The lake was still asleep, but its eeriness was abrupted by her waking movement.
She was laid on it. Half of her body was drowning from the freezing water while the other half was slightly submerged on the shallow rim. It seemed that she had water for a cloth for her night gown was embracing her body tight, and it was failingly hiding the scar from last night.
There was a scarlet colored stain on her ivory white cloth, it was directly on the flesh of the side of her stomach and it spread faintly downwards to her thigh. She was bleeding for hours, and it seemed that the life within her was fading as her skin completely turned the shade of the lake and her breathing became the opposite of stable. But fortunately, she was still alive.
The moment the sun casted a summer glow on the area, she became aware of her dying life. She wanted to live, to stand, and to call for help, even though it was apparent that there was none who could hear her, but her body was starting to fade and it was making her movement weaker. She was clawing the wet ground above her, yet in her hands it was stiff.
She knew it was her end. But no one could really accept dead, especially if it was unjust. I don’t deserve it, she thought to herself.
All of her glorious life started flashing on her eyes, her sisters, her wins, her love, and it made her smile amidst the pain. Can you hear me? She asked the almightiness, but she received no answer. I am here, your loyal daughter. Listen to me, hear my pleas, she was screaming inside, and it kept stabbing her wound, but it did not matter to her.
No prayer can save me now. And bit by bit she became an empty shell on the side of the lake. Blank eyes. Unmoving chest. Bloodless flesh. And then her prayer came.
It was by far the coldest day of the month, but it did not meant that I could spend all day drowning on pillows and savoring a cup of old tea. I preferred that though, but I had to finish my long list of chores and it would take me quarter of the day to have all done. And besides, avocation was strictly forbidden in the convent. I slightly learned the hard way when I chose slumber over my task of feeding old Rufus and his pals. As punishment, the sisters made me sleep with
It was summer, the sun casted a wide blanket of warmth over the compound of Saint Agatha’s convent. All the stained-glass windows were open, all curtains tied, allowing the summer breeze inside our home, and posing as a frame for this picturesque view of little girls playing around the field of fresh greens and yellows. Most of the time, Mother Renata stood upfront capturing this moment, but a little accident interrupted her artisanship. &nbs
“Knights of Saint Christopher, we, the sisters of Saint Agatha, welcome you all.” The hall reverberated with Mother Renata’s voice. We were all summoned to welcome these so-called knights, even Granny, the old crook the convent adopted, was imperatively told to attend. I was at the back corner of the row, but I could still see them.
For years, Hana was the only person in the convent I called friend and considered my family, but not until the three girls. The first one was Agnes. When she arrived at the convent with her mother, she was actually ecstatic. She was from a family of nine and they could barely fill their mouths, so her parents decided that someone needed to go, and she merrily volunteered. She was willowy with long legs and her fingernails were fu
The prayer hall was a different realm from the perspicuous convent. Instead of rustic oaks and bronze detailing, the inside of the hall was filled with abounding sandalwoods and golds. But the absolute treasure within the interior was the renaissance fresco that stretched from the nave up to the high altar. The ceiling was brimming with images of little angels and doves, across a dawning sky. All of them seemed alive, and as if had an affair of their own. Some angels were playing, there were some that appeared to be dancing, and funnily, a few were soundly sleeping.
It had been a week and a half since the knights of Saint Christopher arrived. True to their words, they did help us, some of them tended the crops and the livestock, while the others cut fire woods and fixed crippled chattels in the convent. But there was still whispering in the halls for the sisters were yet unsure about their sincere intent. However, I knew that sooner, someone would mindlessly feed their sheer pretense. But not me. I had been swimming on my own cluttered thought, so after my chores, I decided to clear my head.
