Ch. 9
I was awakened by sunlight coming through a very interesting round glass window in the ceiling. I have a feeling that the head of the bed was purposefully placed so that the light would shine on the sleeper’s face at an exact time. I would say it was about eleven o’clock.
The room was very nice. Two beds (the other vacant) each with one sheet, one blanket, and one pillow. There was no door, but a curtain that led to the main hallway. There were eight rooms in all, and I was put in the first one, closest to the attendant who sat in a chair near the entrance. The best part of the whole thing was that it was free. I guess that’s why it was a public bed house. I could just imagine how messed up one would get at home.
The first thing I did once outside was look for some place to eat, I hadn’t had anything in hours and my stomach was protesting fiercely. I didn’t have any money, but I found out quickly that I didn’t need any. Hurdeen did have a small mint, but the money was hard to come by, and practically useless once found. So they were more into bartering. Within an hour I had traded two of my bronze contraptions for a loaf of bread (much softer than the ones Angeela had packed) and a large wooden mug of juice, which tasted strikingly like orange. It was a very good breakfast apart from picking splinters out of my juice, and I was soon ready to continue on.
The town square was right in the center of town, and I found the right way out rather fast, all the houses were one story so I could see the walls of the town no matter where I was. I just went toward the one that looked like it headed east. I didn’t even stop to think that maybe the sun rose in a different direction there. Shortly before coming to the gate I saw a man passing out papers. He wore loose fitting pants and a shirt to match, similar to what everybody was wearing. He gave me one of the papers, and of course I couldn’t read it, but I overheard what others were saying about it nearby.
“So it’s this afternoon?” A particularly skinny woman was saying to her friend who was just the opposite.
“Oh yes, Maradi, she is getting married this afternoon, everyone is invited.”
A wedding! Well that was just fantastic for whoever it was. And what’s more I had never been to a wedding, so why not? I might as well go, and I did. I couldn’t remember what day it was compared to when I had gotten to Hurdeen, but I am sure I had enough time to watch a wedding. And besides, I was starting to think that the invasion wasn’t going to happen at all, nobody there seemed at all worried, there’s no way that giant council would have withheld information like that. Who knows, maybe the Terror Bringers were always saying they were going to invade, it could just be a false alarm. Besides I wasn’t all that eager to go back out into endless fields just yet.
I told the man I would come, and then took a look around the town. It was of average size, and every turn had something to make me feel as if I had been transported back four hundred years on Earth. Everyone was dressed like peasants from a medieval reenactment. All the homes were small, wooden, and had thatched roofs. The town smelled of sewage and I even saw a few people dumping their garbage in the streets, but aside from that I think that there must have been sanitation workers somewhere. There was no older trash anywhere. It was a chilly day, yet nobody was wearing coats, and nobody seemed too put out. By this time most of the people were gone, working in fields not far from the gates.
While wandering through an alley I met a girl about my age. She noted the difference in my dress and how different it was from everyone else’s, so she followed me around asking questions about who I was and where I was from. Not wanting to give too much away I said I was from Yim and that I was looking for my father, who was on business somewhere in Thurmine. She was greatly interested in this, especially the “having business” part. Evidently not many people in Thurm ever went anywhere else for work. I had questions of my own, and when she was finally satisfied with who I was, I started asking her about things, and unlike Poiye this girl, named Janey, actually answered me.
“So have you lived in Thurm your whole life?”
“Oh yes, I’ve never been anywhere else.”
“That sounds like about the most boring existence.” I said under my breath.
“Not at all, there is plenty to do.”
I hadn’t intended for her to hear me, but since she had I might as well apologize. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to insult you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.”
“Can you tell me about how things are run here?” I really didn’t care much, but I knew my dad would so I asked so I could tell him when I got back.
“Well,” she said, thinking, “we have our local leader, and he takes orders from the Hurdeen Council and that’s pretty much all I know.”
“What’s life like here?” I took out some paper and the lead to take down her answers.
“Most people work in the field, that’s where my parents are now, and then there’s everyone else who works in shops or taking care of the town. I clean homes, but I’m off today ‘cause I did two yesterday. We get paid in food and supplies every so often. Supplies usually are household items like brooms, or we can exchange them for more food. That’s what usually happens because we don’t really need a broom every week.”
“Right.”
“And then on weekends we don’t have to work. For people like me it’s great, but my parents use that time to fix up our home, which is always having something wrong with it.”
“Alright, so—”
“But on Monday nights we come together in the square and something special usually happens. Tonight it’s a marriage. That’s much better than last Monday. It was a funeral then.”
