Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Splash.

Enya’s finger touched the puddle once more. The white, somewhat depressed-looking woman’s face reflected on the surface of the water created ripples, and its shape was shattered beyond recognition.

‘At least nobody cared about us before…’

Before, they were just two boys and girls abandoned within the tribe… No one tried to condemn or judge them. Everyone just ignored them. However, these days, there were times when she thought she would rather miss those days.

Enya quickly rebuked herself at the sudden thought.

She was lamenting about her life without realizing it. It was as if recognizing what sacrifices Tarhan had made for her until now, though thinking that the past, when people slandered and rejected them, was better.

Then, she quickly filled the bowl from the public well to get rid of the burning sensation in her throat.

After rubbing and washing her face, her long, loose hair was also sticking around tightly. After she had finished tidying herself up by wiping away the sweat that was seeping in by rubbing a wet towel between her clothes.

Cackle.

The high-pitched laughter of women could suddenly be heard from the mouth of the well.

Startled by the voice as lively as the birdsong during the day, Enya hurriedly hid behind the tree. Two or three women, each carrying a basket, were walking together from afar. When she saw them, her heart raced.

“I heard that about twenty people are coming? You should be a little nervous. Not all men will be interested in new women.”

“Tsk, I don’t care. I had already decided who I would be with on this Day of Repose. I got a promise from those people as well. Who do you think is a fool?”

“You are a fool for believing those men’s promises.”

Hahaha.

One of those voices was immediately recognizable. Enya glanced at the woman who, with the crowd, was coming closer and closer to the well.

It was Ruhan.

Ruhan, who had a large voice and a large body, was a responsible woman within the tribe. They said that her voice was so loud that if she screamed at one end of the village, it could be heard at the other end.

She also knew the names of the two other women chattering next to Ruhan.

It was Ashika and Suya.

Suya was the younger sister, from the same mother but different fathers, of Rigata, Tarhan’s right-hand man. And, Ashika was now a young woman who had just finished her coming of age ceremony.

The reason why Enya knew all of their names because she often goes to places where the young women of the tribe gathered to spend time. She actually visited them quite often since she used to visit almost every day when Tarhan was out.

She looked at them from a distance and, if she had the courage to do it, sat up awkwardly like a guest who entered a house uninvited or like a sack of borrowed barley. Women usually ignored her and continued their work. Enya helped out by eyeballing among them.

Enya clasped her hands anxiously as she listened to them pass by behind the tree and chatter loudly.

‘Of all things, now…’

Her mouth burned tight. As always, when she stood in front of women her age, her heart was beating irregularly. Sweat dripped from between her clenched fingers. Enya caught her breath and somehow combed her wet and messy hair back with her fingers.

Why was she meeting Ruhan’s group now that she was all messed up…?

Still, she couldn’t just pass by them. Enya hurriedly checked her outfit again. Grasping her disheveled chest, she quickly emerged from behind the tree.

“Ah…”

Ruhan, Suya, and Ashika, who saw her, stopped talking and slowed their steps.

Embarrassment and shame flooded in at the unfamiliar gaze staring at Enya. She hurriedly slipped her left foot behind her right leg as she could feel her cheeks flush red.

“Where are… you all going…?”

As she spat out each letter, her heart was pounding as if her bloodshot eyes were about to pop out. Since she was always hovering around and she wasn’t good at talking directly, it made her even more nervous.

She was extremely afraid that they would leave without answering. The last time the group of other women saw her, they ran away without hiding their astonishment.

“I…I was doing laundry. Tarhan did it all, so there’s not much to do, but… to wash my hair and body—”

When she uttered her words, her voice sounded too stupid to her ears.

At first, she gazed straight at Ruhan’s group and opened her mouth, but the longer she spoke, the more her head went down. In the end, Enya let out a trembling word and shut her mouth, glancing only at her toes.

There was no answer for a while. She could tell without seeing that the women were staring at each other and exchanging awkward glances.

She strengthened the place where her two hands were clasped in each other out of shame and seemed to tear it apart. It looked like it was going to hurt.

Something rushed up her throat.

…As expected, it was of no use.

Why didn’t she learn a lesson from the last time…? Ruhan’s personality seemed to be bold and not picky, so she talked to her out of curiosity, but it seemed to have been a failure.

Feeling upset, her heart was pounding uncontrollably.

“Ah… I was on my way to tidy the basket.”

At that moment, Ruhan’s hoarse voice was heard.

Enya raised her head almost reflexively at the same time. The thought that if she looked too desperate, she would look ridiculous, pushed her into a corner and she just replied with a quick nod of her head.

