White Strings

Episode 6 - Starting Over

Silk has been on the move for a few days now, and the shaky carriage made her empty out anything she managed to eat. She tried to block out the moment she said goodbye to her aunt, but Amani's worried face haunted her. When she closed her eyes, she could see Amani staring right into her, concerned to her core yet too weak to protest. Silk knew she was doing the right thing when her aunt could barely rise from the bed to bid her farewell. Sir Falant promised he would take care of Amani as long as Silk did as he asked, and Silk hoped he was speaking the truth.

Silk spoke with Ella's mother before she left, and she agreed to check on Amani and make sure she was fine, and alert Silk if needed. Bluma was a kind woman, so it eased Silk's heart just a little bit, giving Silk the excuse to tell herself it would be alright.

"We are here." The words that Silk thought she would never hear finally brought her back from the spiral of thoughts she was lost in.

She stepped out from the carriage, still a bit dizzy. They had made some stops through the trip, but they weren't long. Silk struggled to balance herself on the stable surface that felt as if it was shaking underneath her. Once she was finally sure the realm wasn't going to turn upside down, she could take a better look around her.

She was dropped on the road, right at the city's gate. Even though it was not the inside of the city, there were still people waiting in line to be checked by the guards. Silk was mesmerized by the colors and the children that hopped around the line, waiting for their turn to get in.

"Wait," she hurried to say as she realized something. "How am I going to find the way to the Temple? Is it inside the city?"

The man who drove her there was already back on the carriage. "Yes, just go through the gates and show them the letter."

"But," Silk stuttered and looked at the gates and back at the man. "Can't you just take me there?"

"Ah no, I'm not going into the Lumen's city even if you paid me."

Before Silk could think of a reply or a question, the man had taken off, leaving her to stare at the dust he left behind. She stood in place, feeling the uneasiness in her grow bigger as she knew she had to walk into the city full of people. She knew nothing about the Temple, not to mention how to get there.

"Excuse me," she turned to the guard as it was her turn to finally pass. "How do I get to the Temple from here?"

"There is a carriage leaving just about now, a little east from here. You should be able to make it." He let Silk pass and moved on to the next person.

Silk barely managed to stop the carriage that was just about to take off. Luckily for her, someone had called the coachman to halt. She got up the wagon, out of breath, and finally sat down on the floor as the seats were all taken.

Silk was not too happy about having to sit in a bouncy wooden box again, but at least this one was open and had a view and fresh air. She turned to the back of the wagon and held on to the wooden bars that stopped her from falling. The city was the liveliest place Silk had ever seen, and for a little while she managed to forget about the fact that she had no idea what was ahead of her.

Silk wondered what Ella would have said if she was with her at that moment. She would probably start singing, using her beautiful Gown vocal chords. Silk sighed at that thought, hoping that Ella would pass her healer tests. Ella promised to her she would come to the temple once she becomes an official healer. It made Silk's parting a little bit easier.

The ride was taking a while, and Silk noticed they were going uphill. The city landscape changed a little bit, and the houses slowly became bigger and higher as well. Instead of markets and the hustle of the working crowd, there were more sounds of carriages moving around and low chatter. And eventually, they entered an open area that seemed to be almost outside of town. Here and there Silk could see a towering top of what could be a luxurious house, and Silk wondered whether it was like back in Manus Town, where prestigious families lived separately.