Shuffling around the hallways, the students polluted the air with their conversations and giggles. It seemed as though they let nothing bother them. The attack of the barbarians remained fresh in their head, they could not neglect the horrors and bloodshed they had endured. Losing their friends and families, it still broke their hearts. The witnessing of the accused from the service depleted much of their energy, from their oohs and ahhs and their monstrous screams. Nevertheless, they meandered about their academic troubles more than anything else at this moment; it came to a point where they could forget about the events in the past.

The students going to the flagpole area, Neha and Sachen were still in the hallways. Neha followed her friend. Like Sachen, she felt ill from the event of Usheniko’s execution, and she even cried for countless days until her mother coerced her to stop wasting tears. It happened in a flash, and it left a scar within her. How could they do such a thing to a woman like her friend? Where did they base their accusations from? The emotions and cries of the people that had radiated the temple back then, it shuddered Neha, and made her think well that the people showed no sympathy for the accused, a horrible thing to realize.

“If Usheniko was accused of all those charges, what had happened before then?” Just as she tried to find an answer, something stung her nerves. Usheniko being on the stage and letting the people insult her became too much to remember. Perhaps to her, the accusations against Usheniko was more painful than her death; she wondered how her friend was able to go through the injustice in spite of the uproar.

Sachen brisking faster than usual, Neha called her many times. She paced close to her. Her hands clenched into fists, her eyes pried upon the wall beside her. Since that day, Sachen was quiet. In the neighborhood, in the classroom, and at the flagpole, she said nothing to Neha, not even a hello or a goodbye. The silence, Neha could permit, but it lasting too long began to make her feel guilty.

Her chest drummed, and Neha raised her voice.

“S-Sachen! Do you want to hang out at the end of the day?”

No response from her friend, Neha’s face deflated. She turned herself around and leaned against the wall. Staring at the bulletin board, she pondered about what she had to say even further for Sachen to notice her. Neha glanced at her hands, and pale they were, they could become transparent. She might turn into a ghost at this point in time.

But, as luck had it, Sachen ran to her side. Neha faced her and saw a smile that seemed too good to look like one.

“I’m sorry Neha. I am going to be busy all day, and possibly every day. I might put a burden on you regarding this, but it’s all right. Let’s hang out another time, okay?”

Before Neha could say anything more, Sachen walked off. Neha lifted her own hands and hovered them around Sachen’s shoulders. The latter burst to the front door and went to the flagpole, leaving Neha in sighs. There was no way that she could get her back. She smiled for a bit when she got at least a meager response from her friend, but it sent her into a slump. Neha then considered that it was better to give Sachen time for herself; maybe Sachen would feel well. How could she think that though, when the loss of their friend afflicted the both of them?

Neha tilted her head upward and prayed to the gods that everything would be okay.

***

Using the gold coins that Tulisen gave her a day ago, Neha picked up medicine from a local pharmacist. Since Tulisen was busy with the matters of war, with his responsibilities as a junior officer, Neha needed to help her mother in whatever ways possible. Her father used to be the one that’d make such errands, and now it was time for her to fill the role. At first she hesitated, since she had little knowledge of how to proceed in asking the pharmacist about the right medicine. She thought to herself that it might be better if she were to write a note and give it, but she had to muster up the courage. Thus after half an hour of fumbling around and squealing, she got the item she needed.

Neha strolled to the western district. It had been three days since she last met Sachen in the hallways. As people walked along the streets, Neha dropped her gaze down and nodded to herself, the presence of the villagers suffocated her. She wanted to run off as fast as she could, but there were too many people around her vicinity; without her friend around, it brought her in a vulnerable state. It was natural for her to feel this way however, so in the end, this feeling would go away as soon as she headed for her house.

Returning home, she glanced at Sachen’s house. The place was devoid of noise. As she knew it, Sachen would come back to the neighborhood late in the day, even near midnight on some occasions. Her parents scolded her every time this happened, so intervention was not a considerable option, yet their voices were loud enough to wake up Neha sometimes in the dead of night.

She walked to the doorsteps, holding onto the medicine bag with the tips of her fingers. She dangled on the edge and looked back. A huge breath she exhaled, she maintained her balance. She surveyed the area around her, and confirmed that nobody was approaching her. A stranger or an acquaintance, Neha had to go inside the house and shut herself from unwarranted contact. But everything was safe so far. She only needed to enter and get over it, that was all. She took a breather again.