“Ah, I see! I happen to be… just finished doing the laundry. If you don’t mind…”

“Ruhan!”

It was then that Ashika, who was beside her, was seen hitting Ruhan on the side. At that moment, as if someone had poured cold water on her head, Enya could clearly see through her eyes, which had been blurred by her tension.

Ruhan’s expression was vaguely distressed. The two women next to her were also avoiding her eyes with distasteful faces.

“…Are you crazy? Why did you answer her?”

She heard the small talk they whispered amongst themselves.

“I’m sorry, Enya. We’re a little late, so I think we should go quickly.”

As Suya smiled kindly, she took a step closer and explained their situation to her, then hurriedly pulled Ruhan’s arm. In the end, the three women nodded their heads and waved goodbye to Enya, who couldn’t answer, and then hurried on their way.

Water dripped from her head, darkening the dirt floor on which Enya stood pitifully. Her neck was locked in darkness, as her ears were all pounding.

An indescribable sense of shame and shame flooded in.

Her left foot, which she had been trying to hide, lost strength and fell to the floor.

It was because of seeing Tarhan’s face yesterday that she tried to pluck up courage. But today, it seemed that no matter what kind of iron plate she put on her face, she wouldn’t be able to go back to the place where the women gather.

Enya returned to the well with a broken heart. She hurriedly wrung out the laundry in embarrassment and tried to return to her house.

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard again from behind the bustling Enya.

“…Enya? Are you very busy?”

It was Ruhan.

Startled, she opened her mouth and dropped the basket she was holding in her hand. The cleanly washed clothes inside spilled onto the muddy puddle.

“Ah. No. I’m not busy… That’s, ah…”

They were back.

Enya glanced up at the three women who were gazing down at her as she hurriedly bent over her body in bewilderment and put the laundry back in.

Ruhan placed her hand on her waist and bowed her head towards her. Meanwhile, Ashka was a few steps away from her, fiddling with her fingernails, pretending she didn’t see Enya. As Suya pointed to Enya’s laundry again, she spoke to Ruhan in a small voice.

“Hey, it’s all dirty again. Ruhan, she must be busy washing this all again? So don’t disturb Enya, let’s just go together…”

“No, I’m not busy. I was thinking of washing it later. I-I can wash it tomorrow.”

Enya quickly turned over the dirty part of the laundry and hid it inside the basket before getting up and staggered and almost fell because she couldn’t keep her center. Standing in front of them, she was nervous again.

She hurriedly combed her wet, matted hair again. The hem of her skirt, which had risen upwards, was also lowered.

Ruhan, who was staring at her, opened her mouth and smiled.

“Enya says it’s okay. Why don’t you go weaving baskets with us? We are on our way to work.”

Hearing those words, Enya could feel the back of her neck stiffen as if she was about to faint.

When she quickly nodded her head without answering properly, Ruhan exchanged glances with Ashika and Suya and motioned for her to follow.

“Does Tarhan do laundry?”

“In the past. He still does it sometimes. He has been very busy these days, so I mostly do it… though he did all the big laundry. To have to step on it with my feet, I’m… not good at balancing.”

Enya bit her lip, thinking that she should not have said what she had just said.

Until recently, she had endured the limping and walked hard to keep pace with them, but suddenly she was embarrassed by the loud sound of her left foot being dragged to the ground. Enya slowly slowed down.

“Hurry up. The sun is going to set. If we’re too late, will you take responsibility?”

At that time, Ashika, who was walking far ahead, glanced at Ruhan and gave a brazen voice. While it was obvious that she had said it to Ruhan, her disapproving gaze was fixed on Enya.

Enya quickly accelerated the steps she had been slowing down.

In the middle, the men who were walking by with branches and loads of animal skins looked at Enya walking with Ruhan’s group curiously. Among those were men who stopped what they were doing and looked at her mesmerized.

The men’s gaze was more curiosity than malice.

Enya, whose hair was lighter than the other women, was easily noticed because of her bad leg.

Everyone knew that she was the woman of the deputy chieftain Tarhan. Although she could not bear his children, she was still his woman. Of course, there were many who could not understand Aquilea’s normal way of thinking.

When they arrived, the workshop was already in full swing.

Nearly thirty women sat in a round circle, chatting and moving their hands busily. Some were carrying suckling infants in their arms. There was also a spot where elderly people were nodding among the children who were just crawling and walking.

“Ruhan! Ashika, Suya. Why are you all so late?”

Ruhan, Suya, and Ashika managed to find a seat among the crowd and sat down. Everyone glanced at them and greeted them one by one.

—

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