I made it on time for dinner. As I walked back my quarter earlier, everyone assumed that I was one of the knights, so no one dared ask where I had been or where I was going. I felt like a ghost treading through halls. I was there, but no one could really see me, or they just chose not to. The mess hall was packed. The split log tables that were usually spacious for its length,
I was wrong. Sister Rene was not boiling, she was scorching. The morning next day, A pint of freezing water woke me up of my sleep slumber. I did not need to open my eyes to know who was the culprit for I expected her retribution. She was standing over me with the same overly ironed habit that was a slur on her blanched skin and a bit oversized for her wildly slender body. It was unbecoming for her. As she stared down on me, the p
I was unmoving. Three months had passed but the convent remained to be an abyss of nothingness. Not because Hana and Gabriel were nowhere here, but because I realized that, time is still in the convent. Everything outside was constantly growing and changing, while inside, nothing was happening. We were only praying, singing, and doing chores repeatedly as time passed by. Then we would wither, and that was the end of it. I already knew this before, but I only fully realized now because of the changes that the knights of Saint Christopher endowed. I am not saying I enjoyed the challenges, the problems, and the pain, but I grew as a person because of it. I was unmoving. And I wanted the world to see me move. I raised my hand, and interrupted Siter Rene or Mother Rene as she continued with the homily which she already discussed thrice now. I n
Days had passed, and Gabriel was still resting in the infirmary. He was enjoying the comfort and the attention. He will wake up the moment he had gotten tired of it. I was telling myself that to feel ease, and to assure myself that he would wake up. But it was starting to work less. I was alone with him, and his father was letting me which I found odd given his nature. But he kept surprising me, for there were times that he would visit Gabriel. He would stand behind the door and watched him from there. They did not have the best relationship, I assumed. I turned the pages of the book in my hand, and started reading it, “Long ago, the land of Hemsworth was cursed by the witch they had burned at the stake. Her words withered the crops and killed the livestock, making everyone famished.” “The people started stealing from the table of their nei
She was her title to me. A mother. The sisters raised us all, but I called her mother when I was two. And I only stopped calling her that when I found out the definition of convent in the encyclopedia, why there were lots of sisters and no fathers in our home, and why we were praying words we could not understand instead of playing. But still, even it was only her title and even I halted calling her mama, she never stopped being one to me. She would sing me a song on my bed because the night was too long for a child. She would reprimand me with a stick on her hand but she never actually hit me. She would explain the whys I could not get from books. And she would carry me from the ground because I got tired from playing to much. She became the figure I longed for as a child and she painted my childhood with affection. And because of that, I was able to know what was love like. I was able t
“How could she be the same sister if the photo was taken decades ago?” I asked Gabriel. “I don’t know, but you are looking at its result.” His was starting to be breathy. “Do you think it is really possible that this is Mother Renata?” I asked again. But Gabriel did not respond as he was bearing the pain. He was paler than before, and when I looked at his arm, the wimple around it was not drenched from his blood. “We have to go.” I announced, hiding the photograph on my cloth pocket. And then I carried his weight again. He was grunting the whole time we were climbing the stairs. When we reached the opened door, I peeked out, seeing that the chapter house was still silent and empty. I sat him on a chair, so I could slide back the wall. And when I turned back around, Mother Renata was calmly gazing at
The blood was fresh. And it was on the tip of her lips on her calmed face, but as I kept my sight on her, there was something I could not fathom. She seemed someone that she was not, like the convent. At first glance, it looked like a place where you could seek warmth during the cold of the night, but as you entered it, there was no warmth, only emptiness. I was afraid, but I was curious to see her, so I stayed hidden and I kept watching as she gone on. I realized that she was not her, but she wore the face of Mother Renata. Then the door closed, and silence befell the room again. You have to inform her about the knights, I reminded myself. The table helped me stood, and I waited for her to come back but the door did not open. I walked to it instead, so I could open it on my own. However, the room on the back of the wall was calling me. I could not resist it.&nb
The convent was still. All was exactly how it was before, the deserted grounds after sundown, the gate that never closed, and the calming eeriness. But as I entered the opening of the compound, I immediately caught the slanted cross on the corner where they gave Philip damnation, reminding me of the enemy. The knights were nowhere in the area. I was right that they summoned everyone to storm at us. I heeded myself to hurry, for I have to find my sisters. But when I jumped off the horse, my leg got caught on the saddle. I hasten to untangle myself on the strap of the seat until I fell on the ground. I was hurting that I stayed on the ground, feeling the earth on my body, and feeling nothing on my leg. And then I heard the father again, hurting me more, “You don’t know how to distinguish an enemy.” “You have been
“I did not invite them.” Michael said. The knights continued to penetrate the wall using their sharpened swords and axes, and the sound of the breaking had scared the nightingales that they flew away from their tree. One by one the knights started emerging from the outside until all of them were lined up in front of the crumble partition. And then the upper knights started joining them, and the last one who arrived was their sovereign. It seemed that all of them was here, I even saw Felix standing in the middle of their crowd. He was eyeing me as I looked at him, and he sneakily signed sorry to me. What was it for? Is it because he tell them our hidden location? Or because he failed to caution us? “What are we going to do?” Hana asked, and when I turned to her, Agnes, Fatma, Abigail, and Edith, wer
I woke up knowing that I would finally give Hana to Michael. The pain I was feeling now was similar to when you accidentally hit your finger toe against the edge of a pew, or a table, or your bed, or any other furniture that was on your way. It only hurt the first moments, but as seconds pass, it became a little bearable until you could not feel it. It became more than bearable when the girls understood her immediately. They were happy about the marriage, even it meant that Michael would be taking Hana away too. I had to do the same. I had to understand and be happy. The door creaked as Agnes entered my room, “The knights went out to search the grounds again.” She announced to us. And it meant that we had to go now. “Get yourselves ready.” I demanded. And then the girls started hurrying to g
Hana “Run away with me.” Michael said to Hana. She was laughing as she watched Mathilda chased Gabriel around, but the moment she heard Michael, everything around her faded away. She turned to him, and she was greeted by Michael’s grinning face. He spoke again for she did not answer. “I know I am asking a lot. Leaving meant that you could not see your sisters again, and the knights will not stop unless they found me.” “Marry me in front of your sisters, and flee with me, so we could live together.” Michael added. His words reverberated, and it stunned Hana. She did not want to leave the people she loved, but she loved Michael too. And it hurt her that she could not have both. Staying meant she would lose Michael, and leaving meant she would lose her sisters. She could not choose now, so she said t