"What a cruel world....
Where I must either say goodbye to you, or, die from you..."
620 years ago....
Joseon dynasty....
During the reign of King Sejong the great....
1422 A.D
After King Taejong's retirement, in the dynastic kingdom of Joseon, in the year 1418, his third son, Sejong, also known as 'Sejong the great', had become the heir-apparent to the throne, for, his elder brother, Prince Yangnyeong, had been removed from the position of the heir-apparent in June, 1418.
As for Taejong's second son, Grand Prince Hyoryeong, became a monk upon the elevation of his younger brother, Sejong.
However, removal of Prince Yangnyeong had left many officials to disagree of this action.
Although, King Taejong had continued to influence the government policy, it soon came to an end, due to his unfortunate death in 1422...
As a result, the young prince Sejong, aged 21 years old, had owned the title of the fourth king, of Joseon dynasty.
....
Amidst all of this, was the birth of a child in the Shin household.
The elders had gathered up, on this special day, on hearing the news of the youthful expectant mother, finally giving birth to a young one, after bearing the child for seven months.
As it was a premature birth of the baby, there was a matter of concern among the elderly, as they had wished the best for the child and had wanted nothing to go wrong.
If given a sincere thought, it would be foolish enough to blame the mother for it, even though she wasn't in her best condition for the past few days.
The mixed feelings of the elders, and even her own husband, were interrupted, by the cry of the mother, which slowly led the loud cry of the baby.
The husband's lips formed a smile, followed by everybody else with various expressions.
Some with a full smile, some with exitement, some with inner joy, though not being seen externally, and some with an expression of shock and astonishment, just like the little brother, who had been pacing back and forth impatiently, waiting for the birth of his younger sibling.
Soon a lady, stepped out carrying the little one in her hand, wrapped in a beautifully designed blue cloth, gifted by the elders.
She formed a weak smile and said, "You've been blessed with a girl."
As soon as those words were uttered, another round of Joy and shock had taken place.
Many had their mouths dropped and many were quite happy with what they had heard.
The father had rushed towards the baby, but with a less exited expression than before.
On the other hand, the brother seemed like the happiest little boy on earth, as he jumped around here and there in Joy.
After a while of the family seeing their new member for the first time, the baby was handed over again to the same lady, as she walked inside the mother's room, and laid the baby next to partially conscious mother.
The mother slowly turned around and smiled, on seeing the just born, little angel.
Not only her, but everyone else, couldn't wait until the baby had opened her eyes.
"I bet they are as beautiful as yours" said the father, staring at the angelic face of the mother.
The mother looked down, not knowing what to say, and then turned towards the baby, hoping that she would soon open her eyes.
She waited and waited, lying down next to the little one, until, the child had suddenly burst into tears.
The child slowly opened its eyes, bringing her little arm near her left eye, trying to rub it.
The mother went closer to the child's face, wanting to look at her beautiful eyes, at the same time adoring her cute actions, but did not expect what she saw...
She covered her mouth in horror, and moved back, away from the baby...
Tears were forming in her eyes, as she was overthinking what she had seen.
She came closer to the baby, once again, to check whether she was seeing things, but that wasn't true.
"Different coloured Irises...?"
Her heart was still racing, as she thought that her child might have deformities. She turned around, hoping no one would be there, but to her surprise her husband had been standing near the entrance of the room, and had witnessed everything...
The mother was startled, on seeing him, as she knew him as no safe man, especially considering the fact that he ridiculed the mother, when she had found out that she was pregnant. Afterall, wearing a fake smile infront of the elders, didn't seem to be a difficult job for him, and the act of praising and loving her, was even easier, and now after what he has seen, she couldn't imagine what he would do to the child.
"You have given birth....to this?!" He angrily asked, causing the mother to tremble in fear, making her experience a high level of anxiety, as she started over-estimating the situation.
The family members, rushed towards their room, upon hearing the father's rage filled voice.
"What's all this nuisance, at this hour?!" Asked one of the elders, in a stern voice.
"Your daughter-in-law, who you love so much, has finally shown how much of a disgrace, she can be to our family!" The father retorted.
