Down System

Chapter 10

My whole body trembled as the old woman mentioned the ground. I didn't move from my place and did not even breathe for some time. I thought she would be going down, but a voice calling her that was definitely from my mother probably had made her stop.

I peeked over the door to see if Namika was still there; fortunately, she was gone, so I had taken the opportunity to get out. Running through the bathroom, my vision had caught the old woman coming again, so I even made it faster before she could catch me.

When I was already inside the washroom, the old woman's voice rang again in my ears, calling out for my name. Securing the entrance, I turned on the shower and removed my clothes.

"Aleera, are you there in the water closet?" Namika asked.

"Uh-huh. Are you calling out for me?" I asked, pretending to be oblivious. "Sorry, I can't hear you clearly in here. What can I do for you?"

"I thought you weren't here 'cos I didn't hear the shower a while ago," she said. "But anyway, I just wanted to say my goodbye to you. Would you like me to prepare a sandwich for you again?"

"Oh, yeah, I'd be glad if you do!"

"Great! Now, I'll take my leave. Enjoy the cold water there."

"I will!"

As the old woman's footsteps reached my aural, I released a deep breath; her presence had disturbed me with convulsive fidgets. What if she knew about my secret place? That would bring me big trouble.

On the way to school, I was a c**k-a-hoop at Namika for not mentioning what had happened the night, particularly the ground she aforesaid. I didn't mind asking her about it anyway; my secrecy might have ended with that.

Having friends for the second day of school was grace sent from above. Apprenticeship was not as cumbersome as I had expected; it was becoming manageable particularly when you had the people who empathized with you in everything.

A sparkle of glee played in the corner of my eyes as I was getting food at the cafeteria's counter. I fancy being with other people whereas I didn't actually have the instance feeding my social life.

Ragwarths Academy's cafeteria was capacious for its thousands of students. The effort exerted in building the place could be seen enough with the elegant chandeliers, abstracts hanged on the white wall, and the wooden seats and furniture that didn't seem costly made but substantial. The comfort it was giving to the people was of paramount importance— warm atmosphere, service, and treatment.

I was about to go to my friends' table when I caught Ferno sitting alone in the left corner. So, I headed to him, carrying my bright smile.

"Can I have a seat?" I asked that made him turn his glance at me.

Ferno nodded, emotionless.

"Don't you have someone with you? What year are you by the way, if you don't mind?"

"You should be meeting your friends than talking to me," Ferno answered. "I don't fancy being with others. I'm fine all alone."

I pouted. "Well, I think that's enough for me to realize I'm just bothering you. I'm going now, I'm sorry."

Causing people inconvenience was not my thing, so to not make any trouble, I just left Ferno; however, the casual manner of his dismissal rankled.

The grimace in my face also bothered my friends. They had asked me what was wrong the moment I took a seat with them. The matter had nothing to do with them anyway, so I did not bother telling.

The school was not also as simple as I thought; if there were exultant people, there were miserable too. Ragwarths was a small world of diversity— disparity of personality, appearance, and circumstances among the populace.

Hades was no different.

Vendors in the side street were expressing whimsy despite the difficulty in selling, but when we arrived in the church, even a single beam could not be seen in the faces of devotees.

A week in school had just passed, so I was taking time to unwind with my parents. It was a neutral experience for me, but I knew I deserved to wander around for just some time.

The chapel was surrounded by effigies of different kinds of animals— lion, bear, panther, and eagle. I didn't know the meaning behind this— why people worshipped such living creatures— but decisively, they had a reason for this.

King Ferno's administration had also prohibited women from entering churches, and that was why I didn't know a single religious practice. I prayed to the One who sought everything, but not to the ones who were empty-headed.

I knelt as people knelt, prayed as they prayed, and acted what they acted. With due respect to the world's culture and the religion's belief, I followed. Nevertheless, I was keeking, studying everyone's eyes.

Faith of the believers could be seen just in the way they sang hymns for their lords, even Mommy Morrigan and Daddy Perseus were much solicitous of praising. Eventually, everyone started dancing in different ways; some were benign, but some were spirited.

Wrinkles creased my brow as I watched the people performed the custom. I had the urge of covering my ears with my hands when a cacophony of deafening cries of people aroused in the entire place. Anywise, I had just withstood hearing the shouts since I would appear impudent for this.

My mind was still obstructed by the event when people started creating warm plaudits. I steered my sight at my back wherein the entrance was located because everyone's vision was already there. The pucker in my eyebrows got even worse when a group of men came in, carrying a figure of a dragon with them.

"A louder applause to the god of Hades, please," a voice announced which made the devotees clapped and whooped even louder.

My whole trunk was thrilled as I witnessed the men placed the dragon in front and bowed to it, claiming it was their god; the people didn't adore a lifeless creature, and I shouldn't be mistaken for this.

The dragon was alive.