Chapter 6: Confusion

"The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world. Reality is absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an absolute, and so is human life. Whether you live or die is absolute. Whether you have a piece of bread or not, is an absolute. Whether you eat your bread or see it vanish into a looter's stomach, is an absolute.

There are two sides to every issue: one side is right, and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. The man who is wrong still retains some respect for truth, if only by accepting the responsibility of choice. But the man in the middle is the knave who blanks out the truth in order to pretend that no choice or values exist, who is willing to sit out the course of any battle, willing to cash in on the blood of the innocent or to crawl on his belly to the guilty, who dispenses justice by condemning both the robber and the robbed to jail, who solves conflicts by ordering the thinker and the fool to meet each other halfway. In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit. In that transfusion of blood which drains the good to feed the evil, the compromise is the transmitting rubber tube."

—Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

"If you have ever felt inadequate, paralyzed between options, and unable to decide, you are not an indecisive person. You are a person who lacks decisive skill sets!"

—Emiljano Citaku, What If? Your Guide to Making the Best Decisions Ever

"No aspiring king of kings here, just another prince of pause, or duke of doubt, shilly-shallying."

—A.D. Aliwat, In Limbo

The kids fell into a dilemma. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Their indecisiveness was eating upon their conscience because they know that as they waste time something bad might happen or had happened to Xenia already.

However, they were just kids. What could they do if they come back after the Sulten Tribe told them to go home and never get near their homeland?

"Weren't we running along with him just now?"

Arlan was sure that Xenia was behind him when they were getting away from the entrance to the mountain. He heard his gasp and the thudding of footsteps on the dirt without looking back to where they came from.

"Should we go and help him?!"

Although Franzia was afraid, and her voice was kind of trembling with each word she uttered, she still found the resolve to suggest fetching Xenia.

"W-Why don't we wait a bit? X-Xenia must have tripped over or something and is currently on his way here! Yeah, that's right!"

"What Zeb said could be right. Let's wait for five minutes and go back if he does not show up."

And so, they agreed on waiting for Xenia to show up. Time was ticking on them, and they could not feel relaxed or at ease at all. Not everybody was as optimistic as the others. In a group of people, there would always be those that can't help but are always so negative about everything, overthinking things and making a big deal out of it.

But since the matter at hand was quite troublesome and dangerous, they really won't be able to calm down. Not when they know that something bad might have happened on Xenia's end. Though, they are not to blame if something bad really does happen to Xenia. They were all supposed to run away. Their life, their responsibility. No one's responsible for your life but only you.

***

Gallantly and with pure thrilling excitement, Xenia stood his ground when he realized that his friend had already run away. Xenia bravely steeled himself after the Sulten tribesmen started to approach him.

Slowly, he could feel their footsteps stepping on his throat, and he could not say anything nor even swallow the spit in his mouth. It was indeed suffocating, but Xenia remained unhinged.

Staying behind and deliberately moving forward for a few steps had the tribesmen thinking how foolish Xenia was.

"Go away while we are still being merciful!"

"You don't know how much I'd like to run away now, but my body doesn't seem to move at all."

"You're begging for us to hurt you," one of the tribesmen unsheathed his bolo, triggered by Xenia.

"Oh, boy, getting hurt is the last thing I'd wish for!"

"That's it! You're dead meat!"

Xenia witnessed the Sulten put his bolo up in the air, and suddenly it descended towards his direction.

"Cease this at once!"

"Haa! Hah!"

Relief put Xenia's heart at ease. He could not move at all, even though he wanted to. His body just won't move.

"I thought I was done for. Phew! But—"

Among the tribesmen, a charming and assertive voice from a woman put the tribesmen in a disturbance. They all seemed to be conscious of each other, looking for where the voice came from.

"The Lakambini is here! B-But why did the Lakambini leave her throne? It is unsafe outside of our territory."

"Silence, you wench! I don't want to hear another word from you!"

And they all stayed silent, afraid to even meet her gaze through that dazzling mask made from colorful materials, including feathers, beads, and sequins. It sort of resembles the Battoulah mask, but the mask the Lakambini wears represents the sign of purity, freedom, and authority. Despite putting themselves in seclusion, the Sulten Tribe knows themselves as the freemen of all people.

Her presence alone was enough to put the tribesmen in the back seat. They just all stood there, watching the Lakambini descend from the entrance to Xenia's location. And when she was about a meter away from him, she stopped right under the moonlight that shone upon her.

"Young man, fear not, for I wish no harm upon you."

Xenia could vaguely see how the woman looked under that mask she had on. It has pearls and some valuable stones carved on it. And her clothes was a well-knit silk dress that the length of it reached her ankles.

And being as conservative as she was had Xenia wondering how she looked without that mask. He began to imagine her facial features, adding that jade-green eyes that were glowing under the moonlight, staring deeply into Xenia.

"Are you lost for words? If so, why don't you go back home, then? Your parents must be sick and worried about you right now."

Even if she wanted to offer her hand to help Xenia stand up, she could not. That was as far as she could go. Any more than that, and she will be leaving their territory.

"Interesting. Sulten people are interesting. Coexistence between Balmackians and Sulten Tribe shall become true. I hope for a better environment for both of us."

"That is a wonderful idea," the Lakambini added. Her genuine feelings could be traced from her words. "However... I am afraid coexistence between us will remain a dream. Monsters and humans can't live together in peace."

Her last statement made Xenia quite confused.

"Who are you referring to as monsters?"

"It does not matter. A kid like you won't understand, and that's fine. Ignorance is bliss, after all."

Since Xenia does not wish to go away, the Sulten Tribe chose to go back instead of waiting for Xenia to leave the outskirts of their homeland.

"Farewell to you, young man. Let's both wish not to see each other again."

And just like that, Xenia was all alone at the entrance of the mountain, filled with overwhelming emotions of distress and thrill. He felt fulfilled until he remembered one crucial thing.

"I forgot to ask if it was them that killed Myla," he sighed deeply, collapsing on the dirt and falling on his butt. "In the end, we learned nothing about Myla's case. But still, learning something about the Sulten Tribe isn't so bad either, although it was nerve-wracking."

As he gets up and wipes his ass off the dirt on his pants, a bunch of footsteps rang in his ears once again, making him cautious of the people approaching.

"Xenia! Xenia!"

"Wait, guys?" Xenia dropped his guard after realizing that it was his friends. They all came back to get him. "You came back for me? I'm touched! Such wonderful friends you guys are!"

Xenia intended to hug each and every one but they all dodged and refused except for Zeb, who could not avoid him because he was still gasping for air.

"It was such a shame that Ergas could not make it tonight. This sure turned out to be an unforgettable experience."

"But why did Ergas not show up?"

"Apparently, his parents did not let him go out tonight because of the incident. They suspected we would do something like this, and Ergas told me everything when I dropped by their house."

Unaware of the brewing storm not so far in the future, the kids all went back home before their parents suspected them of going near the crime scene. None of them has any idea of what was about to happen to Balmack Island and how Xenia's encounter with the Lakambini would change the everyday lives he has with his friends and family.

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