I slept throughout my journey from the station to the village of Hestia. Though sleep usually only felt like an endless abyss of torment for me, my tiredness still got to me. As a result, I missed a significant lot about the environment in Hestia. I woke up as soon as the car came to a halt in front of a house, pretty old-fashioned and huge, with at least what seemed to be half the population of the village, waiting to greet us.
"Wow, didn't know we were THAT important" Anya said and impatiently got out of the car with her mouth wide open. Dad got out of the car almost at the same time as Anya and paid the driver. Mom got out next and helped Anya with the luggage. I was still sitting in the car. Although the sleep made me feel relaxed, I really was not ready to mingle with so many people at once.
"Madam?" The driver called out.
"Oh, yes, sorry." I said, gathering up all the strength left in me to meet the people waiting for us. I tried my best to look on the bright side. 'At least they're waiting for us and are happy to see us here… hopefully.' I thought to myself, as I got out of the car. My over-enthusiastic dad was already catching up with the people present, with Anya following his lead. Mom stayed behind for me. I tiredly walked up to her.
"Are these… people from the family?" I asked her. I could notice a lot of people staring at me in awe, making me feel quite uncomfortable. I just looked away.
"No, not all of them." Mom said.
"You see, Hestia is a small village. But the people residing here have class. Your father belonged to the house of a high-ranking priest, for whom most people knew the family well. And well, back in those days, the family used to help a lot of people financially. Therefore the popularity." Mom kept walking forward as she spoke, making me walk right next to her.
"People in Hestia, no matter how classy, know how to stick together. It's a small village after all. They fight for the same causes, gather around for celebrations, and help each other in hard times. And since your father decided to pay a visit almost after three decades, the people decided to come and greet us. Come on!" She signaled me to follow along. Mom's words made it feel like a story. Almost like a fairytale. I smiled a little. On the inside, the hospitality of these people really warmed my soul. It was as if I came home after centuries of being away.
As we approached, a few women came up to us, led by an old lady who resembled my Nonna. I gently smiled at them, while they admired me without a word. I looked at my mom to make sure, and she just smiled reassuringly.
"Oi, move ya, lasses! Let me have a look!" The old lady quite literally shooed away the other ladies and came up to me with a calm smile on her face.
"Ordru-urgon…" She muttered under her breath, looking at my mom. There was a smug smile on her face while my mom… looked at her in a weird, hateful manner. Something that I rarely saw in her. I, on the other hand, kept staring blankly at the lady. Not because of her smile or attitude, but because of what she said.
'That… that sounded so… familiar.' I thought to myself and spoke up.
"What?"
"Oh, my bad. I said, finally. Finally, you get to come here, my Lady." She said, affectionately touching my chin. I almost forced a smile, not wanting to be rude to the lady. But my mind was hooked on what she said earlier.
'Does she know the language? Can she… translate the words for me? Do I even remember the words? Those sounded like a bunch of jumbled words to me… are those really legitimate words?' I kept thinking, while my mom intervened.
"Yes, Misaii. She is here now. And we shall stay here for a few days. So… why don't you focus on making sure we have a nice stay, instead of sticking to my daughter like a leech?" My mom said with almost an overconfident smile plastered on her face.
"Mom!" I mouthed to her, but she didn't pay any heed to it. Surprisingly, neither did Misaii.
"Come in, My Lady. Food is ready." Misaii addressed me as she held my elbow, without breaking eye contact with my mom. The tension building up really made me want to leave, but at the same time, it made me curious. I simply followed everyone in.
The house was colossal on the inside. Intricate designs adorned every wall and pillar. I almost got lost in its beauty and touched the designs. Anya soon joined me.
"Splendour… at its finest. And you said you didn't like Hestia."
I remained silent for a bit.
"For a first-time visit, don't you think you like this place a little too much?" I asked Anya, smirking at her.
"Why, people fall in love at first sight! And when it's a place like this, AND it's ancestral, don't you think it's NORMAL to fall in love with it? Plus… the people are so sweet!!" She said in an almost Barbie-like tone that I absolutely cringed at. Then, I smirked at her.
"Yeah, completely. I do agree. This place has just so much to give us, no? Especially that brown-haired guy that you were speaking to, a while ago and blushing to death, hm?" I said, nudging Anya on the shoulder.
"I- wh- no, you- you're getting it wrong! I-I swear i-it was just- a random local guy! I-I don't even know him!" She looked away.
"Yeah yeah! Sure, I believe you." I said with a sly smile on my face, which clearly made Anya annoyed. She cursed at me and ran away while I laughed. Silly Anya. It's so easy for teens to fall in love. But it's hard to keep that love safe in a glass bottle. Absent-mindedly, I checked my phone.
"Still no notifications." I sighed. Soon enough, I felt annoyed.
