The Kingdom Yonder
974 Words
Summer had dragged her feet to go and get ready to leave. She had been shocked beyond imagination to hear that she was leaving in a few hours. Not only had they just delivered soul crushing news to her but even time to digest this whole nightmare wasn’t availed to her.
This made her feel like a commodity. ‘Is this what orphans go through as a norm? Are they always at other people’s mercy?’ Summer wondered. Her soul was crushed by this realization.
With tears pouring down her eyes, she had been reluctant to lift one foot after the other to leave the cathedral.
She wished she could reverse the time and never came to this convent in the first place.
Had she known, she would have chosen a different convent or better still, never considered any convent at all.
Reverend Sister Agnes, seeing her reluctance or maybe her state of shock, had ordered two other Nuns to help Summer pack her luggage. They were still doing the last touches when a knock resounded on the dormitory door startling Summer who was deep in thought while listening to the girls’ hushed whispers.
"The transportation for Ms Summer is here," a much younger voice said from outside and Summer jolted.
'Transportatio? This soon?' her eyes widened as another shock and reality check hit her!
Anxiety was playing tricks in her mind. She had endless questions without answers. Though she had been a brave girl all her life, Summer couldn't help but feel fearful on that day.
The two young Nuns that had been packing her stuff looked at her with pity. She had constantly heard them whisper words about the kingdom yonder or whatever it was called. Their words had filled her with more anxiety and stress.
Thrown into a curious frenzy, she couldn't help but dread what would become of her life.
"I heard that half human, half animal creatures live in the kingdom yonder!" one of the girls had said.
"Yes, me too! I heard that their immortal King is the one who requires human sacrifices. He marries young human virgins every ten years in a bid to find the rightful woman for him. The girls he married only bore girls, none of them was the right one. The woman is expected to bear him a son to be an heir to show she is the rightful Queen. That is, if she passes a fierce test first," the other girl said.
"The test? What test would that be? That sounds creepy already, considering the kind of creatures they are," the first girl exclaimed, almost whisper-screaming.
"Shush! She might hear you!" scolded the second girl, sparing Summer a quick glance.
They were barely whispering but the strange thing was Summer could hear them clearly without having to strain her ears. From her young age, she could hear whispers so clearly that at first she wondered why people scolded her when she told them what she heard until she learned that it was called ‘eavesdropping’ and it was wrong.
Unfortunately Summer never got to hear what test someone had to undergo because a knock interrupted the girls' talk. “Ms Summer, we are done packing. They are waiting for you outside. We are going to take your luggage outside,” the other girl told her but she was too absorbed with her thoughts to hear them.
After a few minutes she heard Reverend Sister Agnes’ voice filtering through her muddled thoughts.
"Summer! Please don't cause yourself more trouble by delaying. We don't know what these people are capable of and whether they will not hesitate hurting you later," Agnes said.
It was as if Summer's body was suddenly doused with a bucket of icy cold water. She truly dreaded her life hence forth!
She dragged her feet, Sister Agnes's hand on the small of her back, urging her to go forward.
Her eyes went to the people who came to transport her but she was surprised to see normal human beings, not half animals half humans like the girls said.
'Perhaps they were just trying to scare me, there's no such thing as what they described,' Summer thought.
With reluctance, she entered the car. She had cried the entire time while the girls talked. She no longer had any tears left except swollen eyes.
After what felt like forever, she lifted her eyes and saw the road winding along a trail of trees and shrubs up a mountainous area.
'This must be the kingdom yonder, or whatever the name was!' she sighed for the umpteenth time.
It killed her to be that anxious but still be in the dark about what's waiting for her in the world of the unknown.
Her gaze drifted from outside the window to inside the car. She realized for the first time how beautiful it's interior was and that it was actually a limousine.
While consumed in her thoughts she heard the car come to an abrupt and screeching halt and there was a ruckus outside!
Panicky, her eyes darted to the source of noise and fear engulfed her. The guards who were at the backseat and front plus the driver were all outside and she scratched her memory, wondering when they got out of the car without her noticing.
She lifted her hand to open her door to go see what was happening but there was a very loud growl she never imagined even in her wildest dreams. Her hand halted mid-air as she cowered back into her seat.
The ferocious growl was succeeded but several others. Having closed her eyes out of fear for a millisecond, she couldn't see the guards and driver anymore. She nearly wet her clothes.
In their place were huge animals she had never heard of. She had no names for them.
- Writer
