ONC 2024 Shortlister
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Just one week before his marriage with a chief bloodshaman of the Kurat's army, young surgeon Genul sees his wife, Kenit, die under his care after a terrorist attack launched by the neighboring nation.
As o...
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Long after Surig Hidiena left the room, Genul stood there, ponderous, mid-lost between Kenit's sight and his thoughts.
If he would resort to such a drastic solution, he needed to plan things out carefully. Otherwise, he would be signing his death sentence with no guaranteed reward.
At this point, Kenit's mother was waiting for him outside the room. It sufficed to open the door for the women to enter and perform the ritual that would save Kenit. But after that, everyone involved in the ritual would be a target of the forces of order.
Kenit's laborious breathing took Genul out of his thoughts, and he was consumed with pity. If partaking in a forbidden ritual with a Sister of Fate was the price to pay to attempt to keep her alive, then he would not backtrack. He headed to the door. As soon as he walked past the threshold, Daya and Luenji stood, both tense. Only Taria remained seated. But she, too, was afraid.
Genul could hear the question none of them dared to ask, as if it floated around them like toxic gas. Still, he answered it, staring straight at his mother-in-law, the High Shaman and member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Fate.
"She is alive. But she won't be for much longer. It's beyond what I can do." Saying the words felt both like vomiting blades and admitting his greatest failure. Genul watched their expressions decompose. Luenji sobbed and Daya looked away. "We should have a word, Taria."
The woman nodded, her features static like marble. "We should." She didn't wait to be invited inside the room. She stood slowly, her heavy dark boubou sweeping the floor as she moved. She entered the room and Genul shut the door behind her.
"If only she had listened to me and become a pious woman instead of a soldier...none of this would be happening," she threw the cutting words.
Genul filled in the blanks. Her words meant Kenit should have become a Sister of Fate, like her mother. That she should have never gone to the central military school of Kurat. Ultimately, it meant she should have never met Genul, since Taria was convinced Genul was the only reason why Kenit remained in the army.
Taria had always been vocal about what she had wanted for Kenit. For her to become a woman dedicated to two things only: Fate Themself, above all things, and coupling with a righteous Brother of Fate to help perpetuate the Congregation. But Kenit had never wanted that for herself. She had wanted to defend the State of Kurat, and she had wanted Genul and the prospect of a life together.
Genul chose not to argue. "What do you have in mind?" he asked instead.
Taria had stopped walking before she reached the operating cell. She would keep her composure at all costs, but Genul could see through the cracks. She could not bear to see Kenit in this state. When she finally responded, her voice trembled, "If it's hopeless like you say, then she must die to survive."
