Yla

Chapter 5: Lamentation and Moving Forward

The rain fell heavily that day as the villagers of Fadia carried their dead to their graves , Yla's parents were among them. She watched as they carried Adda and Nivek to their final resting place, sadness engulfed her as she took her one last look at her parents. Her mother ever so beautiful even in death, her pale cold skin left an impression of pain etched in her being, Yla touched her hand one last time bidding her farewell, she placed a rose in Adda's hand as delicately as she could, just as she used to do when she was younger, whenever she arrives home from a hunt, one last time she kissed her mother on the cheek and bad her goodbye. Yla moved on to her father, she looked at his pale peaceful face, the clothes she chose for him to wear were his favorite, he was a hunter after all, his animal fur coat draped down his muscular arms, his bow laid beside him in his coffin, his knife tucked within his belt, this man is her father, an honorable gentleman that never ceased to give her wondrous adventures, but she could no longer bare to look at him in his deathbed, for a heart-wrenching pain tore her apart, she gently placed an arrow on his chest, it was one of her own, it was sharp and had a mix of red and blue feathers for the tail, but soon as she placed it Yla buried herself in Cana's arms crying every tear she could cry. Every shovel of earth made her loss felt more real, every moment that passed pained her. Everyone who was there heard her cries, her wails of sadness and despair. Yla could no longer distinguish between her tears and rain, for they now fall as one. When the funeral was done, Yla fell one her knees crying without end, Cleon and Cana had to carry the poor child away from the graves for she would leave, it broke their hearts to do it but it was needed.

For the next few days Cana took care of Yla in her parents' home, but the child had locked herself away inside their room and the only sound to be heard was her endless cries and sobs. She would not answer to anyone, she didn't eat, she didn't drink, she didn't talk. She was left in her solitude. This turn of events began to worry Cana and those who were too close to her, for eight days Yla had kept to herself. 

On the ninth day when Mionette, one of Yla's friends went to visit her she heard nothing in the house, an eerie, disconcerting silence welcomed her, she heard no cries, no sobs, just silence. She looked around the house to see if Yla had gone outside but there was no trace of her leaving, she up to the second floor and found the door of Adda and Nivek's  room locked, she called out to Yla but no answer came, Mionette calmed herself, but she rushed back down the stairs and out of the house to check if the window was open and she may see Yla. But she soon found out that the window was shut, she called out to her again, trying to control the panic in her voice, but there was no answer, she was already on the verge of tears when Cleon the blacksmith passed by. 

He was going to check on Yla as well when he saw the troubled Mionette calling out to her from the outside of the house. When he asked her what was wrong she broke into tears and panic as she told him that Yla wasn’t responding. 

“Call Cana now!” he told her and ran into the house and up to the second floor. He banged on the door calling her but she didn't answer. Again he called her but silence, the villagers have noticed the commotion in the house and congregated outside. Mionette arrived with Cana in tow, she was catching her breath as the villagers made way for the old woman. She rushed to the second floor as fast as her feet could take and when she got there Cleon has already broke down the door. They were clean off their hinges and fell on the floor with a boom. Inside the dark room, was an unconscious child clutching her mother’s necklace on her hand. Cana took her into her arms, she was malnourished and pale, her eyes had dark circles and she was barely breathing. Cana immediately began healing her but she was so weak that her life was slipping away, not wasting any moment Cana used the magic directly from the earth, and chanting a spell to heal Yla. 

A minute passed, nothing, two minutes, three...Cana was beginning to become exhausted, Ylas wasn’t responding to the healing, five minutes, Cana felt it, like a match, something inside Yla sparked, the magic of the earth was being absorbed, swelling within the child and slowly, Yla opened her eyes.

Yla saw a blinding light over her chest, it was warm and fuzzy, the blurry images slowly came into view as the light died down, she didn't recognize them at first, but when she heard their voices she knew who they were, it was Cana and Cleon. Yla reached for her and felt her cold hands held hers, and silent tears came running down Yla’s face.

Yla was confined in bed following days, Cana took the responsibility to taking care of Yla, as they were all worried about her well-being. She was weak and malnourished, she barely spoke to anyone not even Cana, her friends visited her everyday but Yla didn't pay attention to them, she just gazed out of the window towards the graveyard, towards her parents. In her silent lamentation her mind returns to an image that seemed to have etched itself in her mind, every night since the day Cana had healed her, Yla had a recurring dream. It was a dream of a woman that spoke to her, she had flaming red hair and she had an effervescence like moonlight. She smiled at her a lot, she touched her chest and spoke words she couldn’t understand. She made her feel that she can trust her, she made her feel secure and safe, that nothing bad will ever happen as long as they are together. Yle felt a certain familiarity towards her, she made her feel that she was not alone. But then a bright light came and with it was reality, she opened her  eyes she was again alone.