“How terrible.”
“No, he was one hundred and six, the oldest person ever in Thurm. We were so proud, but he complained all the time, ‘would I just die already’ he kept saying.”
“He must have been in pain, did you know—”
“I didn’t really know him, but my mother did.”
It was apparent that this girl didn’t have many people to talk to.
“Do you have any sort of religion?”
“What do you live underground?”
I mused at the irony, “Actually yes, the entire capital city is underground.”
“Really?” I didn’t think it was possible for her to get more excited, but I was very wrong. “What’s it like? Do you ever come up for air? Are you afraid of cave-ins like in the mines? Do you eat worms?”
“Whoa, Janey, chill out.” I spent the next few minutes explaining everything I knew about the capital, I had to make up a few things, but I doubted she would ever go to the capital so I didn’t feel too bad about that. We were now traveling along the outer walls of the city; the workers could be seen in the distance when we passed gates. I tried several times to get back into religion, but she inadvertently avoided the topic each time. After a while of trying a breakthrough was found, though it wasn’t exactly a subtle advance. “So, back to religion, what do you believe in?”
She seemed reluctant to talk about it, “There are two groups,” she started quietly, “the first is what I believe, and what most believe, and that is the Tale of The Family. The other—”
“Wait, what is the Tale of The Family?”
“You really don’t know anything do you?”
“Just please tell me.”
She sighed, and then started, “A long time ago there were two leading families in the civilization before our own. It was a better civilization where everything was fair. Nobody was ever hungry. These two families, the Hurdeens and the Voratiots, ruled everything. The Hurdeens head of state, Voratiots head of people and their issues. This worked out for years, but with everything there is problems long term. New descendants took over and they thought things unfair. The Hurdeens now wanted to be head of people and state, and the Voratiots wanted things to stay the same. Eventually things get violent. The Hurdeens turned to the gods, but when world livers fight so do gods,
and there was no one up there to help. So it continued indefinitely. And then only two remained. one Hurdeen, one Voratiot. Only two gods remained, and being sick of all the fighting they separated the two people and told them to make their own societies, separately. And that’s why things are like they are today.
“And of the gods?”
“They are still up there, making sure things are alright.”
“They would never allow an invasion would they?”
“Of course not, that’s why we have nothing to worry about. The god of the Terror Bringers will remind them of their Voratiot roots and they will stop.”
Her optimism was a little frightening, but I could tell that from the lack of fear around, everyone was of the same mind. “Aren’t you the least bit worried?”
She shook her head fervently. “Even if they did come, do you think they could get through this wall?”
I shrugged, having no idea as to how strong the wall was, or to what the Terror Bringers would use if they wanted to get through it. “Now what was that second belief?”
“Oh, that, yes well that is a new thing, only believed in by a few people. I’ve never really met one personally, but I don’t think I’d really like to.”
“Go on.”
“It’s just weird what they believe in, and again it’s a really new thing.”
“Which is?”
“They believe that if they make this one man a leader, for what I don’t know, then he will take them to a different world. One that is supposedly better than this one.”
I couldn’t help but think that whoever thought that up was also misinformed by Dimitrius, but it got me thinking that somebody from Yim must have started it. As far as I knew the people who believed this believed in all those stories Dimitrius told. “Do you know what that belief is called?”
“Dimitrian.”
That settled it; the founder must have known Dimitrius and believed everything he said. “So they want to go to Earth?”
“Yes, that’s what it’s called. Are you one?”
“Oh no, definitely not.”
“Good, those people are weird. They are going to be real disappointed when they find out that there’s no such place.”
“Definitely.” I was starting to get nervous that she might start figuring out what was different about me. To be honest I don’t think that Janey was all that observant but I made sure to tread carefully from then on. “This place, Earth or whatever, what do you know about it?”
“That it’s not real.” She sounded as if I’d asked her to jump an old lady.
“What do they believe it’s like?”
“Why do you care?”
“Just humor me.”
“All I know is that they think its better. The only reason I even know about it is because there’s always some nut who comes in and starts preaching to everybody, there will probably be someone at the wedding later.”
After all the talk of religion I forgot about the wedding. “How are weddings here?”
“They can’t be too different than where you’re from.”
“Probably not, but I wasn’t sure if you had any local customs.”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
It was nice to make a friend; at least I wouldn’t be alone at the wedding. Janey and I spent the afternoon together. She took me out to the fields where a friend of hers gave us a few seeds to trade with. They got us each a wooden bowl of meaty soup. I kept telling myself it was chicken because I couldn’t imagine eating too much else.
