That Day
On that day, when the sun stood still above all, the birds were chirping and the rare lush of winds passes the Rackets Village. The residents already halfway through their daily life, a teenage young girl, Evelyn was still sleeping in her bedroom, dreaming of a ballad. A woman sings in whisper about all the answers she’s been asking to herself.
“Come find me when you wake up, I can tell you why, and I can tell you why..”
Then suddenly, BOOM!! The sound of Evelyn’s door thud so loud it awakes her from her sleep. A father figure filled the doorway, barely open her eyes her father, “Wake up Evelyn, we need to go now..”. His hand tangled on his coal blackened hair, and the other on the door knob, with his pair of green eyes gaze deep towards her signalling that they are in a hurry. He left as soon as she was trying to sit on her bed.
She ground her teeth, wanted to scream “Why do we have to live like this?!” but the scream didn’t even pass her lungs. The same question has been ask for as long as she can remember.
The step she took towards her closet stumped , losing patience and mumble to herself demanding the unanswered question. As soon as she saw herself through the mirror on her closet, she saw a dragged teenager girl who have lived without anyone to talk to other than her deafened father of her questions. Her grip grow deep as her patience begin to run out. She then punched the closet door to smear her anger, the hit was followed by the sound of thud echoes through her home.
Michael darted back to her room, “Are you okay?!”
He saw tears lurked in the corner of her eyes, her pale face is now boiled in red. Losing all herself towards the loneliness and anger she broke down to her knees, he pulled her hand towards him and hold her between his arms. Holding her firmly as if that will be the last day they can be together as a family.
“I’m sorry Evelyn, I know what you’ve been thinking, you will forever be my daughter, I will explain to you once we get to our destination." The same assurance Michael gave every time Evelyn burst in anger and disappointment.
The hollow thump from his step accompany her lonely thoughts which seek answers from him but instead got told to get ready to leave and pack before they do.
So she grab her clothes from her closet that she’s always wearing, a white long sleeve shirt, and some with blue stripes while putting them on her bags. She scramble her well ordered shirts picking one that she comfortable with. Then she saw, the stone that was hidden between the folded clothes that she arranged a few days ago. Her father gave it to her when she was a child, he said the stone was left by her mother, as a token to remember her by. She would never know what her mother look like, she’s been living without her for as long as she could remember. There is nothing else that she left for Evelyn. Though she had never seen her, she always felt close to her mother whenever she hold the stone.
“Are you ready? Let’s go, the carriage are waiting for us outside.” His voice expelled all the remembrance she had of her mother.
Her anger linger around her grey eyes, her fist lock in her palm, staring in rage towards her father. She knows nothing will ever change his mind even if she went berserk, he still would not tell her about what is going on. “You are still going to take me even if I’m not ready. I was never ready for anything!” She stump her feet aloud while picking up her bag and the stone. The floor was crunching as she walk past her father. The thud echoes as Evelyn mumbling to herself while walking down the stairs.
As soon as she open the front door, a scruffy middle-aged man greeted her, “Good morning milady..” Chuckling and grinding his yellowish teeth as he lend his hand towards Evelyn as a sign to help her with her bags.
“She’s not in a good mood today Freddy.” Said Michael as he shrugged his face.
Evelyn drew sigh and can only shake her head. She saw a black Clarence type of carriage parked in front of their house. She went away to the Clarence while Freddy and Michael still conversing. She drew another big sigh as she pull the rough and rusty knob of the carriage door which the paint was chapped, and the folding step is making an unpleasant mewl. She climb the folding step and sit on the back couch looking at her father and Freddy’s already finished talking and was on their way to the carriage.
“Let’s go Freddy, we have a boat to catch.” Said Michael when he was climbing into the carriage and while Freddy was getting ready on his front seat.
“Ahh.. It’s not a boat Michael, it’s a ship.” Said Freddy while lashing the horse back.
Evelyn mouth gaped wide and said, “A BLOODY SHIP? Are we going to leave the country now?!” As the horses begin to trot, the wheels screeches as it rolls on to the muddy path. Her lips quivered as they swerved on to the road, glaring at her father begging for answers.
