They were chatting. I could hear raised voices. Sometimes they were whispering, sometimes there was silence, and
sometimes only one person was talking. I had no idea what they were talking about.
Then I heard them say my name once.
"LuneYa Mina."
They called me to come over. This is how our conversation went:
"LuneYa..." Dad called my name.
"Yes, dad." I answered.
"Nainai wants to talk to you for a moment," Dad said softly.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Usually Nainai Ra is never interested in talking to me."
I was annoyed.
The moment I heard her name, it immediately irritated me.
It's not that I'm arrogant, but Nainai Ra makes me feel like trash.
Do you have a grandmother like that too? 🤡🤭😎
"I'm lazy, dad... I want to sleep."
My father looked at Nainai. Nainai gave him a wink.
"If that's the case, eat this cake. It's delicious. This cake is going viral in Malaysia."
The second I heard "cake," I immediately grabbed it. I ate it happily.
And that night was the last night I spent with my family.
The last night before the whole story ended.
💩🙄😫😰😭🥳
I ate the cake. I felt dizzy. I was so sleepy.
I just felt tired...
I wasn't even aware when people were talking.
I only caught one sentence.
"What did you do to my granddaughter? You forced her! She didn't want to!!!" Opahana was furious.
"How could you do this to her?"
"Are you going to take responsibility for what you did, Sarah?!?!! You’re inhumane.
You sent my granddaughter away for nothing. You want to kill her."
*"I just wanted to teach her a lesson. She's the most useless granddaughter."
*"THE ONLY USELESS CHILD!!!!!!!"* 😭💩🙄😫
Those were the words I heard before I was thrown into an isolated era.
Just those words.
U.S.E.L.E.S.S
It sounded so harsh.
Nainai Ra heard that idea from my younger sister.
My little sister is the one who envies me the most... she's ungrateful.
Even though Nainai Ra loves you the most, lil sis. That "useless" line fits you perfectly.
That night I dreamed. My family was walking fast down a blue hallway with tiny stars, surrounded by green marble night lights. 🛤️🌌💖👀☄️☄️
It was beautiful. But also strange.
They put me in a wheelchair and left me at the end of the hallway.
Then they walked away... and my little sister smirked at me 😏.
She whispered, "Sister LuneYa, this was my idea. Nainai Ra doesn't know about my plan. You're done for, sitting there." 😏
Haaah...!!! 😰 I was shocked and woke up.
I woke up in my room again.
Pfft... I'm relieved. Maybe it was just a dream.
---
I heard noise from outside. Really noisy. The sound of so many people.
It sounded like people were running everywhere, like there was an earthquake... right outside.
But I was still calm inside.
"Arghh... help... no... not me... don't kill me!!"
I think about a dozen people were taking turns screaming the same thing.
Then a man with a hoarse voice shouted.
"Soldiers! Gather them all! Tell them to kneel in the front yard. Hurry!!!"
The crowd scattered the moment they heard him. It was chaos.
What was going on?
I peeked out from my room window.
"What?!!!!!!! 👀👀👀👀 Is this real?"
I rubbed my eyes several times.
"Hey... what am I looking at?"
Soldiers. Dressed like ancient Chinese soldiers.
I tried to open the door and go out, but suddenly one of them grabbed my shirt.
I let it go for now. I was scared a murder would happen...
I'm too lazy to fight back. Better to read the situation first.
When I reached the big courtyard, I saw who looked like the supreme ruler. He was reading from a scroll.
_"Anyone who wishes to follow the minister and his family, step forward.
I will write your names to go with them into exile.
The minister was punished for abusing his power. He has been sentenced to the Land of Sorrow."
It felt like one of those time-travel Chinese dramas.
And this is all because of my dad and his stupid cookies from who-knows-where. So rude!!!
I screamed in Malay. *"Kurang ajar!" (Rude)... Arghhhhh 😤!!!!👀
All eyes turned to me... I bowed back.
Silence. Then I walked forward and joined the minister's family. I chose to go with them.
After I joined, the supreme ruler said:
"The rest will go to forced labor camps. If they object, behead them." 👀😏
If I had made the wrong choice earlier, my fate would have been the same as theirs...
I looked at the minister’s family. The elders reminded me of Opahana, Tokkulu, TokbahKey... and my annoying Nainai Ra.
It's fine. I'll help all these families get back on their feet.
"Miss," a bodyguard said to me.
"Get ready. Bring what you need. We might have a long walk."
Handsome.
And he could handle it too 😎🤭🤡💩
I even had the chance to compliment him.
If the bodyguard looks like this, the master must be even more handsome. Hihi...
I slapped my own face. Smacked my head.
The high-ranking ones ride in chariots.
Me? I'm walking.
Why not walk next to the bodyguard? I might get some information.
Besides, I don't even know the story behind this. I haven’t read it.
So it’s true... last night wasn’t a dream. That hallway... the one Nainai Ra supposedly made.
But this is so unfair. I was forced into it.
I walked beside the bodyguard and asked:
"Sir, can I ask you something?"
"Hm 😎..." He smiled.
*"Don't call me sir. Just call me by my name. Lu Zhen."*
I couldn't believe I was speaking Malay, but they understood me.
They spoke Chinese, and I understood them too.
Maybe this whole story is being controlled by Nainai Ra.
"Lu Zhen, what really happened?"
"I don't know the full story," I said, confused.
__"Our minister saved a woman who is now the king's princess.
So some people got jealous and accused our chief minister of harassing the princess."__ Lu Zhen finished.
"He saves her... and gets evil in return?" I said.
"That doesn't make sense, right? By the way, my name is Lu LuneYa."
"You are the late General Lu Tai Fung's daughter," he said. I scratched my head.
"I don't know,"* I replied.
"Then that means you're my cousin."
"What do you mean?" I was confused 🧐🤔
__"My full name is Lu Zhen Pei. We share the same bloodline. Surname Lu.
The minister too. All descendants of Lu were exiled to the Land of Sorrow."_
Lu Zhen looked sad about it.
"Is the Land of Sorrow still far?"
I was sweating from walking so much.
"How many people are following us?"
"About 100 people. Only the loyal ones. I don’t know what happened to the others."
---
To be continued 🥰👌🏽