Yla felt pity on herself, gone were the days that she could be carefree, gone were the days that she had a happy family, and gone were her family. She is now alone. She couldn't forget her mother’s laugh, her smile, the way she would always check on her before she went to bed, her songs, her stories, her hugs, HER. She was gone. Yla couldn’t accept that she was gone. 

Her father was gone too, he was the strongest man Yla had known, despite him being away almost half every season coming home with a slew of stories of his escapades all over the country, but they were close, because he made an effort to be close, he taught her how to hunt, to protect herself, and that kindness is always an option in all things. BUt he was gone too... she is an orphan now.

In the first time in the week that Yla had stayed with her Cana heard some noise coming from the child’s room, she was crying, it was the first time she had any reaction. Cana entered the room and took her into her arms, the child bawled and cried, until she fell asleep, only then did Cana left her side. 

The following morning Cana walked into the room with Yla already awake, she was once again staring blankly at the window, she had only taken water and milk since she was under her care, it worried her, this child has lost her will to live. “Yla”, she said as she sat on the bed, the girl merely gave her a passing glance and looked back to the window again, “I understand that the pain is more than you can bear, and nobody in this world could possibly know what you are feeling right now.”

Yla looked at her, her face tear stained and she looked tired already, “Many years ago, I lost someone I cherished too, and let me tell you if I could stop it from happening I would, but I can’t and life goes on.” Cana held the girl’s hand, “it was the most painful thing I had experienced in my life child, even until today I feel it. Because we never really forget, we only move on, because we can’t stay stagnant forever.”

“Our tears will only water the earth with sadness, but is that what they want? We can only guess, but we can only hope that what they want for us is not despair, we can hope that maybe they want us to live a life they never got the chance to see.”  Somehow after that talk Cana saw a little life returned in Yla’s eyes.

As the days progressed Yla began to recuperate, she started eating and sleeping properly and after three weeks with Cana she was already able to return to her family’s home. Scared she asked the old woman to accompany her, this will be her first time returning after her near-death experience. The whole place was a mess when got in, everything was covered with dust, what would her mother say if she saw the state of her abode, some of the windows were broken and the roof must had a leak, remnants of the battle that occurred, Yla fought back her tears and condensed them in a deep sigh. Over to their living room the ornaments were shattered all over and the some stones from the fireplace fell, but above it, as if by magic, hung the portrait of her family, it was a painting commissioned by his father, it was done the most vibrant colors and the happiest smiles that she will never forget, she touched the painting unconsciously, reminded what she lost in that battle. She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder - it was Cana.

“You must feel lost right now”, she said, Yla held back her hand and faced her new guardian, she pursed her lips and sighed, “I want you to know you are very precious to them, they wouldn’t want you to linger on their deaths. They never wanted to see you in tears dear, they would love to see your smiling face and back to your old self.” Cana encouraged Yla, but subconsciously Yla knew she will be never be the same again, the murderer had made sure of that. 

“Cana, I everything is lost, it was taken away from me, I am alone”, Yle responded almost to a whisper.

Cana understood that she was in pain, and despite losing someone herself in the past she will never fully comprehend how this child feels right now. It was too heavy for a child. She is lost, she feels alone, the only thing they can do for her is to stay with her and keep her company until she can finally move on. 

Cana didn't fail to notice that Adda’s necklace around Yla’s neck, she must have given it to here before the attack in the village to keep both the child and the artifact safe. Yla never really knew that around her neck was one of the most powerful object in the whole of Clest - The Light of Fadia. Cana knew that that magical source can change the magic of it's protector but with Yla it felt different, it was never like this in past all she knew was that, but everything felt dead.

Even in her sadness Cana felt Yla’s magic growing, maybe it was because of the Light or maybe it was just because she is a growing child but she can never be certain as it gives of a familiar and foreign feeling... something like... No - Cana rejected the idea that was impossible.

“Yla, you are not alone, your family may have passed, but their love will never leave you. You are loved child, and as long as you keep that in your mind and your heart you are never alone. Plus you have the village, we are your family too. You are my family”, Cana explain as she hugged the helpless child. 

“Now if you feel sad, just look at that necklace around your neck, that has been passed down from your family for many generations”, Cana pointed at the crystal on Yla’s chest, she raised it up to her eye, the crystal looked different from when her mother has given it to her, it didn’t shined or sparkled like it used to, but it drew her into it, a familiar feeling she cannot explain. 

