Purple Tulips

Red Tulips - Chapter ONE 🌷

It started as a small drizzle accompanied by a gentle wind, evoking a sense of peacefulness, the light clouds slightly darkening the moonlit night. But soon the clouds turned darker and thicker, forbidding the moon's rays to cast their light upon the surface and enveloping the place with more darkness and melancholy.

Moments later the rainfall and the wind became more intense and people scurried to look for a place to take shelter from the falling water. Their footwear creating a splashing noise as they hit the now muddy ground. As the people made haste to avoid getting wet, on the other hand, a carriage bearing a red and yellow peacock symbol on its sides leisurely traversed the road, as if to say that the weather did not affect it at all. 

Lightning flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the place with light and after a moment the accompanying sound of thunder rolled.

At the same time the thunder made an oppressive boom, in a small dark room, a young girl was jolted awake by the loud sound. She looked at the gray filled sky from the window in front of her small bunker bed. Her black eyes unfocused as she pondered upon what was weighing on her mind. 

She had been thinking about it for a few days now and causing her to fall asleep a while ago too, but until now she still had not decided upon what she wanted to do. She only have minutes left to make up her mind and for this reason, she needed to choose now since she does not want to make a decision later, at the spur of the moment.

Should she go or should she not? Should she choose the wrong choice in the eyes of the society or should she choose the one that would make her happy regardless of what everyone would say?

Part of her wanted to leave but a part of her dreads the outcome of such a decision.

The sound of a stone hitting a wooden window pulled her out of her trance. Even though a part of her is nagging her not to open it, she also does not want the person on the other side to get caught. So without delay she opened the window on the side of the bed. The face of a young male only slightly older than her wearing old and used clothes appeared, anxiousness strewn across his face.

"Lixue, make haste. Let us take advantage of the rain. The caravan will be leaving at the next hour." While saying that, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him while looking out for guards or servants that might see them.

Biting her lip, she shook off his hand from hers and confessed in a whisper, "I-I have not..."

Alarmed by what she said, he abruptly turned his head and peered closely at her small face.

"What? Lixue, don't you want to come with me?" With a slight frown on his face, he asked, his voice laced with an accusing tone that he did not manage to hide.

"I-I want to but... What if we get caught? Wh-what if we have other options we have not thought about yet?" She expressed her thoughts hesitantly, afraid that he might get mad at her for her indecision. Her grip on her clothes was tight as she waited for his reply.

"But if we don't go now, do you want to marry that disgusting eunuch? You can bear to leave me for him? Lixue... what other options do we have left?" Sighing, he reached for her hands, held them tightly, and looked into her eyes. "If you don't go, you can just forget about our love. Forget about me because if the time comes when you regret your decision, you won't get any help from me. Lixue, I can't wait for you forever."