Beneath The Surface

Opening Act 4 - Why did I have to go and get all of us into trouble...

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Kaisa's POV
"Goodnight, Mom," I called out while pulling up my warm blanket.

"Goodnight, sweetie."

With the oil lamp in her hand, she gave me a peck on the forehead before gently closing the door to my room. I laid in bed and watched for the telltale sign of flickering yellow light disappearing from the small gap underneath the door. The house was instantly plunged into darkness. I heard Mom shuffle about before everything went quiet. I waited for a few more minutes, carefully listening for any sounds of activity outside. Once I heard Mom's light rhythmic snoring, I hopped out of bed and put on a black jacket with soft white fur lining the collar area. Dad's gift for me when he came back from his work in Ionia. And for good measure, I wrapped a shawl around my shoulders. With this, I won't be frozen to death. I gave my outfit a quick once-over before tiptoeing out of my room.

Honestly, it was nerve-racking. Having to sneak out without being caught. It's as if everything was hell-bent on working against me. Like how my breathing seemed so thunderous and obvious. Or how the creaking of wooden planks beneath me was loud as heck. I frequently looked back at Mom's presumably sleeping figure in the other room. Miraculously, she didn't react to any of this ruckus at all. But I didn't have time to celebrate my small victory. Because there's still one more enemy standing in my way. I stopped in front of our rusty front door. Swallowing nervously, I pressed down the handle and pushed the wooden door open. Without warning, a loud creak pierced through the silence. My shoulders jolted and I whipped my head around. Fortunately, Mom didn't react. Only turned her body to face the other side. Her rhythmic breathing still remained the same, except it's a little muffled now since she buried her head in the thick blanket. I let out a quick breath and slipped out of the house.

Unlike during the day, at night, the southern desert was cold. Chilling, in fact. The night breeze blew in my face, bringing along tiny specks of annoying sand. The only thing remotely interesting around here were the tumbleweeds rolling across the bare sand dunes in the horizon. Just a typical mundane life of a Shuriman. I squinted and scanned the nearby huts. A bunch of small shadowy figures could be seen coming out of those houses. Some through the main door, others through backdoors and windows. Our ragtag gang of mischievous children that refused to go to sleep that early into the night. And to be fair, it's not really our fault. We've always been allowed to stay out late just because everyone in the village knew each other. So there wasn't any foreseeable danger even when we're in the sandy territory of Shurima. Also, there were more eyes to keep tabs on us. So nothing could possibly happen. In fact, if some stranger were to mess with any one of us, the adults would likely come rushing out with their cleavers and pitchforks. But all these change the moment they come.

Snap. Snap.

I looked up. One of the taller figures pointed at the nearby rocky clearing, close enough to still be within the safety of our homes and far enough to not alert the adults of our secret expedition. We nodded and silently made our way towards the gathering spot. Within a few minutes, all the village kids were here. The younger ones were looking around sleepily, their eyes half-closed. Actually, there's no need for them to come out at this late hour but I guess they didn't want to feel left out. Everyone was bundled up in multiple layers, huddling together as they shivered in the windy night. Meanwhile, I'm over here standing proud since Dad's gift was proving to be much more superior than any one of their layers of thin cloth. A fair little trade since my dad was the only one who had to constantly leave for his job. It could range from a few weeks to several months. But one thing's for certain, it would never be a few days. The only part of his work that I hated...

"Kaisa," the one who snapped his fingers called my name.

He was hanging by the edge of the rocky clearing, hiding behind a giant boulder that's overlooking a sort of sunken valley surrounded by sand dunes. On the opposite side of the sunken pit was a giant canyon. The village elder said that there used to be a river running through there a long time ago. Green leafy trees, like the ones you see in fairy tales, used to surround that area, providing the nearby inhabitants with ample supplies of water and fresh fruits. But noticed the words 'used to'. As you can see, from the cracked earth and dead branches, it's not really an oasis anymore. More of a dead and dried up place. Just like everything here. It blended right into its surroundings now. It's right at home.