Diary entry of Veronica
28th January 2018
I have never ever imagined that I will feel this way. But things beyond our imagination happen. And we find a different side of ourselves. – A new facet of our character. Beautiful – ugly – no matter but different and new.
It needs a lot of courage. But I feel I am lacking it. I feel ashamed of being a coward. That I could not tell you that I love you, Matthew.
I do not know how you feel about me. You like me or not I do not know. I want to have you in my life. But the sad part is that I can not have you in my life. If I choose you, I have to leave my mission. I can not do that.
You do not know something greater is at stake – something greater than my life. That is my honor. I value my honor very much. You will not understand. I am not talking about the honor your world girls talk about. That is nothing for us. Yes, you can understand when you compare us – our world women, with your world men. How your world honest men say they value their honor more than their lives. This way you will better understand.
Our world – your world, do not I sound like an alien? Yes and no. Yes, I am an alien to your culture – a men dominant culture. No, because we inhabit the same earth, even the same country.
Our area name is Chain. Hasn't Papa asked you do you know Chain tongue? In old times our world men were chained on necks and put like animals. – They are still treated as animals, and women rule there. It is a strict matriarchy.
I have come here on a mission. To find a boy. Finding him is my aim. – Just a few days before my birth, the boy was born from our Chief's the then Right-hand's womb. It is a rule of our world to sacrifice or kill the first boy of a house. But the Right-hand with her husband and child – the boy escaped somewhere. My mother – the Chief, hates me because for she was pregnant with me and she was undone and her then Right-hand escaped her. With the help of Papa she brought three burnt dead bodies: one tall woman's, one man's and a little kid's. Our people thought these burnt dead bodies were of the escapee family.
But my Papa knows the truth; he suspects that Andrew Long has helped them escape and he knows the whereabouts of them. That is why I am searching Andrew Long.
You would be wondering why Papa wants to disprove his wife, Tara (my mother and our village chief). Papa, Sebastian and Ronald were her first batch of husbands. They suffered physically and mentally by her. She tortured them. That was why Papa and others were angry upon her. But as the first batch of husbands, they got freedom to go outside and see the world. They saw outside their world husbands enjoy vast freedom. That was why Papa got the zeal of disproving his wife, Tara. Papa wants to dethrone her by disproving her celestial power. He wants to bring the boy and his biological parents before the villagers. So the villagers will understand that Tara has no celestial power and her claim that because of her anger the boy and his family were burnt by a thunder clap will be proven false.
I was angry upon the boy and his original parents. Because of them my mother, Tara, hated me. After my exile I said to Papa, "If the boy were alive I would have killed him."
Papa said, "The boy is alive. And you can fulfill your wish."
"How do you know he is alive?"
"I am the man your mother asked to arrange three dead bodies. – Do you understand what can we do if we get the boy? We can dethrone your mother. We can disprove her publicly. People will see and know that Tara is a human being. Not a pagan goddess. Her cliam that because of her anger the escapee trio were thunderstruck – killed by natural power at her command will be disproved. You can take your revenge upon your mother."
"Revenge?" she asked.
"We have to find the boy," Papa said.
"How?"
"I think at the time Tara and Rewa (the then Right hand)were pregnant, Andrew Long – a scholar of matriarchy had come to our village. perhaps Rewa's husband Ekus took help from Andrew to escape Tara, for I observed Ekus was too much mixing up with Andrew. – So we find Andrew, we find Rewa, Ekus and the boy. We get the boy we dethrone Tara…"