“It’s not as shiny as before”, she said looking at Cana with worry that she might have ruined her mother’s gift.

Cana smiled at her, “It doesn’t matter”, she said trying to calm the child, “it will always protect you, and in the future it may be get it's shine back.”

“Mama and Papa told me that too... I will keep it with me... always.” she responded putting the crystal inside her clothing. 

That day Cana allowed Yla to stay in her family home, aiming to help her get used to the place, she made a promise not to do anything that will cause her harm, the child swore to the old woman and began clearing out the house with anything that she can move, trying to get all the dust out of her mother’s living room and kitchen. When she went to the underground storage to find herself some food Yla found that almost everything in storage was left untouched by the attack and on one of the jars of blueberry preserves was a letter addressed to her. To: Yla.  it read, it was her mother’s handwriting. Slowly she took the letter her hands shaking, she unfolded that letter and read:

To our dearest Yla,

We are sorry if we cannot be with you in this journey, we are heartbroken to have left you alone in this world. We know that you will be facing more challenges and adventures in the future and there will be days that you will feel alone and sad, but remember we are always with you, in your heart and your mind. We are always with you. In times that you feel like you want to give up, remember, we love you. We will always love you.

Mama and Papa

Yla felt tears roll down her cheeks, but with that letter she felt a sense of closure. We will always love you, those words made her realize that despite being alone she was loved, her parents died protecting what they love, life must continue for their sake. Her life should move forward, she thought, and she should protect those she love and precious to her as her parents did for her, and maybe somehow it will fill the gap in her heart.

Slowly Yla began to recuperate, she stayed in Cana’s home most days and some on their own home, she learned how to manage what was left from their small farm. Every morning she would visit her parent’s grave, tell them how her previous day had went and everyday she vowed on their graves that when she finds the man responsible for their deaths she will get her revenge. 

Weeks turned in to months and during this time Yla strengthened her resolve, she wanted to be an effective wielder to be able to protect herself in the future, to able to heal wounds faster. Cana and Sivelle, the village healer, taught her magic, which she diligently followed. After 6 months living with Cana, Yla asked her if she can live back in her parent’s home, many villagers worried about her, especially with the fiasco that had happened the last time she was left alone. To calm the concerns of the villagers they have decided to take turns looking after Yla and see to her wellbeing, Sivelle and Cleon took the most time looking after her with Cana. Yla’s friends also stayed with her most days just to keep her company.

With the help of Cleon, Yla started fixing the house, she earned a little money by selling eggs and birds to the merchant, so she can purchase the things she needed to get the house back in order. She took care of her father’s chickens and helped with the village orchard, she hunted to get food on her table, she preserved meats and berries as well, at a young age she wanted to be able to not be a burden to others.

Her training with Cana had taught Yla about the magic of the earth, the magical sources and the nymphs, slowly she learned how to channel the earth’s magic through her body and wield it to her desires, as she learned more about it she felt that it’s magic was heavy and it felt dead, but she doesn’t understand why nor can she explain the feeling. 

One morning as she was cleaning the storage she found her father’s armaments, she knew that her Papa had a wide array of weapons but she didn't expect that he had this many, her father had taught her about the bows, daggers, and knives as they were necessary when hunting but he never taught her how to handle a sword, he said that she was still too young at that time. Wanting to keep her father’s weapons in the best condition she took one of the swords to the blacksmith Cleon. It was heavy and for a girl of ten it lugging a heavy sword was a challenge, when she got to Cleon the man laughed at her, he was tall and muscular, he handled her father’s sword with care and promised to bring it back to her when it was cleaned and sharpened. 

“Cleon, can you teach me how to use them?” she asked him before she returned home, the man looked a bit uneasy. This was a ten-year-old child asking to learn how to use a sword, he can only imagine what she will use it for in the future. Then he remembered how Nivek taught the girl how to use the bow and knives and maybe if the hunter was still alive he would have undoubtedly teach his daughter the sword as well. Thinking that he was just continuing the legacy of her father he reluctantly agreed to her request. 

Life has slowly gone back to the way it was before the attack and everything settled the way it used to be, they woke up each day, they worked, they ate, they slept, and went through the cycle of village life. Yet when all the chores are done and she laid down on her bed Yla still felt sadness, it didn't matter how great the day went, when she laid in bed staring at the ceiling the sad truth confronted her, in the end of the day she was still alone. It took time before she was able to laugh and smile, and every night she hoped that one day she would wake up without a heavy feeling in her chest and that the pain of her loss will be healed.