I Should Have Read The Ending - Chapter 87
Chapter 87 – Orphaned Sun
Around that time, Trisha was dangling from the endless pit-like well while draining the water. It wasn’t completely dark because of the moonlight, but when Trisha leaned over the well, it felt like the abyss came and seemed to drag her into hell.
“I wish I could take a day off…”
The 18-year-old Trisha was responsible for supporting the family. She often used her body to lift heavy objects as if she was a boy, but her father would always look at her with contempt while saying “useless little girl.” Trisha resembled her mother, who had shallow red hair.
“Well, on my subject.”
A laugh came out of her lips. Now that she had fetched enough water, Trisha had to move it inside their house, then boil water in a pot larger than her body, and blanch the medicinal herbs.
Trisha didn’t have time to rest even though she worked all day long. During the day, she had to help with other family’s chores and receive wages, while at night, she had to trim the medicines to supply their products for trading as her mother ordered.
“It would be nice to take a day off and study.”
It was a wish of her age. Trisha’s mother forced her to memorize herbal medicine that cannot help her immediate livelihood; her mother sometimes tested it and blamed Trisha for unfavorable results. Sometimes, her drunkard father would also beat her.
“Sister, sister!”
As Trisha entered the house, her eight-year-old brother, who was in trouble, frantically searched for her. It was also Trisha who raised this younger brother.
“Nicola, it’s bedtime.”
“I can’t…”
Nicola, who was only eight years old, could not understand Trisha’s mind. And so today, Trisha had no choice but to take him and start the rest of her work.
If Nicola grows up as much as she does, she’ll get better. In a way, young Trisha’s hope was the younger Nicola. She couldn’t let go even though she vaguely felt that it was hopeless.
“Nicola. Once upon a time, there was the sun and the moon…”
Trisha used to tell fairy tale stories to put her little brother to sleep, but Nicola wasn’t interested in it.
“The moon was so beautiful that all the gods and fairies loved it.”
While stirring with a heavy wooden spatula, Trisha did not stop talking.
“The sun was always on fire.”
It was a story told by herself.
“The moon crept out of the quiet night and glistened beautifully with a soft light. The moon was born like that from the beginning. Everyone loved the moonlight shining softly within the darkness of the night, so they promised that no one would be able to cast a shadow in the moon’s beautiful light. Gods and fairies, all of them…”
The subtle moonlight gave a ray of light in the dark sky. There was not even a shadow over the orphaned sun.
“But when the sun came, the gods and fairies had to work. The gods and fairies are starting to dislike the sun. It shines too hot with an unsightly red color.”
Trisha didn’t like the sun coming up either. She hated it when she was so clearly seen by the people at work looking shabby again.
“But the sun shined so hard that the gods and fairies had to make shadows and hide behind them. They hate the sun, but they can’t avoid it…”
Nicola, who was watching Trisha, was already dozing off. However, Trisha continued to stir the wooden spatula and recited the strange story that even she didn’t know the ending.
“The sun was very, very curious. How beautiful the moon is. How soft the light is.”
The herb was almost ripe now.
“And one day, the sun met the moon.”
Suddenly, Trisha’s touch stopped.
“The moon is really… it was beautiful.”
Trisha’s red eyes briefly stayed in the air. The emotions and wonders during her first encounter with Diana— the fairy-tale world and beautiful things from the upper class that can only be seen by Diana’s side. It’s all that Trisha could ever dream of.
“Yes, it’s so… it was so beautiful.”
Perhaps because of their disparity in status or Trisha’s shabby appearance, Diana began to stay away from her. The dreamlike time had vanished like a mirage. Trisha could not even get a glimpse of Diana’s world now.
That was the reality now. Diana’s hands, once held together, will still be white and soft to the point where Trisha’s rough hands would not dare to touch it.
“Just… like I had a dream.”
It’s time to pick up the herbs. If Trisha lays Nicola in bed and collects this herb and tidies it up, her long day will be over.
“It was a dream.”
But now, Trisha never dreamt. Whenever she lays her tired body down, Trisha would simply fall asleep without time to dream, and when she opens her eyes, a new day dawns. So, Trisha was now getting tired of reality and was gradually forgetting her dreams.
