Changing lives constantly: The main

Chapter 13 mature

Author note: Whoever can guess how Mira knew that Edena was a virgin will unlock the hidden chapter! Good luck and enjoy the chapter! 

Chapter 13 mature

Recap: She hadn't moved a twitch this time and l was hesitant to go further. I touched it ever so slowly but my sister let out a guttural groan which frightened me and l dropped my cloth on her body. I inhaled heavily and spurred myself to move on. I cleaned her slowly and patiently covering every inch of her body. Them l leaned down and whispered in her ear: "Don't worry sister. I'll find out who did this to you! I will! And he will pay for ruining you and our family!"

                   Filled with determination, I stood up and looked around the room for any clues to the perpetrator of her sister's rape but really could not find anything. Not a piece of different cloth snagged on the wooden floorboards or even a piece of hair got stuck anywhere. This person was really meticulous in not letting her or anyone else finding out about his identity. 'I bet that if l ask Edena herself, she probably would not know. There's no point in even asking her. She would be too traumatised to speak of what just happened. Besides, her virginity has been taken for the first time. And yes, l know it was her first time because...actually, there's no need for me to tell you. Just think about it properly like l did hours ago.'

       Trying to distract myself, l went about making a few more poultices for Edena in case she woke up and was in excruciating pain. As l worked, l thought: 'I can't help but feel like this rape was a way for others to set us up. Obviously, we have no way to explain how Edena got raped because we just found her here. If we have no evidence, then she could be beheaded. Heck, the whole family could be. But it's a bit late now to try anything. I just hope that the baby Edena saved may be able to help us. But l highly doubt that anyway. The baby looked extremely useless to me.

After mixing the poultices. I sat down on the floor and waited for Freya while staring in the distance. Minutes passed by and finally Freya arrived back home in a frenzy. "Mira! Mira!" Startled, l blinked just to make sure l wasn't day dreaming: "Yes?" She panted when she finally reached me but continued speaking: "I got the water that you wanted but on the way back, l saw a mob of people approaching the clearing for the daily assembly! I don't think we have enough time to care for Edena and then go to the assembly. If we're late..." I sighed heavily: "If we're late, they may have another thing against us and may say we are abusing the rules that village set in place. Besides, Edena cannot miss the assembly. The rules state that every person of the household have to be present whether ill or healthy. So, l suppose she will have to come with us and so will the baby. I'll make sure to hide the baby under my clothes so it is less easily seen."

       We rolled Edena into the mat or rather wrapped the mat around her so her body would not be exposed. I proceeded to tie her around my back so she would not fall down and injure herself but also to make it easier for us to take her to the assembly. "Freya grab the baby."

            Freya rushed to the playground area where we left the baby and picked it up gently. "Let's hurry Mira! We only have 12 minutes left till the sun sets." We then closed the door of our hut and waited until all people had passed by our hut as custom and joined the back of the queue. This emphasised our low statuses and lack of care. The whole group walked in silence so as not to disturb the leaders at the front, who were probably discussing the matters to be addressed in the assembly. I just hoped that they would not target us today but my heart could not stay still and l felt increasingly uneasy the further away we walked from our hut.

After two hours, we finally reached the main clearing of the village. It was by no means located inside the village as there were too many people that needed to assemble in one place therefore the chief decided on this place. There was some raised ground where all the elders sat and the chief and his wives sat. I think the chief had five wives, all from the powerful clans. Once we arrived, we all knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the air, earth and then to the chief as a ritual to maintain peace and stability. 

  Then, we all sat down on the ground to listen to what the elders would discuss today. The oldest of them stood up and then knelt to the chief: "This old man has something to propose to my chief." The chief sharply turned his head to look into the elder's eyes. Even where l was sitting, l could feel his pressure and slightly shivered trying not imagine what the elder must be feeling. "Speak."