“No my dear.” Said Michael as he press his palm on her cheeks. “We’re going to the city of Hope.” He pulled his hand back to his laps soon after, looking straight into her eyes and paint a feign smile on his face. “I’ll tell you everything once we arrived.” Said Michael.
Once they past the busy road, climbing the hill of Armaduras, the road was twisting on it’s way up, and down towards the sea. Glooming sky begins to shadowed the ray of sunlight and begin to spit a light rain as her eyes lock onto the window and her mind was off to somewhere, the rain drips onto the window as Freddy taking them to the port. The rain beating a gentle tinkle on the roof, uttering loneliness rhythm to Evelyn. Reminding her of her childhood friend, whom she barely could remember because of how she kept moving from place to place.
Suddenly she could hear all the tinkle and the screeches went deep and sucked away and replaced with her beating heart drumming loud as the thunder growl. The sky eat away the bright of the sun, darkness tint their path. She looks to the side window and saw a shadow grew larger as it crunched and eating away the path behind them. Growing closer to them as quick as her heart pounding. A flash of darkness rains above them so quick her eyes couldn’t catch what was beyond them. Then, a scream of an eerie and painful man bludgeon her ears. Her fears become tangible, terrors washed over her, raising the fine hairs on her back.
"Freddy get us out of here!!” Screamed Michael, as she searched for Freddy, but there was no sign of the scruffy old man. Then Michael, pull her out as he jump away from the carriage. They went rolling like a dice as the horse losing it’s own manoeuvre heading straight into the shadow that has been circling them.
(Evelyn and Michael separated after they jump out of the carriage)
“Evelyn, what ever happens, I want you to find Kruger, in Hope. Promise me!” He pants, as he crawl up towards Evelyn who was stranded near the edge of road.
" I want you to go now, you’ve trained for this.. And never ever lose sight of the stone Evie.”
“No...” She was terrified by the appearance of those wraith.
Then an eerie and gravelly voice erupted ”The.. Stone..” A skeleton covered in long dirty black cloak, its face was shrouded covering the rotten and tearing flesh, with no lips to hide it’s grin and it wield a crown made of bones on top of it’s head. Looking like an evil king that came back from hell.
It crooks one of its fleshless finger and long claw, pointing towards Evelyn and said, “Resist.. And die..” Evelyn thoughts went empty as she is panicked by the presence of this unknown entity.
Michael shove his hand forward to the wraith, “Go back to hell you bastards!” As he cast aflame to the wraith but the flame itself was repelled as if there is an invisible walls protecting it and dismissing it towards the ground soon after.
“Death.. Is certain..”
The grass around them begin to catch on fire and the consuming shadow around them grow narrower as seconds passes by. The wraith draw it’s long black scepter, that was surrounded by black smoke, pointing it, and scream towards Michael. Summoning more of it’s kind from the shadows flaunting towards them. Gliding towards him, fear for his daughter safety, he cast a magical barrier surrounding them to protect Evelyn from incoming danger. The barrier achieved to repel all the incoming wraith claws and swords, but the barrier itself is showing the fragility against such powerful and overwhelming entities. He point his back towards the wraiths, facing his daughter Evelyn.
“Evie, I really need your help to get us out of here.” He paint a feign smile hoping to assure her beloved daughter. But not for long, the Wraith King soon threw the scepter upon them. Penetrate the barrier and Michael chest, pinning Michael with the barrier. The rest of the wraith, clawing open the barrier through the leaks made by the scepter. Their crooked hand begin to reach Michael, scratching violently. Michael losing strength to hold the barrier with his magic, splattering a lump of blood on Evelyn.
“Evie, go, I cannot hold much longer..”
Evelyn finally snap out of her fears, her mind is returning to her. She pull his father between her arms hugging him tight, as the wraiths gradually pulling him up. Evelyn whisper to her father, “I’m not going without you.. Think of Hope. Close your eyes, we’ll be there in seconds.” Cried Evelyn to her father.
She could hear the crows caws echoes, her eyes darted from the grasses, to the broken trees around them, and finally the bright blue sky. There are no wraith to be seen, no beating waves to fall into. They are safe, for now.
“Evie..” Her father calls.
“Yes father, we made it, we made it.” She said cheerfully.
