Salvation of the Fallen - Chapter 3
But today, more people died than usual. The tree supporting the white marble that would decorate the temple had broken. It was unclear whose fault it was, and how many people had died. One could only guess how dire the situation was by the continuously rising smoke until late hours.
“What does that have to do with me!”
“I told you it’s needed to honor the people who died in the temple! That’s all we have. Are you saying that you had a hard time getting rid of the alcohol you drank just now? Do you think Felita wine is easy to find? You should be thankful.”
Her mother’s favorite drink was wine made from the fruit of Felita, the world’s only remaining holy tree. It was a cherished drink regardless of social status, as there was a rumor that it washed away sins.
“Ha?! You’re selling Felita dregs at best. I doubt you’ve ever tasted real Felita wine.”
“A commoner can’t even taste that! Do you think that’s easy to get?!! Oh my, I should have quit business because of that woman.”
“What? Hey! Do you know who I am? Do you know who runs this village?”
“Who cares who you are? Just a drunk causing a scene. From now on, I won’t sell you any more alcohol, so get lost!”
“Ha! If it weren’t for me, who else in this village would buy that wine!”
The barkeeper’s jaw tightened at her words. The mother was right. Even if it was made from leftovers, it contained the only holy relic left in the world, Felita. It’s not something the commoners can easily afford. The people knew it as an honor when the temple sprinkled it on the dead who had died building the temple. They didn’t realize it was meant to wash away their sins.
“Hey! What are you doing? Go take your mother.”
The harsh gaze of the speechless bar owner fell on Arsena, who was quietly erasing any traces of the riot.
“I’ll go on my own! Don’t touch me.”
The scowling mother leaped up from her seat and warned Arsena. With each step, she danced and swayed, wafting the faint scent of Felita.
“Good night.”
A nearby yet distant journey. Arsena quietly stepped on her mother’s shadow and returned home. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, she laid her fallen mother on the bed, and only then did Arsena’s day come to an end. Despite clenching her hungry stomach, the bread that had been given to her had long disappeared.
***
“Teach this kid how to write.”
A man with disheveled hair and a tangled beard who was busy glaring at me. If I could, I’d run right up the hill, but I couldn’t because of my mother’s tight grip on my wrist.
“Why bother teaching such a lowly one how to write? Moreover, since she looks like you, she won’t have any trouble making a living.”
The man, who had used his tattered sleeve to wipe some food stuck to his beard, opened his mouth. A foul smell made the hairs on her head stand on end. She squirmed with reluctance, but her mother didn’t seem to mind. She pushed down on the small shoulder and forced Arsena to sit down next to the man.
“Just enough to write a simple letter.”
“Teaching a commoner to write and then getting in trouble for it. I’ll just write it for you.”
“You know the kinds of things to ask for.”
“What about this time?”
Even with her mother’s harsh words, the man, showing his yellow teeth, chuckled and ran his hand down her mother’s waist when he grabbed her b******s. When he squeezed them, her mother coldly waved her hand without turning an eye.
“Watch what you do.”
Ignoring Arsena’s presence and exchanging unpleasant glances, the man diligently taught Arsena after that day. In just a few days, she stumbled through reading and writing thanks to him.
“I taught you because of your mother, but don’t go flaunting your knowledge anywhere. Commoners shouldn’t know this by themselves.”
After the sudden advice, Arsena stared blankly. Understanding her thoughts, the man spoke with sincerity.
“Hey. Do you know why people avoid me?”
As Arsena nodded, the man revealed his yellow teeth and laughed.
“I’m a fallen priest. Expelled from the temple.”
Come to think of it, the clothes the man was wearing resembled the priest’s attire she had glimpsed at from the hill. It was hard to recognize due to the torn rags being worse than a rag.
“Why?”
After becoming somewhat comfortable over the past few days, Arsena asked out of inappropriate curiosity. The man’s gaze drifted into the air.
“I made the wrong choice.”
“Do you want to… go back?”
At Arsena’s question, the man shook his head slowly and locked eyes with her. His dark, stained eyes narrowed thinly, whispering secrets.
“I don’t believe in God.”
The words were blasphemous. It was a dangerous sentence to utter, even for a fallen priest. Arsena’s eyes widened, and she glanced around, afraid that someone had heard them.
“Of course, he exists. I feel it sometimes. That’s why it’s crueler. He doesn’t save us. On the contrary, he puts us through trials. In constant temptation, we must always prove ourselves. We’re always trying to figure out what’s God’s will. We’re always trying to solve problems we can’t figure out. And the choices we make create our destiny. I failed. That’s it. I’m too tired to unravel the tangled thread.”
It was a series of incomprehensible words. The man, speaking as he pleased, was not understood. Looking at the swaying blue eyes, the man raised his voice dramatically.
“Well, you’re going to fall into the fires of Life, so you might as well have some fun before you die! So, go and tell your mother that you’ve learned everything. Don’t come back again.”
As if finding it troublesome, the man pushed her away, and Arsena nodded obediently. Strangely, the man’s dismissive words felt warmer than anything else.
* * *
“Now, take it.”
When Arsena became accustomed to writing on the ground with a twig, her mother handed her paper and a pen. Arsena widened her blue eyes and observed her mother. There was no smell of alcohol.
“Because it’s expensive, don’t make any mistakes. Write. As I dictate.”
Sure, that’s right. Arsena’s small shoulders relaxed. At that moment, she felt like a fool for expecting even a little.
“Count…. No, it would be better to write Father.”
A letter to her father, whom she didn’t even know was alive. Arsena’s eyes widened.
She thought he was dead. The majority of the village did. Some had no fathers, and some had no mothers. There were too many who lost all their children and were left alone.
Her own father, like many others, would have disappeared into the bitter humidity of the cliff. Though she had never heard it, Arsena thought so.
“Ah… What should I write?”
Instead of explaining her father’s existence to the astonished Arsena, her mother casually twisted her lips.
“Ha… Just write whatever. You’re good at pretending to be pitiful. Ask him to send a lot of money.”
Even that request was short-lived, and not long after, her mother lay down on the bed. Arsena couldn’t ask anything. After hesitating for a while, she finally sat on the cold floor and moved the pen with difficulty.
“I’ve finished.”
Taking the paper at Arsena’s words, her mother smiled warmly. It was clear that she didn’t know how to read.
“Write that you miss him. No, write that you’ll go to see him.”
Arsena scribbled a few words, and then her mother kissed her on the forehead and left the house with cheerful steps.
Alone in the empty house, Arsena wiped her forehead It was the day she realized that her mother didn’t work like the other women in the village. Along with her father’s existence, who was living.
Only the noisy cawing of crows echoed in her ears. Tears didn’t fall.
***
“Hack… Ha…”
