Veronica wasn't ready to see this. Her heart wasn't prepared to behold such a scene.
In the middle of the lake, the naked man with slightly tanned skin stood up as water splashed everywhere. A few locks of his black hair were stuck to his face. Water dripped from his wet hair that almost covered his eyes. His sharp golden pupils shimmered dangerously. Droplets of water rolled down on his toned chest. In the morning light, the water drops sparkled like gems.
Holding her breath, Veronica stared at the man in front of her. Her eyes trailed down without thinking anything in particular. It was her first time seeing a man's naked body. The lower her eyes went, the faster her heart thumped. Toward the end, her gaze trailed past his abdomen and before she could control herself, her innocent eyes fell on THAT.
Veronica's emerald orbs almost popped out of her sockets at the sight. She couldn't breathe. She opened her mouth, sucked in a long breath of oxygen, and then screamed.
"Aaahh!"
Just like that, the peace of the beautiful morning shattered and it woke up all the birds and animals in the woods.
--------------------
Veronica couldn't remember how she came back after that unprecedented encounter. Forget about exploring the town, she couldn't even remember that her birthday passed by while she was busy praying in the temple.
She came back, changed her clothes, and went to the temple to pray. She needed to ask for forgiveness as she broke the rules and went out. She was disobedient and that's why she was punished. Goddess Juvena must be angry. Or else why would she have to see such a sinful scene? She would rather lose her eyes.
As she kept praying, the vision of that unknown naked man continued flashing in her head. And then, she recalled THAT.
'No! No! No! This can't be happening!!' she internally screamed. She couldn't understand how she could be shameless enough to think about it.
'I have to concentrate on atoning my sins. I shouldn't choose the devil's path.' After forcefully reconstructing her determination, she shut her eyes and clasped her hands close to her chest.
The moment she started reciting the mantra to cleanse her soul, she envisioned that stark naked man once again.
"Ahhh!!" she shouted.
Two young priests were walking outside the prayer room. Upon hearing a maiden's scream, they were startled.
When they realized that the scream came from the prayer room, they ran in that direction.
Bang!
With a loud noise, they opened the heavy doors and rushed in.
Seeing the very familiar maiden, they asked in anxiety, "Sister, are you all right?"
"Ah..." Only then did she realize that she actually shouted loud enough to let others hear her. She was embarrassed. It was awkward as they kept staring at her with worried and innocent faces.
"I-I'm fine. Don't worry," she tried to ease their worry. Their eyes felt like arrows, piercing her guilty, sinful heart. She couldn't bear to look at them. She tried to come up with excuses, "I tried to get up but I stood on my cloth that I nearly fell. That's why I shouted. I was scared. Sorry to bother you."
'And sorry for lying,' she apologized in her heart.
One of them inquired, "You are not hurt, are you?"
"Nope, I'm completely okay. If I fell, I would have cried." The more she lied, the more she mentally stabbed her heart.
"As long as sister is fine. We won't bother you anymore. Please pray," the other priest said in a gentle voice. Afterward, they turned around and left the prayer room. They didn't forget to close the door behind them.
As soon as they left, Veronica sighed in relief. 'That was a close call,' she told herself. She turned around and looked at the huge statue of Goddess Juvena. She knelt and asked for forgiveness. "Goddess Juvena, Mother of Kindness, please forgive this unfaithful child…"
The world is huge. In this huge world, there is a small country difficult to point out in the globe, named Utahill. Utahill is situated under the Alss. The Alss are the most extensive mountain range that lies in the north of Utahill. At the base of the mountain, there is a huge lake called Blue Moon. It is surrounded by deep woods.
There is a town close to the woods- Palmer. This town has been built in the largest area. There are three villages around the Palmer town.
Utahill is known as the Holy Kingdom or the Kingdom of Goddess Juvena. People all over the globe prayed to the kind, loving Goddess Juvena.
People come here to find peace. People come here to pray to their loving goddess.
In the town, Palmer, there is situated the largest temple in the world. It is ancient. Some people believe that it was built by Goddess Juvena herself so that her children could find their way to her, their home.
Many people related to the temple live there. Not everyone is allowed to enter or live in the temple. Only the luckiest are chosen to live there, to serve the goddess and her people. Veronica is one of those 'fortunate' people.
After repenting for hours, she went back to her room. Since she fasted over her sins and repented for her crime, she was feeling weak. She remembered that she hadn't touched a single piece of bread since last night. While rubbing her stomach, she sat down on the bed.
"Ah, I'm so hungry…" she spoke to herself in a low tone, "but there is nothing that can be done."
It was past lunchtime. No one would save food for her. Moreover, everyone here was disciplined. If someone anyhow skipped or missed lunch, they couldn't eat lunch later. They had to wait to have dinner directly.
If she wanted to eat, she had to wait until dinner time. Waiting for it to approach, she cleaned her room. Only then did she see the dress that she wore in the morning. It was lying in the corner of the room. She hurriedly threw it in the corner after she came back.
Seeing the unlucky dress, she remembered that she had to give it back to its original owner. 'I should wash it before dinner,' thinking that she took it in her hand and heard something falling.
Thud!
"Huh?"