She showed me everything she thought worth looking at, and I asked polite questions here and there to show I was interested. My mind wandered, and I was really thinking about architecture and town management, realizing that everything was so similar to Earth. Not just in Thurm, but everywhere in Hurdeen. Perhaps brains work similarly throughout the universe; it was a very strange, yet believable concept. But how could two planets so far apart come up with the same ideas, similar house structure, clothing style, food choices, and so much more. I knew of civilizations on Earth that were nothing like one another. Overall it was just strange looking at all the similarities.
They were setting up for the wedding when we got back to the town square. A stage had been erected on one end and a blue carpet had been stretched the length of the square. People were all around hanging decorations or carrying food into a small wooden shed. We joined a group of onlookers and watched for a while as the sun began to set. I tried once again to get details on what was going to happen, but Janey insisted that I wait and find out. I had never been good at waiting, but I figured this would be a good time to start, seeing as how I was going to have to travel for a while farther to get to Dimitrius.
People started arriving including Janey’s parents. Her father, Impran, was a tall bearded man with gray hair poking through all over his head. He was very serious and I don’t think he really liked my outfit, but he saw past that for the wedding. Her mother, Ranella, was a short woman with a very kind face, but just as serious as her husband. They both wore the town’s brown pants and shirt, and to my amazement nobody dressed up. I attributed it to lack of funds but also tradition may say something about it, so I asked.
“Many wonder,” Impran said, “but it is a little known fact that the first wedding in modern times, a peace wedding between a Hurdeen and a Voratiot, was done with of a sudden. And nobody was prepared or dressed appropriately. I believe we are the only town to still follow that example.” He had a very soft voice, and I enjoyed listening to it.
“Who got married in that wedding?”
“No one knows, it didn’t last and was more of a failed offering of peace. The fighting would continue for a while longer.”
Impran worked in the fields as a leader, a person who would make sure everybody was doing their jobs. He worked up from the bottom to get to where he was and was very smart. He also taught the history of Hurdeen to the children of Thurm and I knew he would be able to answer my questions should I have any after the wedding.
The wedding started right at sundown. Gas lamps were ignited all around the square, giving the place a look of something from the turn of the twentieth century. Janey and her parents went around greeting neighbors and friends. I followed close behind. Occasionally people would ask who I was and they would say I was a friend from Yim. This created quite a buzz, and gave them a healthy boost socially. It didn’t take long before questions started, most of which were eagerly answered by Janey.
“They live underground, and they don’t eat worms!”
This got old rather fast. I would stand around while she told everyone about me, and for some reason that just about annoyed the daylights out of me. I know it shouldn’t have but it did. She was actually doing me a huge favor by doing all the talking, and I should have liked it. I guess it had something to do with all the people around me, something I was never good at dealing with. I ducked out into an alley and wondered about in the darkness. I came to the eastern gate and seriously considered getting back on track, but I had waited so long for the wedding. I looked out into the night and thought about how easy it would be to just walk away, and for the first time in my life I realized that I could just walk away from people expecting things from me. I took a few steps, the gate guard watching me the whole time. He didn’t stop me, I don’t think he really cared, but it would have been nice if he did. But then it hit me. Nothing would change if I walked away. Just because I was able to get away from questions did not mean that I could walk away from my problems. I was still in Hurdeen, though truthfully I forgot for a minute. In the end I went back to face the crowds. Janey hadn’t even noticed I was gone.
The groom arrived and we all got quiet. He was the only one (apart from me) who was dressed differently. He wore a white baggy shirt and pants. He stood near the shed, facing away from it, toward the crowd. I was so confused and was about to break down and ask what was hap
pening when the shed door burst open and a woman in a white dress came out. By the cheer of the crowd I assumed it was the bride. She stood right behind the groom, while he tried not to look back. Everyone was laughing, even the groom. Then all of a sudden everyone yelled “look” and he flipped around. The newlyweds embraced and a huge cheer erupted. Even I clapped. And then came the best part: the food. A line formed outside the shed. People would go in and come out with a plate full of food. It was mystifying to see all those people walk out of that tiny shed with so much food.
The line went quickly and soon we were up. The bride and groom stood just off to the side to welcome everybody. They looked at me strangely, but still told me it was great that I came. I was a little surprised when I went in the shed. Holes were punched in the back and hands were coming through. The first hand gave me a wooden plate and the next piled it high with food. It was good food, whatever it was. There were meatballs, bread, little tomato looking things, and some kind of spicy sauce. I ate in the corner while everyone else talked and danced.
