The Monster They Created- Chapter 4-6

Secrets were what my parents had the most of. There were more of them in my home than pineapple plants on my farm. It seemed like every day recently a new one sprouted.
“Who’s that from?” Mom asked my dad when I was upstairs. They thought I would not hear them. They always thought that which often led to my benefit.
Dad replied, “Adi, he has sent a warning of a plot”
“A plot against…”
“Yes. One we must prepare for,”
“Hopefully this will be the last one we must handle.”
“I hope that too, Elanor.”
That conversation was held yesterday on Monday after we finished our two day harvest of the plants. Adi often was a name that came up in their conversations. I did not know who he was nor what plot he warned of.
As I lay in the soil of the fields between the plants looking up at the blue-cloud-dotted sky feeling the warmth of the sun upon my face, a question of if I should pester my parents about these secrets lay in my mind.
In eight days I shall be married to my betrothed, Charles as is tradition and take charge of the Neara Pineapple Farm. The farm I lay among now. It would be best to confront my parents between now and then, but I know what will happen. What always happened when I pestered them,
The scar on my shoulder became very aware to me as I recalled the past of questioning my dad. The pain rang as it did that stormy night. To be clear, I love my dad, but he is a secretive man who values those secrets over the safety of his daughter. Although now he has gotten better about it, only hitting me when Mom is not around.
This is the week of the Summer Festival. Every family must harvest their fruits to give to traders for the country on Wednesday. Thursday there is a town wide market where each family sells their respective fruit. Friday is the day we celebrate this with dancing and food. But this year for me is different. Having graduated, I will take charge of the pineapple farm with a betrothed man, in my case, Charles Drina, the dragon fruit farmer.
We would be married the following Wednesday and become officially adults. Even though the legal age is sixteen in the country, I will be legal at fifteen as my birthday isn’t till February.
Being an adult would mean I should talk to my parents as an equal, but I did not want a repeat of what happened a year ago when Iris and G were discovered.
Also what would I even ask them? Hey, so why are you so secretive? I’m secretive so it would be a hard question to ask without seeming hypocritical.
“Ollie, why is there blood on your dress?”,Mom was standing about two feet away, concern in her eyes,
“Just Sarah and Edmund.” I replied truthfully
She sighed and sat next to me in the soil,”Don’t listen to them. You are not the Arewed of Evil.”
I leaned against her,”I know, but..”
“No buts. You are a Good girl. You worship on Saturdays, you follow Good law. You are my beautiful little girl.”
I smiled but it was not true. While I did worship, it was always done halfheartedly. I never have fully believed in every Good testament and law. Not being able to be yourself has always strung me the wrong way. To be clear I do not believe in Evil. But I can’t get over some of the Good laws like no relationships of the same sex or obeying the leader without question.
I set my head up, “I have a question,”
“What is that?”
Dad had asked the question. By the sun, I could not say it in front of him
Dad made a hand gesture,”So, are you going to say it?”
I swallowed hard and replied,”Why do you keep information from me so often?”
Dad sighed,”Look at all these pineapple plants. They are strong and provide a hearty harvest. That is because we raised and took care of them, giving everything they need and sparing negative factors. They would not grow the Good fruits with the negativity.”
“But, these secrets seem to be about me. Not knowing them causes negativity in its own right.”
Dad shook his head,”What do you want to know then hmm? Everything that would harm you?”
“No but…”
“Stop with the buts, just no. You don’t want to know,” Dad fiddled his fingers around the opal ring on his finger from an unknown group,”So please, by all that is Good in this world, stop trying to know.”

Chapter 5

The night passed as it usually did, with dinner and a silence that followed after. The morning was different from the usual flow. With it being Wednesday of the Summer Festival, we had to provide most of our fruits to the Counties traders.
“Are you coming with us, Thomas?” My mom asked in the morning to my father
“No, Elanor. I have business to attend to here.”
A mental sigh of relif emerged from my brain as he stated his plan. It would be much easier to go with mom for the hour.
She clapped her hands together,”Alright then, Ollie. Let’s get going.”
A horse had been dropped off for us earlier in the morning.This horse would be hauling two light- wood wagons of pineapples. We sat at the front, mom to the left and I on the right.
“Are you nervous for Friday?” Mom asked as we started
“It would be strange if I wasn’t”
She laughed,”That is true. But you are strong and can handle anything.”
“Hmm, I doubt that. If I was strong then Edmund and Sarah would not bother me.”