"Why wouldn't he text me when he KNOWS I'm going out? Now my safety doesn't matter? I don't matter?" I mumbled, furrowing my brows.
"My La-"
"WHAT IS IT?" I snapped at the person who called out for me, not even looking at them. I then turned around to see a girl, almost my age. Slender, but with a beautiful face. Clearly, she didn't expect my exasperation as such. All she did was try to call me. I felt guilty for my lack of awareness.
"Oh, I-I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to shout at you that way. I-I was just thinking about something and got carried away. I-I'm so sorry!" I said, taking a few steps toward her to calm her down. Though she looked calm anyway, I just couldn't get over the guilt of shouting at a complete stranger for no reason.
"M-My Lady! Please don't apologize! I-I'm sorry, I should've given you some space. I-I just wanted to… meet you." Her last words were mixed with admiration and shyness. I looked at her compassionately.
"Oh, that's so nice of you! Thank you. I'm Moon." I said.
"That is such a beautiful name, My Lady. I'm-"
"Mm-mm." I interrupted. "Not 'My Lady'. I'm no Lady! And… I feel really uncomfortable with these titles, so…" I smiled at her while she simply stared at me as if I said something forbidden.
"What?" I asked.
"N-Nothing… I mean… What do I… call you by, if… if not that?"
"Why? My name Moon isn't that bad, is it?"
"Oh, no! Not at all! Your name is very beautiful… b-but you are-"
"No buts. Tell me, would you feel comfortable if I suddenly start calling you 'Good-Looking Maiden' or like- 'Shy Lady?"
The girl shyly looked away and shook her head.
"Exactly. So, Moon, it is."
"Alright." She smiled, still not looking at me. "I'm Astra. Misaii's granddaughter."
"Ohh!" That's why they had a striking resemblance.
"Nice to meet you, Astra."
She smiled in response. The next few moments were spent in awkward silence.
"So, did you… want to say something?" I asked Astra. She nodded.
"Misaii told me to give you a tour of the house. She said you might feel out of place here. So she told me to give you company."
"Oh, that's so thoughtful of her!" I smiled wide. Hestia gave me a weird treatment so far. Mysteries, madness, and then sweet people like Astra. I was really confused. But overall, I felt a little less stressed with all these people around. And before long, Anya joined us to hype the crowd.
"What? Are you guys planning to have a tour without ME?" And she started with her usual nagging. Astra and I just kept laughing.
The tour, however, was delayed, since we had quite a lot to unpack. In the meantime, we had breakfast. To be honest, that was exactly the thing I was looking for after the eventful start to the day. My mom had to constantly remind me of my table etiquette because of how hungry I was. After breakfast, we took a break to meet the members of the family.
My dad is almost 57. Which, in theory, you would think, possibly leaves little to no chance of having the past two generations being alive at the same time. But Hestia didn't fail to surprise me.
"Pa, Grandpa, Moon, and Anya." Dad introduced us. Though I saw grandpa when I was little, I barely remembered his face growing up. Seeing great-grandpa was almost a surprise for me, as it was for Anya. Grandma and great-grandma were also present, looking at us contentedly. Misaii stood next to great-grandma. I bowed to show my respect and nudged Anya. She followed me.
"It's… It's a pleasure to finally see you, Moon, Anya." Great-grandpa said.
"Though I wish I got to see them grow up, Hassan." Grandpa addressed dad. Grandma got up and walked up to us.
"Did you get here safely? And did you eat properly?" She asked. We both nodded in response.
The conversation moved smoothly with almost the whole family speaking of their history, heritage and reminiscing past memories. Surprisingly, I felt so calm here. It was strange to think of it that way. The place that greeted me with sinister voices just when I arrived, made me feel so comfortable and loved, as if I've lived here for years, this was my place. I know the people, I know the family, I know every nook and cranny of this household. I felt peaceful. No other thoughts bothered me, and I was grateful for it.
When we got up, it was almost evening. The sun was setting and there was a purplish pale glow outside. I went back to my room and walked straight to the verandah. The cold breeze made stray strands of my hair float lazily. I breathed in the fresh air. But before I could peacefully live my moment, I was pulled into the chaos created by Anya.
"What do you mean there are CLANS? ARE YOU SERIOUS? LIKE- LIKE VAMPIRES? AND, AND WEREWOLVES?" Anya's voice echoed within the four walls of my room.
"Anya!!! Keep it down!" I snapped at her. But she was too excited to keep it down.
"Oh to Hell with your Keep it down! Astra just said there are probably Vampire and Werewolf clans here!!! Can you believe it?"
Astra sheepishly walked into the room, following Anya, and gave me an apologetic smile.
