empyrean | pjm (wattys2017)

0.41

It took me one and a half days to finish reading the thick book I had received. I was so into the book that I didn't bother much about not seeing Jimin for around thirty six hours. I held the material in my hand throughout the day, at the cafe and at home as well. 

Flipping the last page over, I glanced through the text once before shutting the book and placing it on the side table. Falling back against the mattress, I let out a sigh that was loud enough to represent frustration and fatigue. 

I currently had hundred and one creatures storming around my head, out of which only thirty were probable. Rolling to the side, my hand dug into the drawer before emerging out with a tiny piece of candy. I recognized it immediately.  It was the same one handed to me by May and her mother.

'Give it to the one you love'

Their words were fresh in my head. There was a quiet rumble in my stomach as it contracted for the tenth time, and I tore open the foil before tossing the sweet solid in. 

Grabbing my phone I sent a message to the Jimin.

Yoona: Jiminie

Jimin: Done with the research?

Yoona: yes :D I know what you are

Jimin: It's funny how you try to play around with me even when you know that I can read your mind

Yoona:  :/ I don't like you

Jimin: We both know you do

Yoona: Don't be so sure boy!

I giggled, hugging myself. The joy however, was momentary.  The voice of my step mother speaking out loud filled my ears and I sat up straight. Placing the device aside, I rushed down the stairs to check on her.

I lost my composure in a matter of seconds as I laid my eyes on five men,  standing at our door, black robes and a piece of red cloth folded in half -  tied around the lower half of their faces, to hide their identity.

"Go back to your room Yoona! " the woman yelled, placing her hand straight over my chest and giving me a rough push.

As much as I wanted to do so, I stood rooted. I couldn't just leave her alone. I knew what they were here for and it was obvious that my stepmother was trying to protect me, but-

"She is not a Virgin!" the lady's voice broke a little,  "please go find someone else"

"Look woman, her name has appeared. The sacred order doesn't make mistakes. Please move away" the man at the centre spoke- his voice rough and harsh.

Without thinking twice, I ran back up the stairs to my room, closing the door shut behind my back and locking it. I could hear the woman's yells and screams of protest as the temple's men pushed their way in.

I quickly typed a message, 

Yoona: Help

As the banging on my door got louder, I couldn't waste the little time I had by typing out a long essay,  so I settled for a text that would tell him I was in trouble.

Yoona: I'm in trouble

My heart was beating so fast, it would leap out of its cage any second. I rubbed the palm of my hand against it, trying to calm my erratic breathing, I had almost lost control over myself.

The phone was snatched away from my hands,  chucked away carelessly as two of them curled their arms around mine, making sure I wouldn't escape no matter what.

"Wait"

"Listen to me for a second"

And they surprisingly stopped to hear me out.

"I-I would like to wash myself. I need to be clean before you offer me to the gods " I stuttered but managed to get the words out somehow, despite the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
The men looked at each other. I only wanted to buy Jimin some time so he could get here. My brain couldn't make a better excuse and I didn't care about anything at the moment except for my survival. I shouldn't die.

The tallest of the men, who stood at the door shook his head before laughing. "Let's go" he ordered and without another word, the others had me tight in their grip as they dragged me out of my house, towards the shrine.

"I'll walk by myself" I spoke again. I didn't know how I got the words out, it was probably the fright hormone rushing through my blood stream, giving me courage fuelled by the constant fear of losing my life, losing my friends at the cafe, not being able to meet the owner granny anymore and most of all, losing the only one I loved.

I hoped the temple's men would let me walk but they didn't.  They only tightened their hold, lifting me up in the air.  With eyes now brimming with tears, I struggled and thrashed around, every cell in my body working to set me free.

The closer we got to the shrine, the brighter the fire of fear burnt. I could feel the sweat drench my skin, the throbbing of my own eyes, my very own ringing screams vibrating in my ears, and the thumping of my heart against my chest. My fingers were curled into a fist, nails digging into my palm. I couldn't hear my rapid breathing, but I could feel the oxygen flooding in and out of my lungs. 

"P-please" I begged one last time before they pushed me into the room I dreaded the most.

The doors closed shut behind me and tears were now streaming down my face, body struggling to catch a breath as my hands and legs shivered uncontrollably despite the heat.

I watched as four women, dressed in red robes approched me. "Please, I beg you"  I sobbed, "let me go!" ,  stepping away until my back was pressed against the tall wooden door.

In the room lit with fire lamps on the wall, they undressed me. Yanking off my clothes, making me curl up further in shame and fear. "please don't ".

" I will give you whatever you want, don't do this to me! Let me go" I begged. I had nothing to give, but I was willing to offer anything, I'd even sign a deal with Satan if he could get me out of this.

No matter how much I thrashed around, no matter how hard I cried and no matter how loud I screamed, they remained unaffected, as if they were accustomed to this. They forced me to sit down on a rock placed at the centre of the room.

The fear within, sat quietly, eroding the person I was. What started as a contortion of my stomach became a feeling of being smothered by an invisible hand. My breathing was no longer erratic,  it was infact deep and  then shallow. I tried to fight it. I fought the feeling as my body writhed to be free or shut down entirely.

One of them poured water with red petals floating around, as warm as my skin,  while the others scrubbed my skin as if ridding me off of everything I owned. Silent tears escaped my eyes as I screwed them shut. With each dropping tear, a part of me got stronger while the other weakened beyond repair.

With a string of hope, barely even existent, I silently begged to be saved. I opened my eyes back up when I felt a piece of cloth wiping me dry. The combination of pain and shame so harsh, I could barely even comprehend how I felt.

I watched as water droplets on my skin disappeared without a trace as the rough cloth absorbed it. Surrounded my scented candles, I let them smoke my hair dry the traditional way, by adding incense powder onto the coal.

They were so careful to be careful as they helped me put on a white dress, made of the smoothest silk I'd ever felt. Pressing cut berries on my lips, they colored it red, refined charcoal to trace my eyes and a whiff of rose water to top it all.

This was it. The end.