“They’re just jealous of the looks you got from your mother.”
I grinned,”Mom.”
She shrugged her shoulders,“What is wrong with self confidence?”
We arrived at the docks, five folks in front of us. The ships loomed high above us with their sails like mysterious clouds.
“Good, only a…“I turned my head to see Mom with tears slowly falling from her brown eyes,”What’s wrong?”
“Oh,” She quickly wiped away the tears,”I’m just sad you’ll be leaving me soon.”
“It’s not like I’m leaving town, you will still see me.” I comforted
She smiled and gently pushed back my brown braid,”I know, but I will still miss you, my dear Ollie. I know we’ve had our problems, but know I have never stopped loving you.”
When we reached the top of the line, an old man stood there with a clipboard. He was dressed in simple clothes but seemed rich in the way he stood and the rings on his fingers. His blue eyes were sad though like a beagals. I don’t blame him though. I didn’t want to be here either
“Are you pineapple farmers?” he asked with a miserable voice.
“Yes.” I replied to the sad man.
He wrote something down,“Name?”
Mom awnsered, “Neara”
His eyes widened for a second but then went back down to their former sad position. This confused me but I shrugged it off as Mom did not seem to know this man. She would have gone off on an hour long conversation with him if she did. Maybe he knew another Neara where he lived, it was a popular last name in Elira.
I’ve even heard of one being a head in the government. But to most Elirans, the government is a mystery. What they do at the castle doesn’t affect us nor do we have a say in who runs it. Besides our town leader, why should I care who runs some cloaked system?
He found our name on his clipboard and checked us off, “Remove your horse.”
Mom took the horse of the wagon and brought it to the side. The man came up to the pineapples and looked through them. Each and every pineapple he checked, this process took the longest. Standing there for fifteen minutes as some old man shuffles around your fruits is remarkably boring.
I stood there for the time, think of mom. She stood next to me, not bothered by the thoughts she once told me. How did she do that? Mom put on such a face that no one could tell the thoughts in her head. I could not do that. I respected her and feared her for this talent.
“This year looks like it was a Good harvest for you and our country.” He remarked once the check was over,
“It was, sir.” Mom replied,
He scribbled something down on two pieces of paper with a red pen.
“Here.” He said while handing me one of the papers
Name-Neara
Village- Troprin
Fruit- Pineapple
Quality- High
Confirmed by the Elirian Government
This paper was a pass to get the money for the pineapples. With the quality being high we would no doubt get at least thirty hundred tooks.
When he handed me the paper I could not help but notice the ring he was wearing. It was a gold band with an opal in the shape of a sun on it. It was beautiful, but that is not what caught my eye. The familiarity made my head turn. It was Dad’s ring. The same ring I had seen all my life. The same ring that had caused cuts on my checks.
As we dropped off the horse that was all I could think of. Rings show groups while necklaces show families. Two people having the same ring meant they were connected. But how in everything Good could Dad and that random old man know each other? He had left town before, did he meet the man then?
Mom might know, they never kept secrets from each other, but I could not ask her. She would tell dad. I would be left regretting ever asking.

Chapter 6





If anyone would know the man’s name, it would be someone from the ship, Azriel. I set my mind to asking them at the picnic we would share. In a basket I put a jar of pineapple candies I made the day prior and two pineapples then began my walk to the beach.
My heart longed for these picnics. Sometimes they were the only thing that gave me a reason to look forward to the future. I reached the beach and saw the spread that was put out. Bread, butter, latkes, tomato chicken and cheese sandwiches (I didn’t like tomatoes so I decided I would stay away from those.)and so much more. Next to it sat Azriel. They were shorter than me, but claimed to be still growing with subtle muscle from carrying heavy boxes. On their feet were the same worn green boat they had worn since we met seven years ago. Their curly brown hair cut short and out of the way to show their eyes like the sea after a storm.
“Olive, Hi!” They said, a smile now appearing on their face.
I walked through the sand and felt it shift under my feet. I set my basket on the blanket.
“Hello! It’s Good to see you again. This is quite the spread you got.”
“Well since it’s our last one of these I want to make it special.” They said, looking down at their boots
I grabbed their hand,”Let’s not think about that, let’s enjoy our time today. It’s the only thing we can do.”
They looked at me with their sad ocean eyes. And although I was trying to make them feel better, I could not help but notice how beautiful they were. Oh how I adore them.
I have for six years.
