Twisted Fate; The Making Of The Ruler

“Mother, do I need to make an offering in the mountains?” Matilda asked her mother while glancing at the sky. At the moment, the sun is about to set. If her mother insists, she needs to walk in the forest in the middle of the dark alone.

“You’ve been doing this for six years. Are you still scared now?” Matilda’s mother responded with raised eyebrows. She handed the basket full of offerings to Matilda and added. “If the villagers find out that we did not make the offering, they will surely blame us for the disasters or calamities that may come to our town!”

Matilda let out a deep breath, a sign of her resignation. “Mother, calamity is part of human life, so they can’t blame us if it comes to our village!” she reasoned while being forced to reach the basket full of offerings.

From the time she reached the age of thirteen, it became Matilda’s obligation to give offerings to the mountains. For the previous years, she had no complaints. She was also not afraid of walking in the middle of the night, but something was not right this year. She senses something is different this year. That’s why she has been begging her mother for several days that, if possible, she would not be the one to make the offering.

“Don’t complain because this is the last time you need to do that...”

Matilda halted on her way out of the house, immediately turned to her mother with wonder in her eyes.

“Well... You're turning eighteen at midnight, and I wanted to tell you about my surprise tomorrow... but I don’t want you to greet your birthday with a frown...”

Matilda caught her breath with intense anticipation... She is excited about what her mother means. Nonetheless, she already has an idea of what it is. Matilda’s been nagging her mother to allow her to go to the City because she has never been there. Since she was a child, Matilda was not allowed by her mother to leave. The chance that she reached the village could be counted on the fingers.

“I talked to your uncle, and he agreed... He will pick us tomorrow.” The uncle referred to by Matilda’s mother lives in the city itself. “Technically, we are scheduled to leave this mountain after securing the transfer of obligations. But since the mother of your replacement is from the clan, we don’t have to.”

“Mother! Are you for real?” Matilda screamed in delight. In joy, she rushed to her mother and gave her a tight hug."Thank you!" she uttered while suppressing her crying.

“I should be the one thanking you... For the past eighteen years, you were imprisoned by the obligation of our family and I am sorry for that...”

Matilda shook her head and broke free from her mother’s tight embrace. “Mother, don’t be sorry... It’s not your fault. I know you were forced just like others before us,” she said and sighed as she gave her mother a wide smile.

Generation by generation, their clan was assigned to do the offering. The girl born in the New Moon must live at the bottom of the mountain and at the right age, she will perform the offering. The only consolation is that their obligation ends when they reach their eighteenth birthday. At least, that’s what Matilda knew. Since her mother never explained to her the complete details.

Because of the good news given by her mother, Matilda left their home with a big smile on her face.

------

The silence in the forest is deafening. The only thing that can be heard is the rustling of the wind that hits the leaves of trees and plants, the chirping of crickets hiding in the thickets.

“It’s ok... Matilda, you're doing just fine!” She uttered to herself as she stepped carefully. The only light on her path was the light coming from the torch she was holding. Then she looked at the sky and frowned. The moon was covered by thick clouds, “Huh! It’s fine! I don’t need your help! Hide for all I care! This is the last time I’m going to this mountain! After this, I’m free!”

After a few minutes of walking, Matilda reached the enormous tree on the edge of the cliff. Seeing this, she let out a smile. “Finally!” Matilda uttered while observing the tree. She couldn’t help but be amazed while staring at it. According to her mother’s story, this tree was already standing before civilization was established.

“This is goodbye...” Matilda uttered and began to take out the offering in the basket. She arranged them in front of the tree. She also placed candles around it before kneeling down and starting the ritual.

In the following moments, Matilda’s mind became occupied with prayer, because this was the last time she would perform the ritual. Her prayer became solemn. Although she hated the idea of doing this, Matilda still believes that their prayers help to ward off disaster in their city.

“Crick!” Sound of a broken branch.

Matilda stopped in the middle of her prayer when she heard the sound. He immediately turned in the direction from which it came. However, brought by the darkness, she found nothing. That’s why she ignored it and continued praying.

“Ah-wow!!!”

Hearing this howling, Matilda couldn’t stop the horror and shiver. “No... It can’t be... God, please...” she uttered and quickly picked up the torch buried in the ground. Matilda knows the mountain is safe since no wild animals live here. But the howling from earlier indicates the opposite.

“Aw-wooh!!” The howling that rose from the mountain was exceptionally long and went on for some time.

Matilda was overwhelmed with fear, unable to think any further. She hastened away from the massive tree with speed. She persevered down the mountain, ignoring the sharp branches that ripped through her clothing and scratched her skin.

‘What is going on? Why are there wild animals on the mountain? Matilda asked herself while looking behind her, checking if the animal followed her.

After making sure that nothing was following behind her, Matilda stopped running fast. She hid in a tree to catch her breath.

“This is bad... Probably this animal is a new inhabitant of the mountain. The people of the town need to know this,” Matilda whispered. She took a deep breath again and prepared to run fast.

But before she could even step, something grabbed her mouth while a powerful force wrapped around her waist.

“Ugh!” Matilda moaned when her head hit the tree before completely losing consciousness.