The noon-time sun had come to pass, and Milan just arrived at the front of Sheppard Residence. He couldn’t keep an eye on his mother’s funeral because of his body ache, but Owen seemed to have taken the time to watch over it for him. When he reached the house that afternoon, he was surprised to find a lot of people sitting around and chattering in somber tones.
As if Boris made sure no one would cause trouble here, Andrew was also there to watch the funeral with Owen. He spotted Milan, and his eyes somewhat glittered. He then cleared his throat and smiled at the man. “Hey, you’re here now. How are you feeling?”
“Shocked. Why are there a lot of people here?” Milan whispered as he regarded everyone in the family room. Most of them were even the elderly as if they were the mothers and fathers when Roma Sheppard was still a child. He saw some children, but they were playing instead.
“Uhm, I heard them talking about how your mom owned a small kitchenette that breathed life into the island before.” Andrew was also unsure. He placed his hands on his hips as he looked around as well. “They were also saying how sweet of a young woman she was.”
Milan’s insides churned. He then gazed at the people more, masking his disgust. “Really? Why can’t I recall that? Are they sure they’re remembering the correct person?”
Just when Milan spat those words, he turned and found an older woman coming to them. She held onto a small box, and she had a rather understanding smile on her face. “I… I don’t think I can blame you, Milan. Thirty years ago, your mother and your father changed all of a sudden. The woman you had as a mother… That’s not Roma.”
Of course, Milan only smiled. He somewhat remembered how Stephanie said the same thing. It’s just that… thirty years ago, that woman grew crazy when she was carrying Florence. Were they telling him how his sister was to blame for their mother’s insanity?
“Uhm, here.” The older woman handed a box to Milan. “I cooked with your mom in her kitchenette. She gave that place to me before she gave birth to Florence. These are some… memories to go by. They belonged to her. Let me know if you… think of throwing them away instead.”
“Sorry, ma’am. Knowing the woman we killed doesn’t make it better for us.” Milan didn’t think twice about rejecting the gift. “Just keep those things for yourself. They belonged to a different woman, and she was even someone we didn’t know.”
The older woman only looked at the cold eyes of the son. She kept the box and only apologized to Milan for bringing it up.
When she left, Milan even noticed how everyone else was now looking in his direction. Milan didn’t offer them a smile this time, but he didn’t stop them, either. It was just the way it was. The Roma Sheppard thirty years ago was not the woman Milan knew as his mother.
Whatever changed her was not Milan’s problem.
…
On another side of the village, the city mayor was in a meeting with the village priestess, his council, and Mr. Clifford. Even if they lived in a village, he liked referring to himself as the city mayor, just so he wouldn’t sound so primitive. After all, progress touched their little village. They even had Internet.
He cleared his throat and stared at Mr. Clifford with a tinge of uncertainty in his eyes. He then regarded the other members of his council and soon the priestess who was looking outside the window instead.
“I know this is going to be a tough call, but my daughter is gambling with her life.” Martin frowned at the people around him who were decades older. “Ever since you decided on her becoming a bride of this deity, she had always been trying to get rid of herself. It has become so detrimental to her. Not only was she now injured, but she is also battling the worse flu she’s ever got.”
“Mr. Clifford, we don’t decide on who becomes a bride and who does not.”
Martin made an angry face only a few of them were familiar with, one they also feared. “The priestess who made the invocation is already dead. Can’t the new priestess do another invocation to nominate someone else? My daughter cannot handle this anymore.”
The councilmen looked around, the city mayor not knowing what to do as well. He could only ball his fist. “Mr. Clifford, we have done that before. The call of Lasair will not change regardless of whichever priestess did the invocation. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Martin cocked up a brow. “This deity had been killing off livestock and humans every week we delayed the wedding, and the market is beginning to feel the pressure of losing those animals. If it was just me, I can take my family out to eat on a helicopter. What about your villagers? Can they not depend on what your market can offer?”
“Mr. Clifford…”
“Esperanza will not be fed to a doll-head monster who only knew how to kill its people.” Martin turned his nose up and faced the priestess at the side. “Find your god another bride.”
The priestess felt the weight of their gazes on her back. She then turned to face them and walked toward the meeting table and stood next to her vacant seat. “All right, the Clifford family refused to honor the tradition as a local. We will not be liable for the misfortune the great Lasair shall bestow upon your family as long as you clutch onto his land.”
Her words shocked the people around her, but she only eyed the city mayor. “Mayor, there’s a will left by my predecessor. It speaks of a bride’s origins, the true bride for this generation, spoken before the great Lasair decided to welcome the Clifford family through a union of matrimony.”
“The bride that should have been nominated before Esperanza was chosen? We have her name?”
Instead of giving a name, the priestess stared at Martin. He frowned deeper at her before she lifted her gaze to the man standing steps beside Martin. At this look, Corbin trembled visibly.
He was just there to assist Boris. Why did it feel like he was being asked to die?
“We don’t have the name of the bride, Mayor. We only have the name of the mother who would carry the bride.” The priestess didn’t lift her gaze from Corbin’s face.
“Roma Sheppard.”