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"Go stay there for me."
Her grandmother had said when she sent her off.
"Sir, is there something I could help you with?" She asked the man standing in front of her grandfather's house. He had the most displeasing look while seeing the huge house.
"Eh? Are you Rhea Galanis?" He asked in an indifferent tone as he looked at her. He was almost twice as tall as the lass.
"Yes."
"Then hold this," he said as he shoved a paper in the girl's hands. She looked down at the ink-scribbled paper as he muttered one more question, "Are you even old enough?"
She looked up at him as his expression soon changed and he mumbled, "Well, I don't care."
"Random rich brats are luckier than me. Darn it, I can no longer work knowing I could never own a mansion these brats merely get by inheritance!" He rambled opening the door of the home silently curious to see the interiors of the place. He tossed the key to the perplexed girl saying, "Whatever comes easy your way will also go easy," and scoffed walking away.
She sighed looking down to the will in her hands. The will was left by her grandfather as he passed away.
"Leander Galanis's rightful granddaughter, Rhea Galanis will inherit his land in Haion."
The will was gorgeous. A new big house two villages apart from their hut. It would have been peaceful if she was just told to collect the keys and return to her hut with her grandma but sadly, her grandmother was not a predictable woman.
"Take care of the house while you live there and return when you make enough money, Rhea." Her grandmother had told her.
That's the sole reason she has traveled a day to reach her late grandfather's house. But Grandma has always hated him more than anyone else. Anybody would despise a man who gambled all night and brought new concubines every week as if he was an emperor. Besides, all the money was wasted, and loan sharks soon chased them. The family could no longer stay stable, and Rhea’s grandmother took her to her home far away.
Rhea Galanis was just another ordinary girl in the countryside who knew her grandma’s struggle better than anyone. It will surely break a woman’s heart when her husband is not loyal, and her child moves to the capital just to not be involved in the family irresponsible enough to abandon her two-year-old child. Rhea’s mother has left them for a new job in the capital when Rhea was two years old. Growing up, Rhea hasn’t faced anything hard, just some errands and an entire day with her friends. Tender skin and hands as soft as cotton were what she always had. Her pale complexion, silky, long raven hair, and dark orbs were something she could boast about all day.
She pushed open the door and entered the mansion. How did her grandfather own a mansion when he survived in debt? What was her grandmother thinking when she told Rhea all those? Earn and come back? Why? Weren’t they happy back there? But it was her grandmother. Grandmother told her to earn and come back, so she will earn and come back.
She looked around the new house and my, my, that was beauteous. The pretty vases, portraits, vintage decorations, and furniture were opulent. It would have resembled something close to an earl’s house if she had visited an earl’s house. After admiring the entire house, her grandma’s words rang in her ears, “Find a job when you reach there.”
Sure, finding a job would not be hard. Grandma must have stressed it only because she wanted Rhea to take it seriously. The black-haired lass marched out of the house with her money in determination to find a job.
—
“Eh? What do you want?” asked a bald shopkeeper to her.
“Sir, I could help you with almost anything needed for the job, like counting money, convincing guests, selling — “Did your husband lose his money?” interrupted the man.
His words put a frown on her bright face and she asked him, “What made you think I had a husband, Mister?”
“Oh, sure you wouldn’t have one for that behavior,” he commented and looked up and down at her. This was the eighth shop she had enquired about just to hear everybody ask her about her non-existing husband.
“Hm, ladies your age are married, what are you doing here?” asked the man for gossiping, “Maybe no groom?”
“Shut it!” she said and stormed off. Her steps were rather heaving and fast. There were whispers and laughter behind her but she ignored them all. In front of her was a lady, a flower-selling lady.
“Um, would you like a helping hand?” She asked her.
“Hm, what’s your name?” replied the lady, her hair was turning white. She could use some help.
“Rhea.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
The lady gave a sympathetic smile and said, “If you need, I could introduce you to an alliance in marriage. Hm?”
Rhea turned and walked away disgusted. Was marriage the only thing on the minds of these people? A lady must marry and stay at home. That sounds too wrong. But if nobody would give her a job because she’s sixteen, then she does not need a job. She can earn money her way. Anger filled her head and she threw the money bag her grandma gave her to the ground and started singing while standing next to it.
Naa Na Naa Na
Na Na Na Naa
Na Naa Na Naa
Na Na Na Naa
It attracted a crowd of onlookers and people noticed her voice. It also started gossip and some people came forward to throw in a bronze penny or two in her money bag. She sang passionately in the middle of the mart place as people and kids watched her fascinated. She had always wanted a moment like this. Singing for the other people around her. Rhea has always had a strong passion for singing but did not have a music teacher or an expert to guide her. She sang almost every day at the hut trying a new pitch and tone. When she finished, she saw the people gazing at her, and some applauded. She bowed and thanked them as she picked up her money bag. She smiled, feeling the money bag heavier.
