Chapter Twenty seven. Next week

Later that day, Alicia parted with Wo Ryung and he went back to the forest after she had promised to visit him again soon. She then set on her way to the market to see her grandmother. Just because the old woman didn't wake her up didn't mean she didn't have to check on her either.

She went straight to grandmother's pot stall in the market and her heart felt relieved at the sight of the older woman already settled in and ready to do business and she hurried over to her grandmother's side.

"Grandma" she called and her grandmother lifted her eyes and looked at her.

"Oh my child, you finally woke up" she exclaimed.

"Hmm. Why didn't you wake me up grandma?" Alicia asked. she couldn't deny that she had been partly worried that her grandmother might have detected something and figured everything out through the long night of yesterday and she couldn't find a single word how to explain things to her grandmother just in case she did know something.

"I didn't wake you up?" chuckled the older woman. "I don't know why but you are becoming a heavy sleeper lately. Is something the matter?" she asked her back and Alicia didn't know how to address that to her grandmother but the old woman continued,half to Alicia's relief. " I knocked on your door but you didn't wake up. I figured you might have had a long night of revision through your art work so I decided to let you sleep some more" explained the older woman and Alicia was more than relieved that her grandmother didn't find out anything.

She then decided to spend the rest of the day with her grandmother and help her with her errands. It wasn't only because she woke up late today but also Alicia rarely spent time at her grandmother's stall in the market except for the usual morning errands that she often ran for her grandmother whenever she escorted her to her stall. And the day went by quickly. Soon enough it was night time already and the grandmother and grnddauhter duo headed back home with Alicia carrying groceries that they had bought in the market to take home including the milk that she had spilt on Wo Ryung earlier the previous day.

Alicia was glad her grandmother didn't ask where the milk might have been that she had just bought in just a few days ago otherwise she might not only be becoming a heavy sleeper in the eyes of the older woman but also a heavy eater and she didn't like that.

When they reached home, Alicia prepared dinner together with her grandmother and they had their meal in a comfortable silence before they went to their respective rooms to rest for the night.

The same process followed the next few days as Alicia found her grandmother had a few more matters to handle in the market which was the same reason for why she had taken longer to come back home the previous night and so Alicia decided to stay with her grandmother during the next days and help her out until in no time at all,a whole week had passed and she hadn't visited Wo Ryung during that time.

On that particular night, she was standing by her window looking outside as though she was looking for someone. She was actually surprised Wo Ryung never sought her out even as he now knew where to find her. The man was still bent on keeping his distance from the humans it seemed, and Alicia had no problem with that as she knew he must have his reasons at the back of her head.

As she stared outside the window, she realized she actually missed him because it had never been her habit to stand by the window for long hours as though looking for someone before she had met him. And she knew she was only looking out for him yet another part of her was sure she couldn't spot him much as she looked outside so she decided to go back to sleep.

Another week passed and finally her grandmother's schedule at the market was settled back to normal and Alicia could finally spend her time on other things,not that helping her grandmother out bothered her though. As they sat at the table having their breakfast,her grandmother broke the silence in the room when she called her name.

"Alicia" called the other woman and Alicia turned her attention to her and she continued " You have been a great help at the market recently,God bless you child. But now, the harder times are over and things are back to normal again. You can concentrate on yourself in the meantime once again" Alicia knew that by herself,her grandmother meant her art work and she just nodded as her mouth was full with something she was chewing but the older woman released a bombshell next that had Alicia reaching out for the glass of water quickly as she had chocked on her food earning herself a concerned gaze from her grandmother.

"And Maya's father has announced the arrival of suitors from town. He said it shall be yourself and your friend Maya to get suitors first before all the other girls in the village" her grandmother announced carefully as she watched her granddaughter's reaction to her announcement.

Alicia instantly lost her appetite for the food. Although most of the girls in the village were looking up to marriage that almost all of them just prepared their long lives for that sole purpose, Alicia wasn't one of them. She had no thoughts regarding marriage as no man ever caught her interest ever since she had the opportunity to choose from all the suitors their village head Maya's father always brought to the village. But unlike the past two times, she knew she could not escape that fate this time as she had already turned nineteen and was just about to turn twenty not later than the very year that they were in.

Just like the neighboring villages, the village head was responsible to choose suitors for all the girls in his village right from when they just turned seventeen years of age. One could escape getting married off when they were still seventeen and not later than eighteen but being Maya's friend, Alicia had been an exception as her friend had put in word for her to her father to let the both of them have some more time of freedom for themselves and the man had accepted on condition of only three years that had almost passed already as she would turn twenty just the coming month. And now she knew there was no way she could escape the predicament to get married this time. No one ever exceeded twenty years without getting married.

Not that she never got suitors,truth was actually she always got the first match as she would always be chosen first but Alicia always rejected them politely and waited for the next time whereby she do the same again and again. But this time was an exception. She was about to become twenty years old and by the village rules, she had to get married not later than that and if she failed to choose a man for herself this time too, the village head would have to choose one for her. It was the rule and everyone in the village followed it.

Most of the girls whom like her were not interested were only pardoned once and that was always when they were still seventeen years old but the time they got to be eighteen,it would always be like their suitors had already been chosen for them and they had been on the top of the list and Alicia was well aware she already exceeded eighteen. There was no escape for her this time,not even close to a possibility.

Seeing her granddaughter lost for a long while and the mood that had turned grim at the table that they sat,her grandmother called out to Alicia once again but it took the girl an average amount of time for the older woman's voice to reach out to her.

"Alicia" her grandmother called and Alicia finally heard her and looked up to meet her grandmother's gaze. There was more than just worry in the woman's eyes for her granddaughter. " Remember you should be strong" her grandmother argued and Alicia faintly nodded. She was too shaken to think about anything else this time. Even being the one and only pampered child of her father's, she knew Maya couldn't save her either this time as the same fate awaited her, they were both of the same age with birthdays that differed only by not even a whole month. Yet still,Maya was the older one of the two. And whatever awaited either of them, neither could escape.

And as she stared into space, she felt her stomach rumble but not with hunger but with dread of what was to come during the next week of the arrival of suitors.