The Green Field
The Spinster's Curse
His landlord and landlady paid him a visit. Well, it was not entirely a visit since the two just came by to collect his payment for the rent. They invited him over lunch, to which he gladly accepted. But it turned out they have another agenda in mind. It was pretty obvious how they were deliberately making him talk and interact with their daughter, who was as old as he was. Looking at her closely, she was quite pretty, ordinarily pretty. He smiled inwardly. The girl was flirting with him and he would have played along if only he did not meet Sandara first. It seemed like he was blinded by the odd girl’s beauty.
“How long are you planning to stay here?”
Jiyong blinked, going back to his senses. “I’m not sure”
“I see” she nodded, smiling at him suggestively. “How much of the town have you seen already?”
“Not much” he answered, trying his best to hide the boredom from his voice. The girl was pretty much boring compared to Sandara eventhough the latter was less talkative. “What’s your name again?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
“Jia” she answered, smile faltering a little.
“Well, thank you for the lunch and company, Jia, but I have to go. Kindly extend my gratitude to your parents”
“Must you leave so soon?” she asked, sounding a distressed. “I could show you around town, if you like”
“Maybe next time” he told her. “It was nice meeting you, by the way”
Jiyong did not give her further chance to protest or stop him or even call her parents’ attention. Aside from the fact that he was bored, he also needed sleep. He was quite early and since he’ll be seeing Sandara later in the night, he very much needed to stay awake. A smiled played along the corners of his lips. Suddenly, he felt grateful for landing himself in this town. Who would have thought he’ll find something. . . . precious in a boring town like Spinster’s Town? Then he paused. No, he was wrong. Spinster’s Town isn’t as boring as he originally thought it would be. It isn’t a boring town, after all.
He went straight to bed right after he arrived at the house. With a smile on his face, he fell asleep. He dreamt of sunshine, flowers, disco lights, of a certain blue river, Sandara’s smile. . . . as he delved deeper into his sleep, so did his dream. He was once again walking towards a rather fine looking cottage.
“You are back” a pleasant voice came from behind him. He swiftly swirled around, a smile automatically curving his lips. He realized, no matter how hard he avoid not to think of it, he had secretly hoped he’ll dream of HER again. Although their first meeting in his dream was not as pleasant as anyone could have hope for but still, the chance of being able to see her face was almost euphoric for him to deny.
“And so it seemed” he replied.
“Would you like to have a stroll?” she asked, flashing him her pearly white teeth.
“That would be nice” he returned generously.
They took a slow pace as they went about the field. The girl had her arms behind her. Jiyong felt at peace, like nothing could go wrong. It felt like the place was quite ignorant or free from hatred and war. It’s as if there’s only love and peace. Two birds suddenly fluttered above his head, chirping gratefully. The wind was soft and gentle, making the green sway gracefully to it. The sun was up but it did not burn his skin. He actually felt quite the contrary.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” she softly asked.
“Yes. Yes, it is” he agreed.
“But things have changed” she said, tone full of sadness and bitterness.
“It’s the only constant thing in the world” he quietly said. “If not for the change, the world wound never move forward”
“The only constant thing in the world is man’s selfishness” she went on. “Why would other people or other things in that matter, suffer for the wrong doings they or it did not commit? Man had always ambition of improving their lives but up to what extent? After all the trees are gone or after all the innocent people are dead? It has to stop”
“That would be quite difficult to achieve”
A knowing smile curved her luscious lips. “You are quite blind, are you not? And a fool. It would only be a matter of time when the ritual of my return shall be complete. You can join me if you want”
“I’m. . . not sure I understand what you’re saying”
They were now facing each other. Yoojin stepped forward, lifting her hands and rested them on his chest. There was something hypnotic in her upturned face that made Jiyong’s mind clean from all thoughts. He could only think of her, of her face, of her lips, of her smile, of her eyes, of how her body was pressed so close to him, of how warm he felt with her hands resting on his chest.
“I have been along for a long time” she hoarsely whispered, her surprisingly cold breath fanning his face. “I have never been this close to a man before. I doubted men so much that I swore myself to spinsterhood. . .”
“You can trust me” Jiyong helpless moaned. “I would never hurt you”
“Indeed?” she softly asked.
“Indeed!” he breathed.
