MEENBABE: Herstory (GXG)

3

Aoom’s POV

As we continue through the unfamiliar streets,  Snack’s hushed question catches my attention.

“Is she still following us?” she inquires, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Hmm, yes,” Charlotte confirms, a sense of alertness in her response.

Curiosity gets the best of me, and I bring our conversation to a halt.

“Someone’s following us? Who?” I ask, coming to a standstill.

My question is answered when someone bumped into my back.

I pivot swiftly to confront our stalker, only to be met by the woman we had rescued earlier.

“Ouch,” she mutters, gingerly massaging her forehead.

“Oh. Hello there, what do you want?” I inquire, direct and to the point.

“I just want to thank you for helping me out earlier,”  she replies, bowing to show her gratitude. Her eyes meet mine, and there’s a genuine warmth in her gaze.

“You’re welcome. You can go now,” I offer, turning to leave. But she halts me with her next words.

“Ah, wait!” She attempts to step closer but stumbles, causing her face to fall against my chest….

I hear dramatic coughs from Charlotte and Snack, clearly amused by the clumsiness. She swiftly regains her composure and creates some distance between us.

“I’m sorry,” she says, her cheeks reddening.

“Do you still need something?”

“You see… I work for the Princess,” she begins. I can sense a little bit of hesitation in her voice.

I arch an eyebrow, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

“You do?”

She nods in confirmation.

“And… what does it have to do with me?” I question, my eyes locked with hers.

“I’m just wondering if you can work with her…” she responds with genuine hope in her voice.

“Why would I?” I challenge, maintaining my strong stance.

“Because, like you, she also wants to empower women and can’t stand injustices against our kind.” The sincerity in her words resonates with me, and I find myself considering the possibilities.

I stare at her intently, her innocence and sincerity a stark contrast to the harsh world around us. There’s an authenticity in her words that’s hard to ignore.

A subtle change in her demeanor doesn’t go unnoticed. She repeatedly places her hands on her stomach, as if enduring some form of discomfort. It’s a telltale sign of her vulnerability.

“I’ll think about it,” I finally reply, my heart softening towards her.

“Okay…”

My curiosity piqued, I decide to delve deeper.

“What’s your name?” I ask, closing the distance between us.

“Meena…” she replies, her voice barely above a whisper.

I reach out to caress her cheek, taking note of a small bruise forming. As my fingers brush her skin, I feel her tense under my touch. Gazing down, I see her hands tightly clutching her stomach again.

“W-what are you doing?” she panics as I raise her clothes, revealing her abdominal area.

To my surprise, this girl possesses toned abs. An oddity, given her earlier display of clumsiness.

My initial amusement gives way to concern when I spot bruises on her stomach.

“Hmm, Meena, does it hurt?” I ask, reaching out to touch the bruised area. I sense the tension in her body as I make contact.
She nods in response, her discomfort evident. I lower her clothing.

“Charlotte. Snack,” I call, and they both raise their eyebrows in curiosity.

“Could you please carry Meena to wherever our house is?” I request.

Charlotte retorts, “Why us?”

“You carried me from the river to the market earlier. That is your forte and doing it again won’t hurt you,” I reply.

“And I think Meena can’t walk anymore; she’s injured. We need to treat her bruises.”

Reluctantly, Charlotte agrees, her eyes rolling in mild exasperation. Yet, in the end, they both oblige and prepare to carry Meena to our home.

*********

“Is this our house?” I asked with a sense of amazement as we halted in front of a grand, ancient gate, adorned with a crescent moon etching, guarding the entrance to the imposing ancestral mansion.

As we crossed the threshold, a bevy of servants greeted us. Charlotte summoned someone with a soft but insistent call.

“Linda, Lindo.”

“Yes, my lady?” a servant responded.

“Can you please put this lady to bed? call a doctor too and have him check on her. She was badly beaten,” Charlotte requested, indicating Meena, who had fallen asleep while being carried by Snack.

The two servants nodded in understanding and gently removed Meena from Snack’s back.

“Oh, thank you,” Snack breathed a sigh of relief and stretched her tired muscles.

I followed both of them as we made our way into the ancestral house. I was once again taken aback, as the house exuded an aura of antiquity and a style that felt centuries old.

“This is so unlike you, Aoom,” Charlotte remarked as we navigated our way through one of the house’s rooms, which appeared to be a library, given the vast collection of books.

Right… I wasn’t myself anymore. I didn’t even know where I belonged. I questioned the reality of it all, wondering if it was a dream or something else entirely. I had begun to doubt my very existence.

Snack nodded in agreement, adding,

“You used to say not to interfere.”

My brow furrowed. “So, the old me was a terrible person? Choosing to be a bystander instead of stepping up to fight injustice?”

Charlotte shook her head. “No, you used to work in the shadows. You helped people discreetly.”

Snack seemed perplexed. “Why are you speaking as if there are two separate entities inside you?”

“Because… I don’t know,” I admitted, struggling to articulate my thoughts.
“You… you still can’t remember?” Snack asked, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief.

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

A heavy silence descended upon us for a moment. I decided to break it, unable to bear the weight of our shared confusion any longer.

“The Princess Meena’s talking about, who’s she?” I inquire, my curiosity piqued.

“Princess Rina Chatamonchai,” Snack responds with a nonchalant tone.

The name hits me like a bolt of lightning. I can’t help but feel that this can’t be a mere coincidence. The shock and disbelief wash over me as I try to process the implications of this revelation. Princess Rina Chatamonchai, the very name I had been hearing in my Professor and Nana’s stories. The pieces of this strange puzzle seem to be falling into place, and I can’t help but wonder if there’s a deeper connection between me, the book, and this world I’ve stumbled into.

“W-what is this place called?” I asked, my mind racing with doubts and disbelief.

“The kingdom of Arkemia,” Charlotte replied, confirming my worst fears.

This was more than just a strange coincidence; I had somehow found myself in a world straight out of the books I had been hearing.