THE DESPISED SOUL

NEW LIFE

After the war had ended, Lisa and Mark decided to start a new life since they had lost everything.

Lisa was only a twelve-year-old girl who knew nothing much about life, but Mark was a grown man, he was in his forties. Lisa could only assist with the cleaning and practice some of the cooking skills she couldn’t finish learning from her mother.

Mark does the heavy duties. He cultivates crops and builds a small dwelling with bamboo and palm fronds, hunts little animals in the woods, sells some of them in the nearest hamlet’s market, and buys some food commodities for them to be able to survive.

Lisa and Mark were good to each other, they played the role of father and daughter as they tried their best to get rid of their grieves.

“Lisa,” Mark called out Lisa as he was returning from the woods with two rabbits in his hand.

Lisa was still cleaning the dishes when he returned, she rushed out of the bamboo house to welcome him.

“Mark,” Lisa stopped at the entrance smiling at Mark holding the rabbits in his hands, Mark widened his arms in a request for a hug. Lisa happily ran towards him and embraced him.

Mark carried her on his shoulders as they laughed and played in their little abode.

“Lisa, you’re cooking nice now, I’m happy to see you growing into someone like your mother, pretty and hardworking,” Mark complimented Lisa’s good work.

Lisa nodded her head like she was not surprised to hear that from him, he had always complimented her on everything she did.

They were still smiling at each other when they heard the footsteps of marching soldiers,

“Get down!” Mark quickly cautioned Lisa. They bent their back to the level of the table to hide from the sight of whoever was coming.

The Footsteps approached them loudly, it was obvious that they were after them. Mark quickly hid Lisa in the inner room in case what he thought was true, they would only kill him and Lisa would be safe.

“Shiiiiiiii…” Mark tried to caution Lisa from making any sound. “ Stay in here and don’t make a sound,” he warned her.

Finally, the footsteps stopped at the entrance of their veluvana ( bamboo house ). Mark was tensed but he drew himself together so they wouldn’t suspect anything, however, he had prepared for the worst.

“knock!! Knock!! Knock!!” the captain of the team knocks at the door. “Is anyone in there?” he questioned.

Mark stepped toward the entrance being half brave and half timid, “yeah, someone is in… here,” he answered several seconds after the captain questioned him.

He stepped out to meet them outside at his entrance, “Yeah… I mean yes, I… I… I’m the one that stays here, em.. the only one, yes,” Mark wasn’t stable, his legs were dangling in different directions.

The captain moved closer to him, trying to scare him more.

“Hmmmm, so you live here alone in the woods? Where are your people?” the captain asked him.

“They’ve left,” Mark replied, forming a sort of pain on his face.

“They’ve left? To where?” the captain questioned him.

“Em…” Mark was still trying to explain himself with some lies but the captain cut in, “ Anyways that’s not why we are here,” the captain said as he moved closer to Mark who was also moving backwards.

“Have you seen anyone like this around?” he brought out a sketch of Lisa’s image, Mark was shocked, “so these people are still after Lisa,” he thought to himself, he looked closer into the sketch as if it was a strange face,

“No, I haven’t? I have not seen anyone around here,” Mark replied with a grin.

“We’d like to check your house,” one of the soldiers said as he moved towards the captain and Mark at the entrance.

“ what? How can you ju….” Mark was still complaining when the soldier cleared him off the path. “I’ve told you there is nothing, there is no one in here and I’m the only one that lives here,” Mark was justifying unjustly, moving up and down to know what exactly the soldiers have seen in his house.

After the long and thorough search, one of the soldiers noticed the room where Lisa was hiding, he tried to open it but it was locked, “hey, come over and open this door,” he called Mark over, “I said open it, “ he shouted at Mark.

At that point Mark already thought it was over, “There is no one there, I told you earlier,” he said while moving reluctantly toward the door. He unlocked the door slowly, hoping to do something to get him out of that situation. But he was too slow, immediately the soldier heard the last unlock slam, hand e kicked the door open, Mark stood dumbstruck expecting to find Lisa exposed, to his surprise there was no one in the room, Lisa had already blended with the atmosphere become invisible.

“I told you, there’s no in here, you wouldn’t just believe me,” he tried to act angry, whereas, he was so glad they couldn’t find her.

The captain commands his team to vacate Mark’s abode, but he tells Mark that the king is ready to give two hundred pounds of gold in exchange for the little girl, Mark replied, “I’ll let you know if find her,” but he didn’t think about it.

Mark waited patiently for the soldiers to go out of sight, he banged the door and gave it a thorough lock, he ran into the room where Lisa was hiding, and he was surprised to find Lisa standing before the door, “are they gone?” Lisa questioned Mark.

“Yeah… they are gone,” he drew her closer, “can you explain how you did that? You just became invisible!” Mark exclaimed.

“I didn’t know, I just wished I could be invisible when the soldier was trying to break in, and I was invisible,” Lisa explained, “my mother told me that, ‘nothing is impossible,’ she said once I can imagine it them I can do it,” she added.

Mark drew her closer and wrapped her in his warm embrace, “thank you, I thought I would lose you,” Mark spoke emotionally, Lisa also embraced him and placed her head between his chest.

After a period of silence, Mark broke it, “This place is no longer safe for us, we need to move out here,” he said. Lisa nodded still feeling like a baby between Mark’s chest.