Light streamed through the slightly open curtain in the room. Elara clutched her head. It throbbed as she lay there, groaning.
She couldn't believe that after such a strong blow to the head, she would still be alive. She lay in bed as the pain receded before she finally opened her eyes. When she did, her eyes went wide.
She looked around at the colour of the wall, the curtains hanging on the rod. The small closet she knew housed clothing. The more she looked, the more she couldn't believe it. She was in her room. Her room before she got married.
But why was she here? She couldn't help but ask herself the question, until she saw the dress on the hanger in the corner of the room. She looked at it, remembering this was her wedding dress.
She thought to herself that even though her parents were disappointed in her, they couldn't help but hang their only daughter's wedding dress in the room. Should she hope they would help her, since she is here?
No! They never helped her in all the years she had been married, so why did they help now?
Elara's mind buzzed, trying to figure out why she was here. The last time she saw her parents was when they forced her to stay. Even being in the same village, they never visited.
As she was thinking, the door swung open. Her mother stood at the door. She couldn't help but involuntarily shudder.
"What are you still doing in bed? You need to start getting ready"
Ready? Ready for what?
Elara wondered what she needed to get ready for. Her mother walked towards her to get her out of bed, pushing her to her wedding dress.
"You need to quickly get ready. We need to leave in the next hour. The carriage is already waiting for you."
Carriage? The carriage used for weddings? Isn't she already married?
No matter how confused she was, she took the dress and headed to the bathroom.
There wasn't much for her to do. If she remembered correctly, it was only a flower bath. Then, she only needed to put on the dress. Unmarried women leave their hair loose, while married women wear a braid.
Walking into the bathroom, she placed the hanger on the rod in the bathroom. She stood there trying to understand what was happening. Then she saw herself in the mirror.
She covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Her eyes went wide. She reached out a hand to touch the mirror, wondering if it was truly her. She saw that the reflection mirrored her own movement.
Her eyes watered, her body trembled. She sank to her knees. Hugging herself with one hand, her mouth covered with the other, she sobbed. She tried her best not to make any sounds, which was impossible.
"Elara, what are you doing in there?"
Her mother knocked on the door, possibly hearing her sniffling. She took a few deep breaths and tried not to sound like she was crying.
"I'm getting ready. I still need to take a bath."
Her mother's voice was calm, almost monotone.
"We need to be outside soon. Quickly get ready."
Elara didn't have time to think. Even if it was a dream, she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Looking in that mirror, thinking about the contrast she saw yesterday versus today. She hoped it wasn't a dream.
She knew she couldn't leave now. Dream or not, her mother knew she wanted to leave. She was sure they knew what her escape route would be. Which means she needs to find another way. She couldn't wait until she got to that man's house, or her nightmare would start all over again.
There was only one place she could go. The same path Magdala took when she left. It would be guarded, but it was her safest bet.
She put on the wedding dress, feeling how heavy it was. She had sewn layers under the skirt. She wouldn't have time to change when she ran. So she had to make the most of it.
She left the house, feeling anxious. The carriage brought her to the worship hall, where almost everyone in the village was attending. There was half an hour before the wedding started. If she remembered correctly, she would be left alone for fifteen minutes.
She needed to use those fifteen minutes wisely.
She was so anxious that her leg was bouncing. She watched the people flitting around the room and wondered when they would leave. She couldn't wait any longer.
Finally, the time came.
Elara stood up, feeling the heaviness of the dress. She couldn't help but sigh as there was nothing she could do about it.
She silently made her way out of the building. She knew there was a lesser-used side entrance that was normally locked. However, given the wedding today, it might be open.
She made her way to the door, constantly peeping around corners. Her footsteps are silent. The power she learned from walking on eggshells around someone who would be annoyed about anything having to do with her, even the way she walked.
She was able to make it to the side door. Seeing it closed her face fell.
Her heart, which was already beating heavily, almost beat out of her chest. She bit her lips, trying not to cry. She couldn't allow herself to get caught. Despite herself, she tried the door handle.
Relief flooded her when she felt the door give way. She didn't think anymore, she just ran. She grabbed the front of the dress and raised it, giving herself some room to move.
She sprinted towards the back mountains that led to the path Magdala had told her about. Along the way, she didn't see anyone, assuming they were all at the wedding.
It was almost too easy.
Elara made sure to stop short where the path would be. There was an abandoned shed close by. She used it as a cover to see if anyone was guarding the path.
She was surprised to see more than four people patrolling this path. She remembered that Joseph knew about the path. She almost slapped herself for not realising that people might be here.
Besides this path, there are others she might be able to try. For the past eleven years, even though she wasn't able to leave, she thought about it. She found ways to look for escape routes. But no matter where she looked, this one was by far the least patrolled.
Sometimes she wondered if they kept people patrolling because they wanted people to find them. They were so obvious that it was unbelievable.
Elara thought about how to get the people away from the path.
She realised the only way to get them to leave was to have someone run away. She thought about how to make a distraction, possibly tripping the alarm somewhere else. However, that would put her at risk. The heavy wedding dress wasn't making things better.
It had been more than 10 minutes, she only had five left, and she was panicking. She tried to calm down as much as possible. Looking around to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon. She thought that if it came down to it, she would need to put up a fight.
Looking around, she saw the building she had forgotten existed.
The Barn!!
She could see it from where she stood. She couldn't walk directly to it because the patrol would see her. She looked at the tall grass, then down at the dress she was wearing.
White in a sea of green. But at this point, she didn't have the leisure to think about it. She flopped down onto her stomach, making a small muffled sound. She tried moving slowly through the grass. Trying not to attract too much attention.
Halfway through the journey, she heard the alarm go off. She knew they had found out she was gone. The fifteen minutes she had were gone. She couldn't turn back; she had to soldier on.
Elara started moving faster. She didn't have the time to consider whether or not people would see her. She was almost at the edge of the grass leading to The Barn when she felt something tug at her skirt.
Dispair washed over Elara, heavy and cold. She thought to herself that even after everything, she was still caught. She looked down at her skirt, expecting to see a hand; instead, she saw a rake.
It had caught onto her dress. She was so relieved she almost cried.
She grabbed the rake, detaching it from her skirt. She figured that having a rake was better than having no weapon at all.
She didn't know if someone would be guarding The Barn now since they should be out looking for her. However, she thought, better safe than sorry.
She walked stealthily towards the building. Pressing herself against the building, she made her way to the front door. She didn't have much time.
Peeping around the corner of the building, she saw one man at the door. The problem was, he had a gun. She looked at the rake in her hands, wondering how she would resolve this.
She picked the first thing that came to mind, scream. Stupid, but it was the best thing she had. Her scream got him to walk toward the sound. And as soon as he was close enough, Elara used the rake to hit him.
She didn't know where she got the strength, but the rake pierced his abdomen.