She look down to her father who were laid flat on her edge. Still holding her arm, bleeding from the scepter that attached to his back and weakening.
“I’m going to remove this thing from you, I want you to hold your breath okay?” Said Evelyn.
“No Evie no.. It will be much worse”
“Then I want you to close your eyes again, think of the hospitals you know, I’ll get you there and someone will help fix you.” She said the her father with a firm tone.
“You can’t, you will blow up the hospitals when we get there, just like what you did to this place..”
“Then how I’m supposed to help you! I won’t leave without you! I don’t have anyone else!” Evelyn screamed her lungs out, the day she feared the most has finally knock upon her life.
“Evie, before I go.. I need to tell you some-” Evelyn interrupted, “No! You will not go anywhere!”
Michael coughed another lump of blood, “Listen, listen to me.. This is where you first open your eyes after I brought you up from the ocean.” Evelyn gasp once she hears what Michael just said.
Michael continues, “The stone, you were holding the stone in your tiny hands. I have never met your mother, you and your mother are the legend that he once told me. The moment I took you out, that was the moment I set the wraith free. It is why, we keep moving..”
The pain from the wound, causing Michael to coughed again, vomiting more blood as he loses his breath. He look into Evelyn eyes, savor every last moment he had. “Find Kruger.. in Hope, he will aid you.”
Evelyn disbelieved with what she just heard, she insisted to help her father by removing the scepter. “I don’t care, I will get this out of you and find this Kruger with you..”
Tears lurked in the corner of her eyes, and the tears broke free and soon after followed by an unbroken stream. She bent forward where she sat on the grass and press her palm on Michael cheeks, and the other hand, gripping the scepter that was locked inside her father’s back, she whispered to him, “I’m going to count to three, what ever happens, stay with me alright?”
The curtain of her eyes falls as she hold the scepter that buried beneath her father skin, and pull the colossal pole as hard as she can and as quick as she hope for. She felt immense and foreign power strike within her blood and her head begin to quivered.
“She is von Edreich after all, of course she will be good.” Said a woman who dress in green grown, soft as silk to a man with a crown of gold beside her.
“TAKE HER FAR FROM HERE!” The vision transfer to another with the same man, but the surrounding was different, she could see the castle wall falls apart piece by piece, rains clouded the overwhelming rage of knights and warrior. The crows took flight over a field of emerald green long grass which was painted with blood. They were oblivious, though it was not the birds, the ravage disaster caused by those warriors, taking lives as they march towards the demolished castle, along with hundreds of flying and black entities diminished all that stands on their way.
“You will be better than all of us.” As if the queen speaks to her in those vision, while a ship that bear the emblem of twin headed eagle was broken into many pieces surrounding those people around her, and gradually sinking deeper in to the dark and swallowing abyss.
All the images that struck her began to fade and finally losing grip to those memories. She’s awaken, but every thought was confusing. Her eyes flourish every ray of light, wandering to all around her, her hands ambles the big, crusty trees behind her, and the other stray to grass around her. Grasping on the reality as her dream vanished when she touch the scepter. "The scepter.." She gasp. Reminding her of the tragedies that was of wraith, and her father. She could no longer hear the breath which accompany her in the forest. Shaking him as if he was in sleep deeper than the ocean.
“Father, wake up!” Repeatedly she ask for her father to wake up, but none was answered. The warm of his hand that was tightly holding hers, was no longer like it used to be, his face grew pale along with her hope to see his father again. She wanted to cry her lungs out but the pain carved deeper than her will to accept her father death.
The lush of wind breathe through the River Of Kaleem, beating everything that stands on it’s way just enough, enough to shake the trees and water. Evelyn, was laying down at one of those trees looking towards the sky, wondering why, as if the nature itself enjoys the suffering of its children.
After the incident the day before, she began to understand why his father would hide her from the open world and always moving from a city to another. From Hope, and now in Hope again. She always hated to move to a new place where should would need to befriend again. But now, when she’s back to where she thought she’s belong, an entity wish to capture her. She’s lost, she had no idea what she need to do next, and why all those wraith wanted her. But her father prepared her for what to come. She’s thankful for that.
