Back To the Beginning
Before Dinner

The horse carriage continued to tremble accompanying my painful moments. It hurt so much, as if every second I was suffocating getting stronger and stronger.

Sometimes some time this horse carriage stops somewhere and after that there are some conversations out there. Honestly, I don't have the slightest interest in looking out there, I don't intend to know what's going on, because I don't care anymore.

Time passed, and I finally realized something.

I'm not alone here.

I forced my head to lift and allowed my eyes to observe around.

There's a lot of people here. A lot of kids my age, teenagers, and parents.

In the reddened sun, I saw many other helpless people around me crouching.

The air here just needs to be a little stuffy.

Some adults seem to be talking together about all sorts of unimportant and random things to entertain themselves. The topic of their conversation changed very quickly, so quickly as if they were talking to themselves. Are they crazy? no, they're crazy and I'll catch up.

While some children like me are sitting pensively not knowing what to do and some others are playing like nothing happened to their lives.

The horse carriage stopped and a moment later came the sound of the royal gate opening.

The condition that was originally illuminated by the warm sunlight, suddenly turned into a dim light. The clinking sounds of the soldier's armor began to enliven.

Never mind, I don't care anymore.

...****************...

The day goes on and changes. The heat of the sun, the cold of the night, and the unrelenting snow. I have felt it all over and over again.

Although I'm not alone here, but surely one day, we will be separated again.

We slaves are treated like machines without stopping, sometimes used as a medium of exchange for the peace of the country.

Wrapped in straw, I tried to stand, even though my heart wanted to die.

The days felt lonely, like our unfilled souls.

If the rebellion was given the death penalty, he would gladly accept it.

Please somebody, help us.

I don't know a few times I've moved around, but to me everything is the same.

The food they all had. Who wants to eat almost rotten bread and the texture is hard? Nothing and just us, that too.

While trying to chew and eat something in my hand, suddenly the door that was always closed at the end of this space opened. The sunlight that I had not seen for a long time slowly entered and illuminated some parts of this place.

Hundreds of people inside here turned their eyes to see a soldier coming inside and there were a few more guarding from outside.

The soldier who entered earlier looked down the street filled with hundreds of people with a rather disgusted attitude. He seems to be looking for something.

Slowly the soldier walked towards me, turning his head to the right and to the left.

Close to me, I looked carefully at the soldier. She looked the same as the last time I saw her in a more formal outfit than before. I may have remembered hundreds of faces of warriors from different regions, but I doubt they remembered this face of mine.

As expected, the knitter walked past me without looking at me any longer.

He was still walking in search of something he was looking for by watching everything carefully even though his face looked fed up.

"Finally it's sought."

The soldier walked towards one end of the room with an accelerated pace, as if he wanted to quickly finish his task and get out of here.

At the end of the room...

Which sought...

Somebody's...

The soldier stopped in front of someone and unceremoniously squatted down and took care of the handcuffs that tightly locked the two hands of that person.

He's it... A girl child. The girl seems to have only been here for about two seasons. His condition was worse than the other people here, he was limp and looked sick. I don't know what will happen to him next, but all the people that were specially brought by the soldiers. Either they were transferred or worse.

The thick and heavy iron handcuffs had already slipped from both hands. Without giving the girl a chance to speak, the soldier grabbed one of her hands and lifted her up, forcing her to stand up and pulling the girl towards the exit.

Afterward, the girl walked up and fell several times because the tempo of the soldier who pulled her was faster. What a poor girl.

The soldier continued to forcefully pull him away until he arrived at the doorstep with a few soldiers waiting for him out there. And the door began to close with a loud slamming sound in the end.

Huh, darkness again.

...****************...

The royal girl near Milin seems better than ever, although she still seems shy, but over time we may get along with her.

"Milin brought her here," said Grandma by patting the chair next to her.

"Okay Nek, come here" Milin asked.

Milin lightly pulled the boy's hand towards the two empty chairs beside the dining table.

Arriving in the two seats, Milin took a place on the left side while on the right side was given to the boy.

So our positions are Grandma at the other end, Milin, the kid, Noland and I.

Ugh I was confused at the initial moment of introduction like this...

"Hows it? Are you better?" asked Noland to open the conversation.

Still not daring to speak, the child simply nodded lightly while timidly.

Wow he's responding! Steady Noland!

"You and Milin seem to be friends" Noland continued.

"Maybe yes, but it looks like we haven't met before, so I'm Milin and this is Grandma!" milin said while wearing his Grandma beside him.

"Hello." Grandma said as she waved her hand and gave a sweet and warm smile.

"If I'm Noland, hopefully we can be familiar, yes" said Noland did not want to lose.

"I'm Arthur, Arthur Gunther." I introduced myself.

The boy listened and watched us one by one and tried to remember our names.

In this way everyone has introduced themselves, and so begins the initial conversation of our relationship.

"So, what's your name?" ask Milin.