By Jose Antonio Henson
I decided to change it a bit.
ENJOY!
MARIANNE LANE –
PART ONE
The old rooster woke us up with its loud crowing. It crowed and crowed until the entire house was wide-awake. Soon, the manor down in Beach Street was noisy with the screams and laughter of the kids, young and younger, which were running up and down the hallways and staircases of the old mansion.
Today was no ordinary day. Today, all the young ladies of the entire province that were of age to be wed, and the young men of stature, were to be sent to Delcel where they would find a better future.
As the ladies packed the little belongings that they had had, they dreamed of the man they were to meet, and spend the rest of their lives with. The men did almost just that, but as some dreamed of the lady they would call their own, the other’s dreamed of adventures. About twenty were chosen this year; twenty of the most beautiful and smartest of the small town of Klein in the province of Zemimír. And five of them: from Lady Solange’s household.
I dreaded this day for years, it not only meant that some would leave, or that I’d be reminded that I’d never get picked, but it meant that Miss Lane, Miss Marianne Lane, was leaving too. I’ll never see her again and she’ll never know how I felt about her.
“Hurry up, Felipe! He’ll be here any minute now!” Screamed a boy from the hallway. “I need to use the loo! And if he comes while I’m still inside, then I may never see my sister again!”
“Not to worry, Justus. I’ll make sure that won’t happen. You’ll still see Mari.”
“Are you sure? But… but what if he does come while I’m inside, Astinos?”
“He won’t, I promise.” I said as I looked at him straight in the eyes then turned and banged the door in front of us and demanded that Felipe open the door at once.
“If it would help, I’ll stand right here and look out the window. If I see anything come through the gate, I’ll knock on the door, scream at the top of my lungs, or even break this plank of wood down if I had to in order that you see your sister again.”
“Really?” Said the not-so-little boy, but the youngest in town as he opened the door and scolded Felipe for taking so long.
“Yup.” I answered.
“Ok, thanks.” He finally said as he walked in and closed the door behind him.
It was a beautiful morning in Klein. The sun was out and all the birds were singing out their jovial and mysterious songs. ‘Why is it such a beautiful morning?’ I thought. ‘How could the sun dare to shine, and the flowers bloom? What gave these birds the license to open-up and unleash such a captivating note?’
As I waited by the toilet door, I tried not to listen to the alluring tunes the birds were letting out. I was depressed. I didn’t want to feel joy. I didn’t want to know what it felt like to be happy. Mari was leaving and I didn’t have the guts to tell her how I felt!
Despite all my efforts to be negative of the whole situation, the aria finally got through the imaginary walls I had built in my head. I started to hear the melody of the bird then I began to wonder what it was singing about. It was probably singing about its great adventures in the vast kingdom above the earth in the high blue sky, or about its humble beginnings or even about its long, ancient yet peaceful life. I then found myself wishing that I could understand its complex compositions and know how he, or even she, got the chirpy yet dark melody together. ‘If only I could understand.’ I said to myself.
Dong. Dong. Dong…
The grandfather clock struck twelve.
“Justus!! It’s noon!” I screamed and in no time he was running right behind me as we headed out to the courtyard where Master Galbraith was expected to be.
When we got out of the house. Everyone was already there waiting for his arrival. Nearly the whole town was there to send the chosen off.
Breathing heavily, I tried to calm myself and I began to search the crowd for Mari.
I spotted her in the other side by the great fountain, furthest one from the gate. I made my way towards her and when I was almost halfway there, we started to hear a clatter of hooves. They’re here!
The rattling sound of carriages and heavy breathing of the fine beasts got closer and closer. Every drawing moment seemed to be unusually prolonged and a piercing silence began to teem the air. Not a single soul dared to utter even but a word. All were in suspense; the noble Master Galbraith has come again.
Seconds felt like hours in Madam Solange’s front courtyard. Practically everyone from the humble province of Klein was there. All knew that if they weren’t there when the messenger arrived, if they were one of the chosen ones, they’d get left behind and if they were just a citizen, they’d never see the one’s leaving ever again.
With a crackle and a sputter, we watched the carriages come into view across the bend. To my relief, and their dismay, it wasn’t Master Galbraith. The blue sumptuous carriages and relevantly small entourage made it clear: it was the elves from just over the mountains in the North. They too had several chosen ones, and they had come almost too late.
“I still have time!” I told myself. “I still have time to tell her.”
And with no time to waste, I made it past the second half of the courtyard to the great fountain, fifth and furthest from the gate. Just a few meters to the left, there, Mari was standing. Next to a large suitcase, she quickly gave me a big hug.
“Astinos! There you are!”
“Mari, yes.”
“I thought I would never see you again. Where were you? I’ve been looking for you all morning.”
“I… I…” I started to eat my words once again, it happens when I have something to say but just don’t have the guts to spit it out. And Mari, of all people, knew this.
“What is it, Astinos?”
“I, I have to tell you something.”
I took her aside. To a place where no one can overhear us and still in view (we didn’t want to miss the arrival of Master Galbraith), I told her how I felt. It took me a few tries but in the end I was able to get the message through. After I had finished, I waited for her reply. A moment of silence was inevitable.
“So, are you going to say anything?” I asked.
“Why? Why, Astinos? Tell me why!” Marianne finally answered.
“Why? I… I thought that…”
“I mean, why are you just telling me this now? I’ve been waiting for you to say something since… since forever! I’ve always loved you. But you’re… you never say anything! So… And you come and tell me now! Now! When I’m all packed and ready to go the Delcel. Astinos, why?!”
“Really? I… I don’t know. I guess I was just too scared to say anything. I didn’t know what you would say, I thought you’d hate me.”
“Me, hate you? That’s nonsense! If only I had a choice, I’d stay Astinos, it’s what I want more than anything in the world, to be with you.”
“Then, then stay with me, Mari! The two of us, let’s go away, you and me, away from Madame Solange’s protection, out of Klein, off to the other side of the vast water gap. I’ll protect you, Marianne. We’ll start a family; grow old together!”
“Oh, how pleasant that would be.” She answered. But her smile soon faded away.
“Bu, but, but I can’t.” she said. “And you know that! Life is not all rainbows and butterflies, you know. I promised my mother before she died that I would go away with Master Galbraith; find myself a husband from the other side. So you see, I really must go.”
“No, no, you can’t do this. You can’t leave. You can’t just… leave!”
Just then, he had finally arrived. It felt like a fairy tale to me: a really, really bad fairy tale. The kind of tale where everyone dies and the evil witch turns into a queen. The type of tale where birds forget how to fly and bats steal their songs.
The world couldn’t get any meaner… but it just did. If I was really going to do something, now was the time. “I could just tie her down for a few minutes and she’d surely get left behind,” I thought. “But she’d hate me if I did that!”
“I’m sorry, my dear Astinos, but I have to go now. Where’s my brother, I have to say good-bye.”
“Marianne, no. Please, I beg you, just stay!”
“Don’t make this harder than it already is; I’ve got to go!
Master Galbraith is here; the others are heading off now.” She said as she started walking away. “Goodbye, Astinos. I… I love you. I always have… I always will.”
She then ran over to the others, kissed her little brother good-bye. And with a tear in her eyes, she waved goodbye and I watched her disappear into the horizon.
I’ll always remember today; the day I watched Marianne leave; the day I let her slip away. Now she’s gone, gone forever.
