Past Promises

WANDERING SPIRIT

I Was a Queen

I wake up in a green field that surrounded by beautiful flowers.

"This is..." I recall a happy memories.

I remember perfectly who I was and what I did when I was alive.

I was a Queen.

I remember everything when I was alive but I didn't remember the last moments of my life, to be exact, I couldn't remember how I die.

The first place that pops up in my head is the Palace.

I want to see the King.

'Will he be sad? Will he probably have a new queen?'

The thought of it makes me jealous.

It's not because I don't want him to move on and I'm probably the one that should know better that a King will always need a Queen by his side to rule a country.

They say that ghosts can fly and based on my series of attempts which had failed, I want to haunt everyone who said it.

Therefore, I run to the Palace but without my feet touching the ground, my steps feel lighter.

Lucky me, this garden is just right behind the Palace but unlucky me, the small entrance that used to be on the wall has gone and even the South Gate is not there, it's all walls right now. I had to run around to enter from the North Gate and stupid me just remember I'm a ghost and I can walk through the walls, because I just walked past through the front gate.

If somebody sees this, I would probably bury my face in the ground.

I go to the King's Residence. Since it's near dusk, the King has probably returned from the Main Hall.

I wait for the King by the pond near the tree where we used to sit and admired the moon. However, the pond is dry and the tree near it has died. All its leaves are gone left the tree with a dried trunk.

'What happened?' I touch the tree. It has burnt traces on it. 'Did somebody burn you?'

I look at the pond. It used to be filled with fishes and few lotus flowers but now it has dried and no signs of living at all. I feel sad all of a sudden.

'How long have I've been gone for you to have dried like this?' I sit on the porch in front of the door to the King's chamber.

There are only the Palace Maids walking around in the residence, the Palace Guards are probably with the King.

I hear the arrival announcement of the King. The Palace Maids hurriedly lined up in front of the gate's residence to greet the King.

I stand up and wait there, a palanquin stops in front of the entrance. I could see a figure sitting in the palanquin, my smile widen as I see a red robe from the small window of the palanquin. Only the King wears red robe in the Palace.

The eunuch opens the palanquin's door and I could see a person in the red robe steps out from the palanquin.

'It's the King.'

I wait there silently but I could feel my body urges me to run to him.

I don't know but I miss the King so much that even with an un-functioned heart, I could remember the sounds of my own heartbeat and I hold on to it.

As the person steps out from the palanquin, he raises his head and looks upfront, he walks towards where I'm standing.

Each step is proud and the air surrounds him exudes authoritative aura.

As he approaches, my smile fades.

He is not the King.