G, Iris, and I were sitting on the beach enjoying the sun and waves as they crashed against the shore. It was the middle of the Summer Festival week and we were taking a moment to escape the business of it all.
“Hello!”
The three of us all snapped our heads to the left were the voice had come from. There stood a kid about our age. They wore green boots too big for their feet. Those boots were what I noticed first about them.
“Who are you?” Iris asked, her strawberry blonde hair flowing like a banner in the wind.
“I’m Azreil Spih! My dad is the Captain of one of the Trading ships. Who are you?”
G stood up,”I’m G, the blonde is Iris, and the girl gawking at you is Olive.”
To be clear, I was not gawking because I thought they were strange, but because I was unapologetic ally entranced by them. Something about Azriel to me was beautiful to my tiny eyes. I still find them beautiful but I really did start my aching for them early.
Azreil laughed,”Do you mind if I sit with you?
Those simple eight words started a tradition we all did not mind. We would meet during trading seasons at the beach. It did not start with food, but when we were eleven Iris brought these Arewedly cookies that brought about the tradition of having a picnic.
“Kiss already!” G yelled from atop the hill, bringing a series of blushing from my checks.
I looked in his direction and there he was standing with a basket of oranges and a picture of orange juice. He walked down to us and put his items next to mine. His demeanor changed upon seeing the sadness in our eyes.
“Come on guys. I understand this is the last time, but let’s enjoy it. I don’t want to look back at this day and remember mopping around.” He expressed.
Azriel and I sat on the blanket with him. G always spoke his mind and loudly at that. I could never do what he did.
He looked at my arm,”What did you do to your shoulder?”
I looked to where I was struck with the book. A bruise had formed. It wasn’t that big but it was still noticeable.
“I banged it against a bookshelf.” I lied.
“What were your outcomes for the last day of school?” Azriel asked with a clear lean towards the final decision of our suitors
“I am going to marry Charles.” I sighed,
“I don’t have to get married and I am going to the school of Good to become a knight.” G replied.
“Not the school of Evil?” Azriel asked sarcastically
“Hell no. Even if that was an option I wouldn’t go there. Sure my pure existence goes against everything the Goods believe but I am not joining Evil. I do not want to hurt anyone.”
“I think all of us go against the beliefs of the school of Good.” I rolled my eyes
“How about we raise a toast?” I suggested
“Yes!” G pointed to me.
He poured us each a glass of orange juice.
“To continuing to be a helper in trade and sea travel.”Azriel said, raising their glass
“To leaving everything behind and truly become myself. And learning to use a sword as a bonus.” G raised his glass.
I raised my glass,”And to marry some guy and being stuck in this town.”
“Muwt!” We said in unison and took a sip of our drinks.
After that we began to eat the food that was there.
“How’s the trade going?” G asked Azriel as he took a bite of a latke
“It’s going well. Kinda boring to be honest but since I’ve started to be the navigator it’s been giving me something else to do besides random chores and writing silly poems.” They responded,
A question popped into my mind, “Who is that guy on your trade crew this year that has the gold ring with the white sun?” I asked Azriel abruptly.
“That’s Lord Luckas Muckband, as you probably know he is the King’s advisor of trades. All members of the King advisory have that ring. Why do you ask?”
“My Dad wears the same ring as him. My parents have been secretive about why they have it and my dad especially got angry at me for as King them about it. So I’m trying to figure it out by myself.”
“That’s odd. But hey, your parents have always been strange.” G added
“Well I hope you figure it out.” Said Azriel.
“Thanks.”I replied.
We talked and ate for a little bit longer. This was the longest time in a while that I was happy, and I enjoyed it. As the food was being finished Azriel said,
“I’m so hot, why is it so muggy and humid here?”
“I thought this was your favorite town?” I responded,
They stared me dead in the eyes,”Not every town is perfect, Olive.”
I put my hands up,”My bad.”
“Well I’m tired of this heat, I’m heading in the water.” They replied.
We laughed at first but then they took off those green boots and emptied their pockets.
“What?” G asked
“Come on you two.” They ushered us forward and when we didn’t move they grabbed my hand and pulled me into the water.
I fell into the water on my back. I came up quickly but all wet
“Now you’re gonna get it” G said after seeing the look on my face.
Azriel looked scared and I smiled as I pushed them into the water. Me and G both laughed as they came up loo King like a sad puppy.
“Come on G, doesn’t this look fun?” They said, sounding a little annoyed
“Ugh, fine. But you know I’m not the best swimmer.” He then got into the water.
