Once I arrived, I quickly hopped off of Lady and entered the bakery. Thankfully, Grandpa Ben was there. “Grandpa Ben!” I called as I rushed over to him. People stared at me with judgmental eyes but I didn’t care. I needed to get to the bottom of everything. And my voice was loud enough for Grandpa Ben to turn his head to my direction. “Robert!” he smiled. He walked to me, wiping his hands with his apron. “I didn’t expect that you would be back so soon. It’s always a delight to see you,” he continued. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Grandpa Ben,” I returned a smile. “Your creations are something that are not of this world. It has left me wanting more.” “But I know that our food isn’t the main reason whenever you come and visit. Am I correct, son?” Grandpa Ben asked with a teasing look. I laughed nervously as I scratched my nape. It might have been too obvious, I supposed. Laura had always been the excuse for me to come here. After a sigh, I replied, “I can’t hide anything from
I was stunned. We remained silent for a moment as she continued to row. How was it possible that she used to live here? The stories said that this town burnt down ages ago. That would make her too old. “How is that even possible?” I asked. “They said this was abandoned even before I was born.” She chuckled. “People are still gullible when it comes to false information. Story-tellers will truly exaggerate the truth in order to make things even more dramatic. And in this case, that was done to make this place like it’s haunted,” she replied. “But you said you were from an orphanage. How were you able to confirm that this is your birth place?” I asked. “Once, I was tasked to scrub the library floor when I overhead some of the workers in the orphanage. They were talking about certain children in the home. Their conversation ranged from the eldest children and then, to the newest ones. I was one of them,” she explained. She continued, “They said that whoever brought me to the orphanage
We finished the entire sack and we were now left with the half-filled one. We talked and shared so much about each other. It was as if time stopped, giving us more room to be together. But our joyful conversations were cut short when a soft thunder came from the skies. We looked up and the clouds slowly blocked the sun. Another faint thunder grumbled from afar. The sky continued to grow grey in colour. ‘James must be in an unforgiving mood right now,’ I thought to myself. “It is best that we leave,” Laura tied the sack and put it back under her seat. “We don’t want to return home soaked with rain water,” she added as we prepared to leave. “As a prince of the kingdom who is responsible for rain, I understand what you said,” I teased as I sat firmly on my end of the boat. She then grabbed the oars and fiddled with them as she slid them to the oarlocks. “I hope we will be able to get out of here in time. We are quite deep in this swamp,” she said. “I can row for us. I can do it fast
“Goodness gracious, Robert! You scared the life out of me,” she remarked, a hand on her chest and the other held her blanket. Mother was out of bed. And not only that, she was also fixing her bed. The ledoras worked! “How are you feeling, Mother?” I asked as I rushed over to her. Gonzalo closed the door behind me. “Absolutely,” she smiled as she touched my face. “The medicinal herb that you gave me healed me,” she smiled as she folded the blanket. I asked another, “How was your rest? You immediately fell asleep after you took the herb.” “It was the best sleep that I’ve ever had ever since I got ill,” she smiled as she settled the blanket on the foot of the bed. “The Medicine King came in and told me everything about the ledoras. All in all, I feel so much better.” I sighed out of relief. “I couldn’t be happier that you were well now, Mother.” She was about to hug me when she stopped. “What happened to you? Why are you wet?” she asked as she touched my damp clothes. “Um, well…”
‘After what seemed to be an eternity underwater, strong arms finally pulled me out. ‘As soon as I was removed from the icy ocean water, I coughed vigorously as I tried to get as much air as I possibly could. My back ached as my breathing struggled. ‘Father called out as he helped me regain consciousness, “Robert! My dear boy, are you all right?” ‘I nodded as I continued coughing. ‘Father quickly carried me and rushed over to where my mother and sister were. “There is nothing to fear son, I am here.” ‘Mother cried as we approached them, “Robert!” Father crouched down to them as we sat together in a corner. “My son,” Mother pulled me into her arms. Her tears fell on my face as she cradled my little body. ‘Father looked at us all and said, “No matter what happens, we stay together. Do you understand?” Determination was evident in his voice, driven to make sure we survived this chaos. “I will do everything to make sure we return home safely.” ‘Mother gave him a kiss and we all share
Nana’s grip on her cutters tightened. She stood frozen for a brief moment as she stared down at the shrub of roses. For a while, she didn’t say anything. Not a single word. “Nana?” I called out to her. She blinked quickly as she got out of her trance-like state. I asked, “Have I said anything wrong?” Slowly, she faced me and replied, “Robert, perhaps it’s better if you don’t pay attention to those kinds of dreams. They can be just playing tricks on you. It will make you think that there is something being hidden from you. When in reality, there is nothing.” “But, Nana, these dreams are becoming more frequent,” I quickly held onto her hands. “Before, I was able to ignore them. However, these dreams have been a plague in my sleep. I don’t know what to do anymore. I need answers, please,” I begged, desperate. She sighed and put the cutters in her apron’s front pocket. “Son,” she cupped my face as she looked into my eyes, “I understand that you are filled with emotions right now. An
The ground was covered with grass, sparkling because of the dew. Different flowers blossomed on each side of the pebbled path. Majestic trees stood tall, the vines complemented its size. Birds flew freely in the air. Some sang from the trees. A fountain stood in the middle. Its waters slowly cascaded down to the bottom. Everything was simply breath-taking. “Well, what do you think?” Laura asked. “This is… beautiful. It truly is,” I answered as I was still taken aback by the beauty before me. “There are no proper words to describe everything that I am seeing.” “And that is just the beginning,” she said. Before I could even turn to look at her, she grabbed my hand and we followed the path. We entered a maze and she just kept moving forward without any hesitation. ~*~*~*~ When we got to the end, we were greeted by a thick curtain of vines. “Please, don’t tell me we’re going through there,” I remarked. Laura turned around, confused. “Is there something wrong? Are you afraid of vi
An hour later, we finally arrived at the bakery. We returned to the castle first to get Lady. It was for Laura’s comfort and mine as well. To be carried on someone’s back for a long time wasn’t comfortable to anyone. “Laura, we are here,” I whispered. “Laura?” My call was answered by a faint snore. I smiled to myself. She probably fell asleep on the journey back. “Robert!” Grandpa Ben greeted us as he came out. “Grandpa Ben,” I smiled. He immediately noticed Laura sleeping as he walked up to us. “What happened to her?” My heart quickened as he asked. I had to think of an excuse and fast! I said, “We had a little jog around town and she was exhausted. I didn’t notice that she fell asleep on our way home.” Grandpa Ben nodded as his lips formed a firm line. “She does have a bit of a faint heart. I will have Ronald bring her to her room,” he replied. The mere thought of Ronald carrying Laura back to her room didn’t sit right with me. He never treated her kindly whenever I was aroun