The Emotions Within

Loneliness

In the king's palace, lived the protagonist of our story, ka Lieng Makaw. She was known as the most beautiful of the land, and had a sense of grandeur to her that everyone treated her with respect.

They say that the radiance of her fair skin was equal to the sun, her lips were as pink as ruby and the night sky was the same color as her long, straight hair. Of course, we'd never know if this was just an exaggeration or not; this story is from the ancient times, but we know that everyone admired her for her personality and countenance.

From her room, the queen, watched the birds flutter around in the breeze in the freedom of the sky. The sky was a beautiful pale blue, the flowers in the garden bloomed to their fullest and a fresh breeze blew across the land. Nature gave her a slap since she could never have what it has. While the sun was shining and birds chirping, she was drowning in her own loneliness.

"I'll have to go abroad to take care of some business," he had said a year ago. "I'll be back soon. Take care, my love."

That was right after their marriage. She sighed; she just missed him so badly. As she leaned on the balcony, she buried her head within her arms. She wished her husband was there beside her. She wished to hear his deep voice, which seemed silent. He would hold her in his warm hands, which now seemed cold.

In those ancient times, there were no communications, and travel would take weeks, if not years. For this young queen, months without seeing or hearing her beloved, made her doubt his love. Her memories of him started to fade away, becoming bland. She doubted if he would ever return or even remember her. She had sort of accepted this life of loneliness and boredom.

The balcony of her room faced a fascinating and deep woods, so she could hear the animals already fleeing to their shelters. She stared at the horizon, where the sun had begun to set. Birds hurriedly flew to their nests, and the evening crickets have already started to chirp.

The air smelled of fresh orchids, and she took a deep breath to calm her distressed soul. The Khasis have a close connection to nature; the beautiful sight of the sunset brought her peace and momentary joy. She wished he was there with her. She quickly brushed away that thought, so that she could make the most of this rare moment. Thinking of him would only sadden her.

A sweet sound started to fill the air. She smiled. It was a familiar song that she would hear every night. It was produced from a wind-instrument, she could say, and the beautiful tunes could move even the most hard-hearted man. Her eye caught a tiny light in the distance, which was the source of the music.

She longed to visit that home and meet the person who produced such music. However, she hesitated. It would be shameful for her to visit such a humble hut. She wanted to listen to the notes all night long, but she had to perform and complete her chores for now.

•

Sleepness nights were torture, but not for her. The music made her relax as she swayed to it. She watched the yellow flame of the candle flicker under the stimulus of the wind. She shivered and moved to the window to close the curtain. From the window, she could see a faint yellow light from that home.

She had a feeling whoever played the beautiful tunes - the sweet music which aroused different feelings within her - lived there. Her eyes were fixed on the little light, getting drawn towards it more and more. The notes; she wanted to here them louder and more close up, she wanted to see who made them and she wanted to feel.

She had always been curious of the source of the melody, but her vanity and pride prevented her from discovering the truth. The cabin was isolated and overlooked by most people. What would they think of her when the queen would be found there? It would be humiliating; she was sure. But her thirst for knowledge put all thoughts of vanity aside. Besides, it was night, when the kingdom is isolated and silent.

Amidst the music, she got up from her bed and took good look at the area from the window. It was a fair distance to walk and not so far. She wore a cloak over her jaiñsem and took a small sword, wary of the dangers of the night. She looked at the ground from the balcony. It was not that high, perhaps two or three feet.

She climbed over the railings and released the grip she had on them. A thud. Feeling the soft grass underneath her naked feet, she quickly scampered to a bush. She brushed away a stray black hair from her face as she silently stalked through the bushes, avoiding the guards.

Fortunately for her, they were distracted by the music in the air, slowly falling asleep. It was like whoever played the flute invited her to visit them, and she was glad for it. However that did not seem to be the case since since her eyelids slowly drooped over her hazel irises. She gently slapped herself and climbed over the wall that separated the palace grounds from the outside.

Her feet softly touched the dirt and she looked up the hill before her. The yellow light still flickered out there, the music started to be faster, the wind howled and the clouds were blown away revealing the moonlight. She could see a trail and followed it. She was determined to find out who made such enchanting notes that move her heart.

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Hope you enjoy that and look forward to the next chapter. Blessings to those who gave this book a chance, read it and voted on it.

"Don't deliberately torture yourself by giving in to depression. Happiness makes for a long life and makes it worth living. Enjoy yourself and be happy; don't worry all the time."
- Sirach 30: 21-23

Definition:-

Jaiñsem: a garment worn by Khasi women. It consists of two cloths wrapped around the body and hung from the shoulders to the ankles. The corners of the cloth would be pinned on the shoulder on both sides from each cloth respectively. A cloth would be wrapped from the waist down, called ka jaiñpien.