Yoojin smiled then rested her left cheek on his chest. “I feel so cold” she murmured, then lifted her head to gaze up at him. “Will you take the coldness away? Can you do that for me?”
“Yes! Just tell me what to do and I shall see to it!” he declared fiercely.
Her hands slowly crawled from his chest up to his nape. “You are quite certain you will do anything?”
“Yes” Jiyong answered quickly. “I’ll give you everything you want!”
“Anything?”
“Anything!”
Yoojin smiled. “There are about four things I want from you”
“They are yours!”
She chuckled. “Surely, you want to hear them first before you declare promises?”
“Very well” he answered. “What are they?”
“First, I want your kiss” she said, placing a finger on his lips to stop him from interrupting her. “Second, I want your heart. Third, I want your life. And lastly, I want your soul. Before you give them to me, you have to be certain that they are not own by any other, you have to be certain that they are mine, only mine. If you are certain, then I shall grant you a reward”
“A reward?” he echoed faintly.
“Yes” she nodded.
“What reward?”
“You will be young. . . .” she smiled sweetly. “. . . . forever”
“F-forever?”
“Yes, forever” she nodded. “With me”
A loud knock woke him up. His eyes snapped open, finding his body covered with sweat. It took him a while to gather his senses together. And when he did, he reluctantly climbed out of bed and went to get the door, only to see the landlord’s daughter waiting in his doorstep.
Sandara, however, was facing a different matter at hand. Minutes passed but her mother just stared at her with wide, furious eyes. She did not dare speak for she had no idea what to say but she held her chin up, meeting her mother’s eyes levelly.
“How dare you break your oath to our Mother? You know very well that we are not to have any connection to any of the townspeople!”
“He is not one of THEM”
“You dare defend him?!” her mother thundered. “You dare defend that mere mortal?”
“He is different”
“He shall die with the rest of them, I tell you! He-!”
“He will NOT die and I shall see to it!” Sandara sharply said, making her gasp at her own boldness and daring. Silence stretched between them, both shocked and surprised with what just happened. The woman stared in horror upon seeing the surprised look on her adopted daughter’s face.
“No, this cannot be. . .” she murmured.
There was a soft knock at the backdoor. The woman stiffened, her eyes filled with panic as she glanced back over her shoulder. She remained fixed on her spot. When the knock came again, she started with a jolt and hastily walked to the backdoor, Sandara silently trailing behind her. As her mother took the door, Sandara kept a pleasurable distance as not to appear too rude or nosy of what news the person brings. She joined her hands together in front of her and let them be.
The visitor, she realized later, happened to be the leader of their brotherhood. He and her mother were talking in low, hushed but urgent voices. Then, the man talked in a silent and serene manner but Sandara could not quite catch their words. She noticed a while later that her adopted mother shifted to a stressed and bothered time, to which was responded by a reprimanding tone by the other. Sandara tilted her head to the side. She had the urge to voice aloud a question but something stopped her at the back of her mind, as if her instincts warned her not to. So, she kept the question to herself and decided that it would be better to leave them alone and ponder on some things about Jiyong. She could not bear the thought of disobeying her adopted mother but she definitely could not break her pledge of loyalty and obedience to the brotherhood. Jiyong has leave even if the time of night sky darkening is anywhere but near. She took in a steady breath when something inside her tightened. Bewildered, she wondered what and why could she feel that way. Failing to draw out an answer for herself, Jiyong’s face floated in her mind. With a blink, she decided she ought to pay him a visit later in the night and seek the answers to her questions. Surely, he will know the answers to them.
She sat by the window and picked up a wood and a carving tool. She paused for a moment and blinked down at the piece of wood. After a few blinks, she decided to carve a flower. She started blanching off the edges when she heard footsteps getting nearer.
“Sandara” her mother’s voice came. She her seat and looked up. Her mother looked stiff, quite contrary to the smiling man standing behind her. It was the leader.
“How are you, Sandara?” he asked.
Sandara blinked and glanced briefly at her adopted mother before looking back up to their leader. “Nothing ills or worries me” she answered, feeling slightly disturbed for lying.
“I am delighted to hear that” he said, smiling again.
Silence then charged the air. Sandara waited but when he remained quiet, she turned her attention back to what she was carving. She looked so calm that it somehow calmed her adopted mother a little, too. But still, the woman remained stiff and tensed.
