The Skies Mocked Me

Meara thanked Theron and had him take home a few homemade pastries. He said he'll be back in two days to help again.

Calla on the other hand was happy. She already prepared for her return to her mother in the village. She had an early dinner with Meara, washed the dishes, and prepared Meara's bath before leaving the mistress alone in her little courtyard.

Meara may be left alone for two days but her supplies were already prepared by Calla. Besides, Meara knows basic cooking and she's not particularly useless when it comes to household chores.

Night fell and Meara slept early due to exhaustion from the day's tasks. The night wind was a bit cold in the last few days. But tonight, she didn't notice it. In the silence of a dreamless night, Meara enjoyed a much-needed rest.

As the night deepened, the dark clouds hovered over the kingdom an hour after midnight. A few drops of rain started to fall which quickly turned into heavy rains and tormented Meara's weak roof in her bedroom. She felt the spray of mist in the beginning but when heavy rain started to leak in her bed, she had to remove her quilt and pillows from getting wet. A big leak is dripping in the exact center of her bed!

She went into the kitchen where the roof is a bit stable and put the quilt and pillows on top of the dining table.

She ran into Calla's bedroom and saw that her roof was also leaking. The leak fortunately is dripping at the foot of the bed. She removed Calla’s quilt and pillows too and brought them to the dining table.

She remembered her luggage and ran back to her bedroom. She dropped to her knees to get the luggage from under the bed as well as her dowry. Her skirt was muddy when she stood up.

In the living room, the roof is also leaking but she simply moved the stools where there is no leak. She left the stone center table where it was because it was heavy.

At this point, the areas where there were leaks have started to get muddy. Meara looked like a wet chick. She's exhausted and drenched from the rain after going back and forth, saving the things inside the house. Once again she went back to her bedroom and pulled out a dry dress from the wardrobe. She changed her clothes in the kitchen.

She sat in the kitchen area and looked around. With the pitiful appearance of her house, she felt a sudden heaviness in her chest.

She put her hands in her face and cried. Loudly. As her cries were drowned by the heavy rains, she wailed louder.

Not the right time, but she felt all the exhaustion of the previous days weighed heavily in her heart right now. A part of her wants to cry for injustice. A part of her wants to ask for help. But from whom?

“Mom, am I really cursed?” She muttered. She gently moved the wet hair strands from her face and cleared her cheeks of tears. But the tears won't stop. She wailed again, contesting with the thunderous roars from the skies.

After a while, she composed herself. There's nothing more she can do at the moment. She let the tiredness lull her to sleep with her head resting on her arms at the table. She finally fell asleep when the rooster started crowing. By then the seemingly angry claps of the night have subsided.

Morning came and the skies were clear.

Donne visited Anwyn's courtyard. His precious son Vonne is a bit scared of thunder and he likes to ensure that he is okay. He stayed with his first wife and son for breakfast.

Vonne is a clingy child and loves his father dearly. He ate while on his father’s lap and occasionally fed his father with sliced fruits. After which, he hugged his father and laid his head on his shoulder.

Donne needed to coax the child gently to go back to his mother before he could leave.

When he went out of Anwyn's courtyard, he noticed the little courtyard from afar. He remembered this was Meara's lodging. He walked towards it on a whim. The wooden gate doesn't have a latch so it can be pushed open easily.

The small yard was pretty with flowers on the entrance and few herbs and vegetable patches on the sides and a stoned pathway towards the hut.

However, since the swift wind and rain from last night, some flowers and plants were standing firmly, and some were defeated and bent. Some vegetable leaves were flattened. The well is particularly clean and shiny from being battered by the rain from last night. The smell of mud and rain hangs in the air.

The yard is muddy but because of the stone path, the way toward the house is easy.

He pushed the door open and in one visual sweep of the room, she saw Meara sleeping uncomfortably on the small dining table, wet hair loose around her face and shoulders. There were dry quilts and pillows folded and neatly placed on the corner of the table. The floors are muddy, the sun rays shining through the holes in the roof, and furniture pushed on the dry areas of the room. It's a mess. There was a faint smell of sweet roses mixed with damp soil.

He looked at his butler who silently followed him during his walk.

"Her house wasn't maintained when she moved in right?" He asked in a low voice. Not wanting to wake up Meara. He turned around without waiting for an answer. He walked outside the house and talked normally to the butler.

"I can see they tried to beautify the area. The kitchen walls were freshly replaced, did those two do it?"

"No, My Lord. The hunter who occasionally provided us with meat helped them yesterday. The wind was cold in the last few days so the walls must have been prioritized. N–nobody expected last night to rain heavily."

"And you know this because…?" Donne asked again.

"The servant girl reports to me every day, my lord."

Meanwhile, Calla and Theron were speed-walking from afar with bamboo and fresh nipa leaves on both hands.

Donne looked at Theron with scrutiny. It's like an older brother, big and strong, looking down at a younger brother. Only, Theron is big and strong too since he's been hunting for eight years.

Donne waited for the two to finish putting down the materials. Calla immediately bowed. Theron slightly retreated at the back after greeting together with her, "Good morning, General".

"Who a–" Donne was interrupted by a sweet call.

"Master?" Meara called from behind and ran to Donne.

Donne didn't mind her and silently turned his back to leave.