"What's the matter Bong-Ju?" Asked the grandmother of the child, who was also the mother of this selfish father.
"I'm sick and tired of this lady, mother! Look at this child, she has given birth to-
"Enough!" Shouted one of the elders.
He then walked up to the baby, without uttering a single word, and kneeled down to see what was wrong with the child.
He slowly went closer to her face, and as expected, his eyes widened, and he was in utter shock, just like the mother, after seeing her eyes.
The grandmother followed him, and saw the baby's eyes, just to have the same reaction as him.
"I've never seen something like this...before.." she said, still surprised.
"Its unique and....beautiful.." she said, slightly smiling at the little one.
The father on hearing such words from his own mother, rushed towards the child and picked her up.
He rushed out the door, which alerted the mother of what was gonna happen.
She ran out of the room, trying her best to catch up with him, even though her condition was feeble.
She pounced upon him and grabbed his leg, slowly trying to reach the baby in his hands, but miserably failed when the father pushed her off with force.
She did not give up and continued run behind, and finally caught hold of the baby, who was already in tears, because of the father aggressively holding her, as if she was an object.
"Let go of my child! You bastard!" She screamed, while tears were rolling down her eyes.
"Child?! You call this monster a child?! Don't you follow our customs?! Don't dare stop me from getting rid of this monster!" He angrily answered, with his eyes flaming with rage.
"Give me my daughter back! Please don't harm her!" She hysterically screamed, as he snatched the baby from her hands and disappeared into the darkness of the forest, leaving the mother on her knees, wailing...
Yes, it was too late indeed...
Too late to change his manipulated mind into a normal one again, for, he had chosen to fall for those 'beliefs' a long time ago.
Because of his selfishness, his foolishness and the superstitions which he believed in, it will now probably cost someone's life....
An infant's life....
He kept walking, deeper and deeper into the dense and caliginous forest, knowing how dangerous it was at this hour.
He moved through branches and shrubs, searching for a place where he could leave this baby.
His cruelity was something, that couldn't be defined in words, he was monstrous and hoped that the child would either die, be the feast of the fierce and wild animals in the forest, or get adopted by another family...
After hours of luring in the forest, he finally found a well, entangled with creepers and threw the baby, into the well, wishing he would never see her again...
The baby wailed, while falling into the well, and disappearing into it's dark hole.
"I hope....I never see you again..." He said, taking heavy breaths.
The father exhaled deeply, realising what he had done, but no one knew, whether he truly regretted it or not.
He held his chest and took a few long breaths of exhaustion from somewhat a mere trauma according to him.
He wiped his sweat and turned around, but now, was struggling to find his way, back to his house.
He couldn't see a thing clearly, as he was in far off and highly dense part of the forest.
His mind was puzzled and frustrated, as he was going around in loops, and ending up at the same place once again.
"I knew....this child carried a curse..." He muttered to himself, while turning towards the well, where he had dumped the baby, almost an hour ago.
He took a breath of relief, knowing that he might have killed that 'monster', as her cry was no more heard.
He picked up two stones, and a branch, to be able to make fire and then a wooden torch, that can ease the situation a little.
He continued his journey through the forest, fillied with chirps of crickets, and other animals.
He was cautious, as he had a feeling that someone was watching his every move, step by step.
He was starting to feel scared, and fastened his pace, almost running through the forest.
The faster he ran, the faster the 'thing' seemed to follow him, and within a matter of seconds, he realised it was not 'someone', but rather 'something' that was chasing him.
He started running as fast as he could and hid near a bush, assuming that it might had been a tiger.
He waited for a long while, expecting the tiger must had left. He slowly got up, and was about to leave, when, he found himself stuck to the thorny bush.
He tried to free himself, but the more he tried, the more the thorns deeply pierced through his skin, making it extremely hard for him to cope up with.
He winced in pain, and already had a bleeding leg, with thorns pierced through it
He fell on his knees, suddenly experiencing a laboured breathing.
He tried to get up, but ended up making things worse, by coughing badly.
He couldn't stop coughing, and slowly started cough up blood.
He was horrified, and was slowly dying, without him realising it.
¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