to return after doing all the biddings alone. When I’d told grangrand about my dreams and desires, she’d told me about settling and waiting for the men to return so I’d get married. She had died after I’d left the hut to tend to mother’s cooking at the back fire.
I sat counting Winters after Winters, moonnights after moonnights, waiting for the men to return. Seated at the steep side of the ignite rocks, where the sun slowly turned into twilight, I started to hear bleats and neighing of horses. I rose to my feet, furiously dusting the dirt off my cotton dress. The men! They’re back! I stretched to see above the trees as I started to hear voices. I ran back towards the village just in time to see the five horses of polkadots, vega, morphy, Janine and Rusty. The sixth horse was empty. My da’s horse. Seeing the sadness in the men’s faces as they stood before our ranch, I sped in.
My da is standing before the doctor that had tended to my grangrand in his absence. The sadness of losing his mother in his absence. Then I excused them.
Later in the moonnight, the men gathered around the fires, discussing seriously. Mother forbade me from joining them;I was too young. But as I listened from the stables behind, I could hear their conversation fine and clear. The East men are scaling the mountains and taking slaves. The elders resolution is to host them and make peace with them.
But the following morning, I’d woken up to the sounds of screams and rumblings. “Barb!” I jerked up at the screaming of my name, my eyes growing wide at the sight in front of me. Our ranch has been thrown apart, the rooftop falling to the side. The screams continue at the background. My mother rushes over to me, pulling at my arm “we have to go!”the urgency and fear in her voice was alarming. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I followed her through the back, only to come face to face with a much taller and bigger figure. What was happening? Did the East men come attacking us too? But with the number of people around, from what I’ve heard, these were no East men.
Just then, a big hand is grabbing me, pulling me away from my ma. I screamed, we both screamed. How is this happening? Where was Da? I fought to be let out of the man’s grip but he only switched his hold on my arm to my hair and pulled. I tried to jerk him away but I was awarded with a slap that got me falling to the rough group, hitting my side against a tree.
“You piss!”he screamed, leaning over me. That’s when I actually saw his face. His face is rough and scarred all over, his teeth barely complete as he grinned sinisterly down at me. I tried to sit up and backed into the tree. Then he started pulling his leather shots down. I tried to scream but I knew that was pointless. We’ve lost.
Just then another man walks to us, yelling what sounded like the scarred man’s name cause he suddenly stopped stalking towards me and turned around to the intruder.
“Wha’ ya dowin’?”the intruder asks authoritatively.
The former quickly looks down and screamed, “I’m sorry, Mi Lord!” adjusting his pants. He runs off immediately and I just sat there, the pain he’d inflicted earlier starting to take effect.
I began to hear the latter man walk towards me and I tried to find anything to hit him with. Before I could hit him with a twig, he caught my arm, now squatting in front of me.
His presence was alarming and somehow appeasing. He watched me and I did too, my heartbeat slowing down. He looks younger than the scar face, and more decent looking, his eyes a deep blue. Suddenly, his lips twisted into a smile and he leaned into me, causing me to back into the tree.
“Look wha’ we haive hya”his words barely made sense to me. The moment his hand touched my arm, a strange cold reaped through my body and I found my eyes shutting close in a depth of complete tiredness. The last thing I remembered was his hands coming towards me before blackness took over.