Leaving the house

Chapter Three – Leaving the house.

Outside, Lydia and Evelyn were arguing on who would clean their Uncle’s workshop as they walked towards it. On hearing the scream, they tiptoe silently and placed their ears on the door.

“They can’t be nuns. Which one is a nun material? Huh. Evelyn? Lydia? Or Margaret? They’ll desecrate the holy place” Timothy kept on screaming.

Sylvester makes a chill chuckle, “So you know how disastrous they can be. Well, if a nunnery can’t handle them. How can I?”.

Lydia speeds off to inform Evelyn and Margaret follows after.

The older sister couldn’t believe her ears. Maybe Leah’s escape plan was going to happen! And was going to happen fast.

Before Evelyn could recover from the shock of the news, Margaret had already finished packing her things and was yelling to anyone who took her hair brush to bring it back. Lydia was almost done packing.

“What, girls calm down” Evelyn said to them.

Margaret glared at her, “Calm down? We’re going to be nuns. Like nuns. Locked in one big house and all. It would cage us. I can’t do anything but run away. We can’t do anything but run away”.

“Don’t start your sermons, preacher. This girlies has made up their mind” Lydia shouted, shutting her elder sister from further telling her to “calm down”.

Evelyn stared at them in confusion. Timothy barged into their room. “I have an announcement”.

Their Uncle barge in too, almost immediately. “Girls, we need to talk”.

Lydia and Margaret gazed at him with contempt. “We know your dirty plans, Uncle. Not happening!” Lydia said as a matter of fact.

He let out a sly smile. “It is happening. And you’re not going to do anything about it!”.

“That’s what you think! I don’t care whether you’re my Uncle or not. I’ll trample on anyone that tries to cage my sister’s and I. Your abuse is getting out of hand!” Evelyn yelled in the top of her lungs.

Lydia and Margaret looked at her surprise. Wasn’t she the one who have been saying “Calm down”?

Timothy patted Evelyn’s shoulder and faced his father, “Girls, quiet down. Let’s discuss this peacefully. Dad, their consent is needed before giving them to any nunnery. Also, aren’t they past the age for acceptance in a nunnery?”.

Sylvester narrows his eyes. “They have already been accepted. Their consent wasn’t needed. They’re mine to command” he walked past the door.

“Funny old man!” Margaret screamed after him.

“A really funny old man!” Lydia repeated.

Evelyn muttered something before walking out of the room. Timothy went after her to wage her from doing anything to his father but she went past the door away from the old man.

“Where are you going!” he asked but she just walked ahead.

Lydia and Margaret ran after her but went back after they decided to pack her clothes and things and finally leaving the house.

“Father, look what you’re doing!” Timothy eyed his father. The old man just bit his chewing sticks quietly sitting on an armchair.

Margaret finally stomps off with Lydia. “Be back before six” Sylvester says to them. Margaret sighs. He should be expecting by…never.

The two sisters searches everywhere for Evelyn. The barn. The church. The nursery. The farm house. Even the forest.

“She left without us?” Margaret asked rhetorically. Where would she have gone to?

“Being a nun is good” the youngest said as she sat on a rock, they were still at the forest. “But it’s not what I want. I want to be a warrior”. Margaret nodded in agreement.

A shrill howl from the village made them beginning running back to know what has happened. They were not very deep into the forest but when they got to where the sound came from, they were already panting profusely.

But of course, they’re the worst of runners.

A crowd of villagers had circles a young boy. He was holding a Bible. Lydia told her sister that he could be from the church down hill.

The person responsible for the shrill laughter was the adamant Madam Lara. She owned the biggest stall at the market.

She hated people talking anything about children and religion as she believed in none and had none. She was now throwing a tomato at the young boy.

“Hey, if you don’t want to listen, then keep your hands to yourself or stuff that tomato in your mouth!” someone yelled to her in the crowd.

Everyone was quiet. No one dared yell to Madam Lara. Her husband was a rich merchant. And had scary dogs.

Lydia smiled as she dragged Margaret to where the voice had voiced from. She knew it was Evelyn.

“If it isn’t the runaway bride!” Madam Lara stood full length.

She called Evelyn “runaway bride” after news spread on how Evelyn dashed out from her wedding.

“Where are your two little cats sisters?” the lady asked.

“Sharpening their claws to scratch you” Margaret said now joining Evelyn’s side. A crowd had been formed around them.

The little boy had disappeared from the crowd. (You won’t blame him).

“Oh, I’m scared. Margaret is going to scratch me” Madam Lara mocked.

“Well, you’re in for some soup as those claws are going to get blunt in just a matter of minutes” as she said that a soldier came behind her. He held a whip.

Evelyn smirked as she reached out for the two sticks supporting Madam Lara’s table of tomatoes.

The table tumbles down, the whole tomatoes turning to paste. The crowd gasps in surprise. The Madam is shocked.

“You’re sending someone with a weapon. I had to get mine” Evelyn cracked her necks before glaring at the soldier.

He threw her whip at her but Lydia caught it, it bruised her but she began pulling it to herself. It would be hard to match her thick physique and strong legs.

Evelyn ran to the soldier as she strikes him with her sticks like she was drumming.

Madam Lara charged to Evelyn but Margaret charged to stop her. But the Madam tripped on her tomatoes and fell face up in the ground instead.

Margaret walk over her while slightly kicking her with her back heels. The crowd began booing at the fallen woman.

Again those sisters became everyone’s hero.