A force then whooshed the air. Feeling it, Neha once more tipped herself on the edge. From behind, somebody straightened her body and poked the back of her shoulders. She thought that it was the will of the gods that prevented her from falling down, but it wasn’t so. The poking persisted, and Neha trembled and called for help. She glanced side to side, and nobody was there among her personal space—she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.

The poking happened again and again. With much of her apprehension, Neha turned to the rear. The person before her, she had little anticipation for her arrival, and out of all times, this was surely a terrible one. The girl shifted her gaze away.

“W-what are you doing here Azukunika?”

The young lady cast her hood away. She snickered. “How goes your friendship with Sachen? Was the event so painful that you two are quiet towards each other? I jest! Good thing she is gone. Otherwise, the whole village might be a cesspool of sin and darkness. So it was right that the High Order executed her, rather than let her live long.”

“What are you laughing for? Shouldn’t you be ashamed of yourself, for hurting your mother like that?”

Azukunika crumpled her eyebrows and bent her grin. “Why should I feel such shame? Is it because we are just related, that I should have remorse and sadness for her death? It’s all foolish! I saw her all right, in that forest hanging out with the enemies and leaking information. And she did the same thing to other barbarians around our civilization in her spare time, in order to escalate the war. She did the crime, now she is serving her time in oblivion. No matter what, I cannot help but ignite my disgust and contempt for her; her existence alone kept bothering me for almost an eternity. She is vile, immoral, and heinous, just like everybody else in her family!” She slapped her own knees. “I will never forget the day I saw blood from him. Horrible.”

“I thought you came to visit your mother… but I never knew that it led to this. All along, did you have the intention of hurting her, of wanting her to die? What is the matter?” Neha parroted those questions countless times, but Azukunika zipped her mouth from such things. Neha’s muscles tensed themselves and burned like fire. Her voice straining, she squealed.

A hunch on her back, Azukunika leaned close to the child’s face. Her hair and skin fumed a bitter, peppermint scent, as though she had traversed into a farmer’s field.

“I don’t need to give a reason to a squirt like you. My hatred is mine alone. To be honest, if I had the opportunity to, I would have killed Usheniko right in her slumber! But being close to her upon my return to the village, I could not do much but complain and ignore her words, for everything she talked about was bugging me to the fullest! I swear, under the gods and the abode of heaven, that I will fulfill the tasks given by the Lama and the High Order until I go back to prison.”

“You would kill her?” Neha shook her fists. “How terrible of you. The more I think about it, the more I realize that you are not a good daughter after all. Turning your mother in under false charges, how far do you have to go?”

“It’s because of the fact that Usheniko was posing a threat, that the High Order had begged for me to come back and watched over her, so that she wouldn’t do anything stupid. But sadly, much to my underestimation, I let her loose. She continued to work on witchcraft, drank blood out of children’s skin, and much more crimes that one cannot bear to hear. It’s my fault, but to say the least, the village is grateful for her death. It is a sacrifice to the gods.”

“You jerk!”

“I am not a jerk. I am merely an honest person. Do you believe me?”

“Of course I don’t. Why should I believe you if you had hurt the one that took care of you?”

“You’re still hung up about that? Fine with me.” Azukunika shrugged. “All that matters is that I have done the job, which adds more to my resume of wrongdoings.”

A crimson hue flowered upon Neha’s face. She chucked her tote bag to the doorsteps and pointed at Azukunika.

“Go back to prison. I hope that the dove will forgive you with all its heart.”

Neha could not tell whether prison was the right place for such a lady like her. For even if she was behind bars, it wouldn’t mean much if she did not confess to her wrongdoings about not just the crimes in the past, but about the infliction she granted towards her own parent. A closer look at Azukunika, and it seemed that she was not the type of person to give up her hubris. Neha felt uncertain in regards to how much this could go on. She wanted deep in her heart, a just resolution for the lady, but she was powerless to even make a mark.

Azukunika laughed, making Neha squirm. The lady swelled her chest and coughed continuously. A sardonic grin appeared from her, she redirected her attention to Sachen’s house.