A girl slightly older than she approached her and said, “Do you want to work in my aunt’s buffet?”
—
That evening Rhea found a job. “Come at dawn, the guests don’t like to wait,” the old owner said as their discussion came to an end.
“Yes ma’am,” replied Rhea delightfully. She had found a job and also earned money. She hopped to her late grandfather’s house which was now hers. She opened the door with a beaming smile until she heard a voice.
“Hey, hey, look there’s someone new.”
She turned back and saw three, no, seven men gathered around her. Brigands? Maybe.
“This is such a nuisance, first an old man and now a lass. Are you in such grief that you need generations to repay debts?” asked a thug.
“I don’t understand what you talking about,” said Rhea as her heartbeat rose. She clenched her money bag and stood firm trying not to show she was frightened.
“Oh, wait, what have we got there?” asked the same man as another swiftly grabbed the small red bag from her.
“Hey!” She yelled in protest.
“Oh, that’s a lot of money!” exclaimed one. “Well, if you have money, then I guess it must not be difficult to pay your old grandfather’s debts!” commented another.
“You better make sure I have the money in my hand the next time I come here,” said the man who first spoke.
“Give me my money back!” yelled Rhea.
“Your money?” snorted the men, “It’s mine now!”
Rhea watched their backs as they walked away. Tears swelled up in her eyes. What did she do? It was her grandfather who did not pay his debts.
That night, she did not have the money to buy food though she was famished.
—
By dawn, she rushed out of the house to the buffet, her eyes puffy and dark. “Hurry!” called the lady as she saw Rhea run to the place.
Soon guests flooded the place and hubbubs were growing louder. “A mai tai here!” shouted someone from a table full of elite-dressed men.
“Here are your orders,” served Rhea nervously and walked away to the owner for the next drink. Too many people ordered too many drinks and dishes. By twilight, the count decreased, and by dusk, it diminished to zero.
“Good work today,” complimented the owner as she handed some bronze coins to Rhea.
“Thank you, ma’am,” said Rhea as she received them. She bought a simple meal from a shop hereby and ate it under a tree before she returned home. There were no hooligans that night so she secured her remaining money from her meals in a flower vase and slept for the night.
She went to the buffet the next dawn and served the customers. The day went by monotonously until Rhea broke a glass from the buffet, and the owner reduced her pay by half for the day. She bought some bread with her pay and had no extra money to save. The hooligans were nowhere to be found that evening too.
Days went by and Rhea’s life was the same. She worked every day at the buffet and finished her supper before returning home after which the hooligans threatened her and took her money when they rarely came by. Though nothing special came to her, her mediocre life was satisfactory. Until one day that happened.
Rhea entered the house and her eyes went wide seeing the drawing room. Vases smashed, portraits on the ground, the mattresses were torn, and her savings were gone! She turned back to the entrance and saw four different men, not the usual ones she met when she came back home. Each looked like a fearsome ruffian. The scariest of them spoke, “Something way worse will happen if you take longer to pay your debt.”
Rhea spent the entire night cleaning up the drawing room. She was crying the whole night. She did not deserve this! In a foreign place, with foreign people, she did not want to live! Why did her grandma send her here? She must tell this to her grandma, maybe she will ask her to come back once she knows what has happened. Rhea must meet her grandma. Stolen money, and piercing words were enough. She will not tolerate this.
The next day at work, Rhea asked the owner to grant her two days for visiting her sick grandma. She had lied about her grandma being sick but the owner still refused. When she was on her way to her home that night, she was scared that her house would be destroyed once again but it was not. A problem left her mind and another flashed as she hated the owner for not giving her what she had requested. She had not asked for her pay for those two days, and neither did she say she wasn’t going to come to work anymore. Rhea spent the night hating the buffet owner.
Days passed and those thugs were not to be seen again. Meanwhile, Rhea’s work life has been not too good. The buffet owner and she got into arguments which resulted in Rhea’s pay cut. She cursed out the owner under her breath after receiving her wage for the day. It had been almost a year since she was in this village and she was pretty accustomed to it except for the random attacks of the thugs. Rhea also started to make acquaintances though most of them were old. Her name was familiar in the village and she had learned how to dodge brainless, foolish marriage questions. They also knew about all her struggles.
Things were normal until the thugs showed up again. This time in the evening when Rhea went back home, her head stung and she closed her eyes only to wake up the next morning with bruises on her head. This time, the wood furniture and the walls in the house were destroyed and nobody needed to tell her who did those. Her eyes were filled with tears and she remembered how this was not how she used to be. She would run in the gentle breeze with her grandma chasing her to feed her food. So carefree was her demeanour but now she is forced to carry all the responsibilities of living alone.
