The room fell into a deafening silence, each beat of my heart echoing in my ears like a drum. I stood there, holding my breath, as the recording played, its damning words hanging in the air like a dark cloud.
My family’s faces were a canvas of shock and disbelief, their expressions mirroring the turmoil raging within me.
Peter, usually quick to speak his mind, sat frozen, his lips parted in stunned silence.
Laura’s eyes bore into the ground, her features a mask of stoic resolve, betraying the storm of emotions brewing beneath the surface.
Diana, the queen’s staunchest supporter, sat rigid in her chair, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and unbelief.
The weight of the evidence I had just presented bore down on us like a heavy weight, pressing down on our shoulders and squeezing the air from our lungs.
It was a truth Laura had long suspected but dared not speak aloud in public, a revelation that threatened to unravel everything the community thought they knew.
As the recording continued to play, each word a damning indictment of the queen’s cruelty, the silence in the room grew more suffocating. It was as if the family were all holding their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, unsure of what would come next.
But amidst the silence, I could hear the faint sound of hearts breaking, of illusions shattering like glass. They were standing on the precipice of change, their world teetering on the edge of chaos. And as the weight of their collective realization settled over them, I knew that there was no turning back.
‘Was this really the only way to get Diana out?’
I jerked; and hitting the base of the chair, I slumped into an empty sofa. But even that movement wasn’t enough to bring my family out of the haze that the recording had ensnared them into.
My other had just spoken to me.
‘There was no other way. Do you have a better idea?’ I asked.
Silence at first.
‘Not really. But this is going to cause a lot of chaos in the community. Are you ready for the consequences?’
The question sent shivers down my spine. Consequences. I had known that there would be consequences of revealing the recording, of threatening the position of the Queen in her community, but hearing it from my other, was terrifying.
Peter had mentioned that he will be coming with me to see the Queen, would he use the recording then? But wasn’t that the only way to push the school back to the general school?
Would the Queen put a death tag on Peter’s life? On Laura’s life? On my life? I shook my head. I didn’t want that. We have to find another way.
As the recording’s echoes faded, the silence was broken by Peter’s sharp intake of breath. His eyes flashed with disbelief and anger, his usually quick tongue paralyzed by shock.
Laura’s features were twisted with a mix of sorrow and rage. Quite understandable, seeing as Zande meant the most to her. The prodigy had been her daughter before Diana had come along. What course of action would she take now? I hoped that it wouldn’t be anything rash.
Diana, the queen’s staunchest supporter, remained silent, her gaze fixed on the ground, her thoughts a mystery to me. But I knew one thing. The little girl has resigned from her post of Queen’s supporter. I’m just not sure which post she will take now.
Then Peter suddenly voiced his fury with a string of curses that filled the room with raw emotion. “The ball of the woman chosen by the gods! She must think that she is above the law!”
“I’ll deal with the queen myself,” Laura spat, her voice laced with venom. “No one gets away with this kind of cruelty, not on my watch, not on the blood of my murdered daughter.”
Her words hung in the air like a challenge, daring us to defy her resolve. Peter nodded in silent agreement, his eyes blazing with a fierce determination born of years of keeping mute at the queen’s hands.
Diana remained silent, her silence a testament to the inner conflict raging within her.
“But how? I suggest that we don’t take drastic measures that will end up biting us in the ass. I suggest that we be strategic. We have the recording that can overthrow the Queen and put the kingdom in jeopardy, but we have to be careful. The Queen is dangerous. I don’t know much about her, but I am sure that her power and influence extends far beyond the walls of the palace. We should be prepared for the consequences of our actions.”
Laura’s eyes didn’t dim of their determination but she agreed with my suggestion with a nod.
“But what can we do?” She gritted her teeth as she spoke. “How do we make her pay for this?”
Peter looked at me, as if I had all the answers in the world. I looked inward, checking for answers with my inward being. Nothing. Just silence.
Great! Abandon me after bringing me out to the light!
“Well…” I stuttered, sighing in relief the next second when the being merged with my soul again. A moan escaped my lips, causing Laura’s eyebrows to furrow, when I felt the power that made me lightheaded.
“We can’t actually make her pay for her crimes. We just have to stop her from committing more.” My other spoke through me.
Peter and Laura darted glances at each other. They must see it now. The swift change. Diana was looking at me with widened eyes. I wasn’t sure what they were seeing, but I kept on.
“Tomorrow, after school, as Peter has mentioned, we will be going to the Queen’s office. Her words will determine our next step. Peter will bring up the issue about Diana, stating his uncomfortability that she is training with her, instead of socializing with the others. He also brings up the suggestion of moving the children’s classes to the general school. If she refuses, he can use Laura’s position as a threat.”
Laura smiled cunningly now, obviously getting where I was coming from. There was no other doctor in the community.
Hopefully, the Queen would take that into consideration, and not force our hand to react.
“And if she still doesn’t agree, then we have no choice, but to release the recording to the community, not just to her. That way, she wouldn’t be able to threaten your lives. Hopefully, she will listen when you use Laura’s position. I wouldn’t like the community to be in chaos.”
I felt my other withdraw after that last statement, back into my mind. It was done helping.
‘Thank you.’
Silence.
“Did it show up? Just now, that wasn’t you talking right?” Peter asked, after a beat of silence, awe ransacking his voice.
I nodded. “How did you know?”
“You were glowing. You seemed to be shining the more. Your mask too. I don’t understand what that is, the being I mean, but it is magnificent, and also needs to be studied.” Laura answered for them all.
“How do I study it?”
Peter shrugged his shoulders. “I guess it comes with practice. The more you allow it to express itself, the more you understand it. Have you spoken to it yet? Has it told you what it is, and where it comes from?”
I shook my head.
“No, not yet. It spoke to me just now about the recording and how best to utilize it, but when I asked a more private question, like what it is, it gave no reply. I don’t know its name. I don’t know where it is from. I don’t know how it got into my body. I don’t know the endgame. I just…”
I flung my hands apart in frustration, then brought them up to my head to make a mess of the black mass.
“It will come true with time, Maya. Just let it be for now. But after school tomorrow, or before the weekends, I will check you out. See, if I can see anything unusual, or if I can pinpoint what it is.” Laura gently said, her eyes telling me that all will be fine.
I sighed, and reclined deeper in the chair.
‘Are you a wolf?’
‘No. But I can be if you want.’
‘What sort of answer is that?’
Silence.
I huffed, giving up on further communication, piquing my eyebrows the next second when I saw Diana get on her knees.
A knowing silence descended in the room, not at all tense, just knowing. Diana was finally about to break her silence.
“”I… I apologize for my earlier behaviors, for lying about my classes with the Queen, for disrespecting Maya.” Her voice was soft, tinged with remorse as she spoke. “I have been an ardent follower of the queen, but now I see the error of my ways. Forgive me, Dad. Forgive me, Mom. Forgive me, Maya.”