Chapter-10

Once I reached home everyone was celebrating. My family was celebrating my win and others were celebrating Kim's defeat. His family was taken in by the guards for interrogation and the whole village was excited to see who will be the one to win the prize. Search for Kim was the hot topic of our village and for the surrounding villages as well. Kim had a lot of side businesses and one of them was fooling people into taking loans. He was trusted by many and that is what he used to his favour. I was sitting inside the house beside my mom and she was sleeping peacefully now. I was just waiting for the sun to start going down into the mountains and for the rays to get dimmer and dimmer. Li's parents came and congratulated me and I gave them the gift box my mom prepared for them as a token of thanks. Winning this wouldn't have been possible without Li. Kang also deserved something great as she helped me and always stood by me, so did Mi So. I thought I will go and buy them gifts the next morning. The sun was going down now and the sky was covered in layers of orange and blue. Kang and Mi So were preparing dinner and I was asked to sit and rest. Perks of having sisters. I got up and told them I was going by the river. They asked me to be back by dinner. I nodded and left. As I stepped out of my house a gush of wind hit my face. It felt good to be able to breathe fresh air again without second thoughts. I went to the river humming to myself. The river was in full flow today, it was not quiet but I would say it was rather violent. I could feel the water splash onto my face when it hit the rocks by the shore. It was pretty unusual because this was the place that remained peaceful. There were no rains to make the river overflow also. But I decided to stay and wait for the man in black. The time was going by too slow. I waited for over two hours but no one showed up. The sun was no longer there to spread its light and the moon was shining in envy. It had no light of its own. I thought I will wait for one hour more, what if he turns up and finds no one here. I was busy looking at the envious moon and the raging river when I heard my name being called. For a second my heart raced but I recognised the voice as not his. I turned back to see it was Li. He was breathing too fast. "Hyun, come fast.", he huffed. I ran towards him. "What happened? Are you okay?", I was panicking now. "Someone burned your house. Come fast.", he said and pulled me along with him. It took me a moment to understand what he said. I was running behind him all numb and my all my brain could think about was my family. I reached my house and it was burning in flames. I saw my two sisters and mom crying at the corner. The villagers were trying to put away the fire by splashing buckets of water. I ran to my family and Mi So hugged me tightly. Kang was holding mom who was lying on a sheet on the ground. "Who did this?", I asked barely audible. "No one knows.", Mi So replied. "Li please take mom and Mi So inside your house.", I said to Li. He took them in and his mom and other ladies of our neighbourhood also went into the house. Li's dad and other people were trying to put out the fire. I and Kang also started to help them. After an hour of continuously pouring water, we were able to put the fire down. Once the fire was out, I and Kang stepped into the house carefully to see if some stuff was left that could be used. All the clothes were burned and all the furniture and antics were also burned. Only the bed was a bit usable. We pulled it out carefully and wrapped it in a bedsheet. We also found some utensils and also a half-burnt box that was under the bed. I and Kang opened the box and it had our savings for emergency and also some papers of our land in the village. We kept the box in Li's house and the bed and utensils behind his house wrapped in bedsheets. At the back of their mind, everyone knew who did this but no one dared to speak up. But all I could think of was, that Kim was still somewhere in the village hiding and someone was helping him. I was looking at my burnt house which had so many memories and they were all burnt now. I was busy reminiscing when I heard the sound of horses. I turned around to see it was the royal guards. They must have been informed about the fire. They came towards me and the head guard started his interrogation. How, when, why these were the questions he kept on asking. The other guards were searching the scene for any clue. "Sir we found traces of kerosene.", one of them said. I and the head guard ran after him to see where the traces were. We went to the back of the house and there the grass was still wet. The head guard touched the grass and then smelled his hand. He confirmed it was kerosene. The stench was too strong. It was now confirmed that someone did this deliberately. "Do you have any idea who could it be?", he asked me. "It is pretty obvious to me. It was Kim.", I said. He nodded and he left with his guards. He left three of his guards to look after the other houses of the village. I spent the whole night talking to the angry river. We both were pouring out our anger in languages not known to the other. No one came to be by my side tonight. I felt lonely. I cried I shouted, I even recited a poem but nothing worked. No shadow came to scare me. once the sun was again up in its position I returned to Li's house. People were gathered there. Panic rose in me again. I struggled through the crowd and reached the entrance. My mom, Kang and Mi So were outside the house reading an official letter. "What is it Kang?", I asked. "We have been given a quarter in the palace.", she said all excited. Mom and Mi So also seemed happy. All the villagers were talking about how 'lucky' we were. We got our house burnt; how can we be anything close to lucky. I was sceptical about this royal order. Why would the king take such matters in his own hands? All the people were talking about how generous the king is and how he thinks about his people. I couldn't help but cringe and if I would have had any other option, I would have declined this offer at the very moment it came. But looking at my family's faces I obliged to the order. The royal guards came and took our stuff and also carried my mom carefully as she was bedridden. I and my sisters followed them to the palace. Looking at the gates of the palace I felt a shiver run down my spine. I knew this place was full of secrets and now we are putting ourselves into this land of darkness. But it was our fate and our fate are for sure playing filthy games with us.