Janey came over complaining about how the drinks ran out, so I gave her my second jar of water, which she said was “surprisingly clear”. I didn’t want to find out what water she was used to. The crowd thinned as the night went on, Janey and her parents were some of the last to leave. They invited me to stay with them for the night and I readily accepted. As we were leaving I saw a group of people gathered in one of the alleys. Her parents went on home but Janey and I went up to see what was going on. We were only a few feet from the gathering when Angeela climbed onto a crate, her head showing above the rest. I grabbed Janey’s arm in surprise.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“No no, this is one of those people I was telling you about, listen to how crazy she is.”
I shrank down, hoping to be lost in the crowd.
“Everyone,” Angeela called out, “I come with great news, news of a new beginning in a world far better than this one. Earth is its name, with the help of our leader Dimitrius we can go, but you have to believe, you have to sacrifice.”
“I told you she was nuts.” Janey whispered.
By this time several people had left, scoffing on their way out, but she continued unfazed. “Their doubt is our strength; we cannot take many, but those who are willing to follow—”
“You’re crazy!” Someone yelled.
“I am not! I will show you – Dimitrius will show you, just pledge your allegiance.”
There were only a few people left now, and I knew we needed to go before she recognized me. The last thing I wanted was for Janey to think I was associated with “the nut”.
“No, don’t go, stay, I haven’t even begun to tell you about being a Dimitrian.”
With one final sigh she collapsed down onto her crate. Janey and I started away but I took one last look back. Angeela looked pitiful down on that crate, all alone in the alley. I had looked too long. Angeela picked up her head and saw me. She jumped up and ran toward us, calling my name.
“I wonder who this Bessie is.” Janey said.
“No clue, but that freak is after us, let’s go.”
We ran down a few streets as Angeela tailed us, calling to me to slow down.
“Quick in here.” Janey yelled. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into a house. We stood there panting in the doorway until it was clear Angeela was gone. “That was a close one.”
“Yeah.” I panted.
“Why was she after us?”
“Like you said, she’s a nut.”
“What’s going on?”
Janey’s parents came in behind us. “We just wanted to beat you home.” She said, clearly not wanting to tell her parents about being chased by a Dimitrian.
Impran showed us to the living room. There were four wooden chairs covered in felt. A large carpet covered much of the room, hiding the floorboards below. I marveled at the simplicity of it all as I took a seat. All seated, Impran asked questions about the capital. Janey was still too frightened to answer them for me. I was a little nervous now; I didn’t know how much he knew. All my answers were bland with “yes”, “no”, or “I never looked”. When he stopped I started.
“Can someone please explain that wedding to me, it seemed really short.”
“Yes it was short, how long did you want it to be?” Janey’s mother asked, I already forgot her name, and did not want to ask.
Impran, who was overall better at explaining things, probably because he was a teacher, took over. “What we saw was basically the after show; the actual vows take place in private. It is symbolic that the groom does not see the bride, and only does with the consent of the people, hence everybody yelling ‘look’. I would tell you what happens in private but I can’t in front of Janey, no one is supposed to know until they get to that point themselves.”
Luck prevailed and they did not ask me what weddings were like where I was from. I don’t even know what I would have said. We sat there for a while and Janey told about her day, about how she hung around with me the whole time. Then we just sat and enjoyed the quiet, everyone thinking to themselves. My mind went back to Dimitrius, something was still nagging me.
“Who is Dimitrius?”
They all looked at me as though that had been the strangest question. “Well,” Impran began, “he was an inventor in the capital, and you may have known him when you were younger. He invented many things, though none end up here. Anyway about ten years ago he got exiled, and his story travels around. I’m not sure how it started, but soon afterward people started coming here with stories of Earth, like it’s a real place.”
“That’s it, the stories just started and nobody knows who started them?”
“In my opinion, it was all something cooked up by his friends so he could get his job back.”
“Do you know why he was exiled?”
“Probably because his ideas grew dangerous to the council.”
I was afraid my questions were making them suspicious, so I gave it a rest. Janey’s mother went to bed almost immediately following the Dimitrian talk. I could tell it was getting late, so I made the suggestion that I spend the night at the public bed house, but Impran insisted that I stay with them. They each gave me a blanket and I made a comfortable spot on the floor in Janey’s room. I made sure they all knew that I had to leave in the morning; I told them I needed to get home, because my father would most likely be back by now.