I picked fun at his lack of abilities, “Funny considering you live on a literal island.”
He pushed me into the water with a smile,”By Goodess stop.”
We swam around in the ocean for a while. It was a calmer day and the clean blue water felt better than I thought. After a while we got out and laid along the beach to dry before our walks home.
I looked over at G who was fast asleep,”G’s knocked out.”
Azriel glanced at him,”He must have been really tired, but hey, when is he not.”
We laid there for a little while without talking.
“I wish I could live here, it’s quiet, your home is always in one place, and you are here.”Azriel sighed
“Ha, this town is not a place I would want to call ‘home’.” I replied
“I think our ideas about ‘what makes a home’ are different.”
“Yeah.”
They pulled out their leather notebook and began to read a poem they wrote.
“Can I see?” I asked leaning in closer to them.
“Sure, don’t judge it too hard please.”
“Will do.”
Always to the breaking point I must go
Ready and prepared to jump of a cliff
Everyday I try to do what’s needed to those people I owe
Wishing I could fix the cracks I’ve made as the world has shift
Each day feels as it pulls be down and low
Dark and damp is the place I am now
They pointed to another poem, “Read this one too.”
You are one of the people I love most
Are you a flower who bloomed the best
Not a single soul knows your beauty like I do
A feeling like this has caused nothing but sorrow
Near a inflate times do I love you, yet near a million times have I lost you
“What lucky girl did you write this for?” I asked, handing back the journal
“A very pretty one.”
“Well she better be.”
They leaned in closer,”Find any hidden messages in there.”
“Should I have?”
They raised their eyebrows,”I don’t know, did you.”
They kept their face stoic before breaking off into an uncontrollable laughter. Azreils idea of a joke was far from traditional.
We laid there for a while. The sky began to shift from light blue to pink. I turned to my side and looked at them,
“Thank you for being my friend these years.” I whispered
“Thank you for being mine.” They looked at me.
I blushed a bit at that. We were getting closer. There was tension between us. My breath hitched as our lips almost seemed to touch.
Before they did, Azreil went back an inch,”We should wake up G.”
I backed away. “You’re right.”
I walked over to him and gently shook his shoulder,”Hey, G. Wake up.”
He blinked at me a few times before saying,”You let me fall asleep.”
“Only for a few minutes.” I muttered
He sighed, “Whatever. Help me up.”
I pulled him up to his feet and then it was time to say Goodbye.
“Maybe I will see you in your new home.” Azriel said, hugging G
“I hope so, you can find me at the school of Good.” He responded.
“I will find you when I’m let off.”
Azriel came up to me.
“See you next harvest.” I promised, hugging them.
“I hope so. Will you sit and eat lunch with me?” He asked
“Always.”
They went into hug me again,
“See you soon my friends, thank you.” They said, sounding like they were on the brink of tears.
“You’re welcome.” G said back.
I took the oranges G gave me and my basket.
“Bye!” we yelled to Azriel as we left.
“So, what did you two do while I was asleep?” G questioned me.
“Talk.” I answered
“You just talked?”
“Yeah.”
G stopped,”So you’re telling me you had time alone with the guy you like and you didn’t make a move towards a relationship?”
I shrugged,”What’s the point? It’s not like I can marry them anyway.”
“Olive l-”
G was cut short by his parents calling him.
“Gloria! Come over here.” His mom yelled
“Oh I have to go. But don’t think I won’t forget about this.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
He ran off and I continued to walk and began to cry. I knew things would be different but just wanted things to be the same as they were.
I stopped crying by the time I got home and got ready to deal with an uncomfortable emptiness. I entered the house and set my items on the counter. My parents were sitting in the sitting room already in an uneasy silence.
“Ollie, come over here.” My mom said softly
I walked over to them and sat down. My leg began to shake,
“Olive, we understand you have questions that you want to find the answers for, but we have our secrets just as you have yours. We hope you understand that.” Mom explained
“I do.” I replied.
“Listen, we know how much it hurts to be in the dark so we will explain a few things after the party on Friday. How does that sound?” Dad suggested.
I was shaking. Was this promise true, were they really gonna answer my questions without anything in return? Yes, they were, they sounded sincere. I could not pass this up.
“That sounds Good.” I answered.
“Here, this must have caused you some worry.” Mom handed me a cup of tea.
It smelt actually pretty Good. I thanked them for the tea and took a sip. I began to feel calmer, like I was falling asleep. I was falling asleep. I felt myself let go of the mug and slip into darkness.