Shattered Dreams - Part 1

The village I was brought to, it was suspicious. Other than the old man and the young girl who checked my body for any slave mark which obviously was not there, and few other people I saw when I first arrived, there was not even a single person whom I saw on my way. I did not have any money with me right now nor did I know where I was going, I still continued. I walked towards the end of the village which wasn't much populated nor did it have much houses. Most of the houses were made of clothes and were supported by sticks while some were made of straws. In between, I came across an old woman who looked pale and sick. Her complexion dark and there were large black circles under her eyes with her dirty brown hair which looked like a bird's nest, which I should not have said as it is rude to disrespect an elder. Her clothes were tattered and there were visibly large holes at some parts of her rags.

Her eyes were fixated on the ground and even when I came near her, she did not break away her gaze from the ground. Maybe she did not notice me or she was thinking something. I as well did not pry and decided to walk away as even if I did talk to her or wanted to do anything, I did not have anything in hand which could be of help to the old woman instead of the jacket I was wearing. Yes.

Maybe I would find a place to stay but this old woman did not look as if she had a family because if she did, she wouldn't be sitting here in this condition. Thus, I stepped forward and took off my jacket and draped it over the woman who was motionless even after I had placed the jacket over her shoulders and stepped back. The cold wind touched me as soon as I took off the jacket, my insides freezing and it felt as if I'd be frozen if I stay here any longer. Satisfied with the fact that the woman would have something to cover her up, I stepped back and started walking away.

However, I hadn't took even three steps when I heard the woman stutter but her voice felt cold, hoarse to my ears, not a voice a woman of her age should have.

"..YOU, ... YOU WILL DIE. YOU ALL WILL DIE...", Suddenly, I found myself staring at the woman who was coming in my direction. But the unusual thing was, there was a shard of glass in her hand. I quickly moved a side, dodging the attack but the woman whipped her head in my direction, her expressions were one of a madwoman, and she looked intent to kill me.

The second time she came forward to attack me, I was suddenly pushed to a side and my shoulder hit the end of an iron rod which was struck in the ground. I winced as immense pain shot through my shoulder and at the same time, I felt numbness take over my whole arm.

When I looked ahead, I found a young man who hit the back of the woman's head for her to fall unconscious on the ground before he moved her to a side. He dusted his hands, finally looking in my direction and a frown line appeared between his brows as he made his way towards me with haste.

"I'm so sorry for pushing too hard", He bent down before he checked my from head to toe as if checking if I was hurt anywhere else before his eyes landed on my arm. "It..it's right. Thank you", I managed to thank the young man. I didn't know why I was being attacked my anyone I would encounter on my way and there would always be someone who would show up to save me.

"You re bleeding. We need to clean the wound or it might cause infection," Bleeding? I hadn't looked at my arm and now that I did, I saw the white cloth of my sleeve soaked with my blood. "Come, let me help you up", The man extended his hand for me to take and as my right arm was injured, I had to get up with my left arm.

"By the way, I'm Jeremy. Are you new here? I've never seen you around before", I shook my head at the question.

"...I was suspected of being a slave", Jeremy made an 'Oh' and didn't speak further. When we crossed some distance, he asked again," You don't mind going to my house, right? So that we can clean the wound", I pursed my lips. No matter how good a person may be, we were still strangers and staying with a man whom I did not even know a bit about did not seem appropriate but I had to go if I wanted to clean my wound and if I could ask him for some food since I had not eaten for at least two days from now.

"It is okay", I replied in a whisper.

I felt my strength slipping away from me, it felt like my soul was being sucked dry. The blood loss was too much for a person like me who hadn't eaten or drunk anything. And my body was tremendously weak as compared to a normal human body and I wondered if I would be able to continue to live if stayed any longer without food or water.

Once we reached Jeremy's house, he led me inside before cleaning a chair and making space for me to sit. Unlike the other house-like tents I have come across, Jeremy's house was a little better in condition. There was a bed at a side which could accommodate at least two people if squeezed in, a chair, a wooden table on which there were few books scattered, a fruit basket and there was another door and I did not know what that room was, not like I was interested in wanting to know.

In the meantime, Jeremy brought a long strip of woolen cloth which was used to bind up a wound with a bowl of water and medicine. "This place isn't mine and I found these in the cupboard so I'm just going to use it. Okay?", I nodded again without saying anything. I did not have the energy to speak right now.

"Will you do it yourself or should I help?", He was kind enough to ask and I felt grateful for his generosity up until now.

"I will clean it myself. Thank you", I took the bandage from him and he placed the remaining things on the table before saying," I will be waiting outside. Call me if you need anything else." And he walked out of the small house.

I had to take off my dress to clean the wound since I couldn't just tear it off as I did not have anything else to wear right now. And I don't think Jeremy would be able to help in this matter so I stayed on I stayed on the safe side. After cleaning my wound with the water and applying medicine on it, I covered it with the woolen cloth that Jeremy had brought. The wound on my arm was not deep but it was a large gash which would take few days to get better. After I was done and wore my clothes back, Jeremy took away the things before he advised me to take a small nap. He said,

"You should look yourself in the mirror. You look like a ghost who's been brutally killed. Get some rest and then eat something to regain energy."

"Thank you for everything. I don't have anything to repay you with right now. Maybe I'll...

"There's no need to thank me. You looked lost when I first saw you. I myself am new in this area and it seems suspicious to me. So leaving a young lady like you in the open wasn't safe. I helped you as a good human being", For a second, I thought he was praising himself but I thought wrong as his next words were," I would have been pathetic if I left you alone even after witnessing everything."

I smiled in return," You are a kind person."

"You should sleep", I did not miss the way he dodged my words before he went out again, giving me the space I required. I was again thankful to him for being so considerate. He was at least a better human than the man I previously met.