“Have you noticed anything from the night sky, Sandara?” the leader broke the silence.
Sandara paused in what she was doing and looked up. She tilted her head to the side. “Yes” she answered truthfully this time.
He smiled, looking rather pleased. “I knew you’d notice”
“D-difference in the night sky?” the woman gasped, eyes widening. The leader glanced at her for a moment, his features stretched with stern criticism. “Sorry” he hastily mumbled.
He turned back to Sandara, his face looking neutral. “Do you know what that implies?”
“Yes” Sandara answered quietly and blankly.
He smiled again, looking immensely pleased. But there was something behind that smile and pleased look on his face that she could not shake off. “You are reminding me of my loyalty” she voiced out loud. “You think I am wavering”
The leader’s eyes narrowed. “Are you not?”
Sandara set aside the wood and her tool away and stood up. “You are questioning my loyalty to our Mother when you are not even blindingly loyal to her and her purpose”
The leader stiffened. “I would die for our Mother” he firmly said.
“Your loyalty starts and ends with the reward you expected to receive: eternal youth”
His eyes widened. Sandara was surprised with what she said, either. She had no idea how or why she said or even knew his real purpose but somehow, she felt that what she said was the truth.
“You have been blinded!” he exclaimed. “You have been blinded with your fascination to that boy! If you go on like this, he will die! He will-!”
Shockingly, Sandara was able to close the distance between them in just a second. “You” she said with great emphasis, surprise with how she felt so angry. Even so, she was shocked with how she suddenly had the ability to feel different emotions. “You will not harm him!”
“It is not in my hands” he bit back. “If Mother decided he has to die or to be made a sacrifice, so he shall be. You should stop your liaison with him”
“He will be leaving soon” she said calmly now. “He is not a local resident of the town, he has a house to go home to”
“Are you going throw away YEARS of devotion and service for a boy who will never stay beside you?”
Sandara remained quiet. Then slowly she said, “I shall ask forgiveness from our Mother. If she does not find forgiveness in her heart for me, I welcome death as a punishment”
The leader relaxed. “Good” he approved. “As it is, you need to gather your things for you shall be living in a new home”
“Isn’t mother going with me?” she asked.
The question made the leader and her mother look at each other meaningfully. Eventhough the both of them are aware of Sandara’s ability to ask questions at present time, it still surprised them. Also, it made the woman feel something inexplicable.
“No, she is not” he answered.
“I cannot leave mother behind” she said. “She is old and sick”
“She is able for herself” he quietly said.
“I am-”
“Sandara” her mother interrupted. “It is our Mother’s wish”
The girl suddenly felt confused. As she was reminded of their Mother, she also remembered one detail. “Am I now going to face my punishment: death?”
Silence once again encircled them. Sandara did not fear death not because she wanted it. What is there to fear with it? In death, there is no pain. In death, she’ll never have to worry about anything. In death, there is no suffering. She will not feel hungry again, she will not be thirsty again, and she won’t be having injuries or sickness anymore. Truly, it is not such a bad thing? But why do people fear it?
“Your punishment has not been decided yet” he said. “But like you said, the boy is not a local resident here; that reason could serve as an excuse of his innocence on what the ancestors of the townspeople did to our Mother. Therefore, your. . . punishment won’t be as grave as to our traitor sister”
Sandara silently nodded. “I do not really have to leave mother, do I?”
“I am afraid you have to”
“Why?”
“It is our Mother’s wish” he said. “Surely, you ought to have faith that Mother only wants what is best for us? Our obedience and loyalty are highly regarded by Mother. We shall be praised and rewarded upon her return. And we both know that it is only a matter of time. It is necessary that I keep an eye on you from on. Seeing that this parting of ways from your mother is quite distressful on your part, I shall step back and give you space to spend time with her. However, I shall be back again by tomorrow to accompany you to your new home”
He paused and let a few moment pass by. As it can be easily said, he was rather waiting for her to say her protestations. But as she remained still and silent, a slow and approving smile lifted the corners of his lips. “Very well” he said. “Good day to the both of you” he finished and took a bow before leaving.
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SORRY FOR THE TYPOS GUYS!!
HA! ALMOST DONE WRITING THIS! YAY!!
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