This was not like her, not like the life she wanted. She wanted to go back, go back to her village, and stay with her grandma. The reality was too harsh. Those moments were never going to come back however hard she may try. That was her reality. She ended up staying in her home the entire day not going to the buffet pondering about what she was going to do in her life. Thugs are after her and she can never pay off the debt even if she works her entire life in the buffet. Things were too hard.
She prayed for her grandma to come to her in between her sobs and cries. The next day when she showed up for work, all the other young girls were concerned but the owner did not care, she refused to give Rhea’s pay at the end of the day stating that she had missed a day of work and that this was to compensate. Devastated, Rhea returned home hungry and with no hope.
The evening was rainy and Rhea had received a letter. One more daze found Rhea as she read the letter. Her grandma had been ill and someone had found her in her hut. It was described that the one who sent her the letter was a traveler who came to the hut for a glass of water while passing. They had requested her to come visit her grandma soon as her condition has been worse. Her hand trembled as she dropped the letter and ran to her village.
—
She was tired and it had not stopped raining since she left. She was climbing a mountain and the village is right below the mountain meaning she will see her grandma after climbing down this mountain. She sat down in fatigue and gazed at the trees. By noon, she came to her hut in the valley. She rushed inside. “Grandma!” exclaimed Rhea as she saw her grandma lying on the floor with a blanket on.
The old lady was startled by the sound and feebly voiced, “Rhea?”
“Yes, Grandma! It’s me! Rhea!” she exclaimed once more.
“What are you doing here?” asked her grandma in a soft voice.
“I-I,” tears swelled up in her eyes, “I came here to see you, grandma,” she cried.
“Why! Grandma’s fine” replied her grandma. Rhea took Grandma’s hand in hers and said, “No, you’re body is boiling. Are you okay? Should I call for a physician?”
“No, no! Go back!” said her grandma.
“I don’t want to grandma!” wailed Rhea. The thought of her routine life seemed like a nightmare now that she has come back, “They are so harsh. I don’t like them. They tell me to get married, work my life off with no pay, ask me to pay Grandpa’s debt, and they smashed the things in the house and hit me once. I don’t want to stay there anymore, Grandma! How can I pay a debt when I don’t have any money!? If I have to go back, then you must come with me!”
“Rhea dear, don’t run away from your problems. You’ll never find a solution then. You lasted for days there. If you had not come here, you would have lived the same life for another day. I know you must have missed me but now that you’ve seen me, think of what you would do to stay happy and in peace.” advised her grandma.
“Why must I, Grandma? The debt’s not mine. I did not gamble our money! And I’m happy when I’m with you. And you’re ill! I must take care of you!”
“Don’t you dare tell me I’m the reason for this!” yelled her Grandma in agony, “Accept that you just want to run away because it’s easy Rhea! You can find happiness in anything. You don’t have to be with me and you will not state that you’re here to take care of me when you just don’t want to stay there. You must say what you truly mean. You might be here because you’re worried but you’re also here because it’s easy. The debt might not be yours but it is to be borne by you. How long do you think you could deny this? If you don’t like it get rid of it. There are a lot of kids who are more damaged than you are. Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining. Turn the world to your advantage. You can. You have it within you.”
“Grandma…” sobbed Rhea after hearing her words.
“I did not raise you to be a coward. I raised you so you could get up and stand strong every time someone pushed you down,” said her grandma, “I raised you to be true to yourself and protect yourself from every adversity. I did not say you could stand strong every time, but I did say you will at least learn to try to stand each time. So why aren’t you trying to stand up now? You can’t heal your wound and stand up if you keep looking at the ground. Do what you have to do.”
Rhea stayed quiet.
“And what more can I do in my life? This body is already rotten and I will go one day. That day, you must be strong. So tell me, will you be strong and do what it takes to end your pathetic grandpa’s debts? Will you end it with you?” asked her grandma.
“Yes,” answered Rhea feebly.
“Good, keep your word,” said her Grandma as she slowly closed her eyes.
“Grandma…” called out Rhea, “Grandma… Grandma… Are you there?!”
There was no response.
“Grandma! No!” Rhea tried to shake her grandma like she would wake her up but her grandma’s body stiffened and turned cold.
“Stay with me, Grandma!”
—
Rhea limped weakly on her way to her village, her grandma’s words ringing in her ears before she left her. Others down the valley helped cremate her grandma’s body in the noon and she set off after that. It was dark and she had almost reached her house-her grandfather’s house. Grandma’s words were right. She had to be brave and face it. Face all her problems. She stood in front of the house and pushed the door open. The house was shattered. The items of furniture were destroyed. That was the last thing to destroy in the house. Her other dresses were torn, and several items were stolen. She slept on the floor and woke up when the sunlight hit her face in the morning.
She forgot about yesterday what her grandmother had said and prepared to set off to the buffet. She lived her life just the same and intended for no change.
To be continued...
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