"Anya… these are myths. You know it, and I know it. They are not real. And don't you think you should keep your weird fantasies in your storybooks? I mean, you surely wouldn't want a vampire to bite you and turn you into one, in real life, do you?"
"Tch. What the hell, Moon. You really are a party-pooper." I glared at her while she continued.
"Dude what's your problem with me living my fantasies? Astra is cooler than you! She at least knows what these creatures are!"
"Well…" I finally spoke when she stopped.
"Astra is definitely cool. I agree with that." I smiled at her.
"And as for you, honey." I crossed my arms against my chest and looked up at Anya.
"Maybe you WILL find your fantasies here, after all, who knows?"
I winked. Anya knew exactly what I was talking about.
"O-oh yeah? And… and what about Caleb? Why don't you guys explore your non-fantastical fantasies, huh?"
Although I could understand Anya was joking, the mere mention of Caleb made me sad. Soon, the sadness turned into anger.
"Anya, get out."
"Wh- I-"
"I said GET OUT." I glared at her as she stormed out of the room, while Astra followed her quickly. I locked the door and leaned against it. I sighed, almost wanting to cry. I took out my phone again, hoping for at least one text, but no. Feeling a surge of disappointment in my whole body, I threw the phone on the bed and walked outside.
It was already evening. The full moon was shining overhead. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down. However, I couldn't really control the storm raging inside my heart, and just like that- I found myself sobbing. Sobbing for a guy who, for two whole years, made me feel like I was the luckiest being on the planet. A guy who made me realize how beautiful love felt like. But what happened? Why did it change so fast? I covered my mouth and sobbed up until I couldn't cry anymore. I was happy there wasn't anyone to bother me, at least. But crying still gave me no answers.
I shivered a bit due to the chilly wind. I was done crying for the night.
"Where's my phone…?" I thought to myself, as I remembered where I threw it. As I turned to walk inside, I heard something. I immediately turned around, but there was nothing.
"Probably just the winds…" I tried to console myself. Hestia was already weird for me, so I was expecting some sort of sorcery or magic, but there was nothing. Only a foreboding feeling, a feeling of being watched. I tried hard to look into the dense growth towards the West of the garden. I tried fishing for silhouettes, or figures even. I took a step forward… and another. My gut told me something was lurking in the dark. My whole being told me to run away, but as if drawn by some mystical force, I walked forward, until someone pulled me back. I gasped and turned around.
"My Lady? What are you doing here?" Misaii spoke. I was still panting, trying to pull myself together.
"What's… What's in the west? I-I think… I heard something."
As if trying to stop me from thinking about it, Misaii tried to dismiss my thoughts.
"It's probably nothing, My Lady. Animals usually lurk around at night. So it's better to stay in, you know?"
I listened to her, but my attention was on the garden.
"Come in, dear. It's almost dinner time." Misaii said, taking me inside with her. With tons of questions swirling in my head, I walked into the dining room. The overall mood in the room felt okay-ish. I sat down next to Anya, who was still visibly disturbed by my attitude. Though I didn't want to bring it up at the dinner table, I still wanted to apologize. But right at the moment, my phone rang. Instantly, my heart raced. I looked at the phone. My face lit up immediately.
"I-I'm so sorry, I-I really have to take this call," I said and got up, without even waiting to hear what my parents said. I ran through the hallway like a teenage girl who just got proposed to prom. But the happiness was nothing less than that. Smiling and giggling like a child, I ran straight out to the garden.
"Caleb!" My voice almost cracked. My heart felt like it was exploding with the amount of feelings I was feeling at the moment.
"Hey…" He said. Indifferent as usual. But I still tried my best to continue the conversation.
"H-How are you?! I missed you so much! I-I was… I was really hoping you'd call me but-"
"Yeah, I'm so sorry. It absolutely slipped my mind, babe."
"Slipped my mind"
My smile was slowly fading away. I knew the possible outcome of this love story, but I was unable to come to terms with it.
"It's… it's okay. I understand."
"Thanks."
Silence.
"I-I'll call you later… Caleb." I said, this time, my voice actually breaking as I was about to sob again.
"Yeah, cool."
Three beeps. He cut the call. I fell to the ground and tried to suppress the feeling of being stabbed multiple times by an ax, that I felt in my heart. I sighed and stood up, wiping away a stray tear from my eye. Maybe Anya was right, after all? Maybe this is the end…?
The thought of the end made me break down even more. I felt weak, powerless, and unworthy. I looked up at the moon.
"Do you cry too when you're hurt?" I sniffled. But instead of an answer, there it was again. Sounds of a rustle. I turned around on instinct.
"H-Hello? Is… is anybody there?"
I was subconsciously walking forward, not knowing what was waiting for me. And then, it revealed itself.
The whole dinner table got dispersed with my shriek. Everyone ran outside, only to find me unconscious, and slightly bruised by the attack…