The Reward

The Reward

“How dare she! She doesn’t know me!” Morana muttered as she made her way through the overgrown forest to her home.

Morana seemed like a happy, good-natured teenage girl. After all, that’s who she tried to be all of her life. All of that changed now that she had turned 15 and had to undergo the Oracle's reading.

“But it’s tradition! You must do it.” Morana’s mother told her.

“Stupid tradition! I should never have gone. She probably doesn't even have the gift of sight. But I’ll show them. I‘ll prove them all wrong! I have to get out of here!” she continued to murmur.

Morana has to move quickly. There won’t be a lot of time to get her stuff and leave her home village before the Oracle and her mother wake up and can undo their restraints. Or worse, tell others of her prophecy, the one where she kills everyone and dances in their tears. If that were to get out, she would spend the rest of her life locked up. She would never be free to live the life she always wanted. One where she found true love, lived out in the middle of nowhere, a simple life, a quiet life. That life could only happen if she left now.

As Morana made her way down the road, she heard voices from up ahead. It was one of the local woodsmen, Ian, and his handsome son, Jake. Jake was only a year older than her. Morana had hoped that one day they would end up together. She always wondered what it would be like to have Jake kiss her. Now it appeared like she would never know. She hurriedly tried to get off the road and hide in some bushes. But as luck would have it, she tripped over a downed tree branch, which started a domino effect of other branches snapping and falling. A large tree had been propped up by these supporting branches. Now, without the stabilizing branches, the tree toppled forward onto the road, crushing her crush and his father. Ian and Jake were laughing and talking so loudly that they couldn’t hear the danger coming their way. Both were now dead. Morana gasped, “This wasn’t my fault! I didn’t kill them. It was just an accident.”

She had to get out of here! She started to run as fast as she could. Finally, she could see her family’s house on the top of the next hill. She just had to get past her nosy elderly neighbor, Cassie. Cassie was always nice, to your face, but she was one of the worst gossips in the village. She always knew everyone’s personal business, no matter how hard they tried to keep it a secret; somehow, Cassie always knew the truth. There was a rumor that she was the oracle’s little sister and also possessed the gift of sight. But then there was also a rumor that Cassie started the rumor to begin with. Who knew if it was true?

Morana decided to stick to the tree line to get around Cassie’s place. However, as she came around a large oak tree, Morana came face to face with her worst nightmare, Cassie. Cassie was holding a basket full of ripe wild raspberries that grew in these woods. Morana’s presence had deeply shocked Cassie. Then, at that very moment, Cassie’s eyes glazed over. And for the second time that day, Morana heard her prophecy, but this time coming from Cassie’s mouth instead of the Oracle’s. When Cassie came to, her face turned white as a sheet, and she grasped at her chest and fell to the ground. Another person lay dead at Morana’s feet.

“Oh, no! No, no, no. This can’t be happening!” Morana softly exclaimed.

“Cassie was old. It must have just been her time to go. It must have been when her eyes did that weird thing. It wasn’t my fault. I had nothing to do with it.” Morana kept telling herself this, but she was starting to have doubts. She had to leave now. Maybe the prophecy was true. Maybe she would hurt and kill everyone she ever loved and knew. She had to get supplies and leave before meeting anyone else she knew. She had to get out of here!

She looked in the window of her house to make sure no one she knew was there, especially her Dad, her little brother, and her baby sister. She couldn’t take any more chances. She entered the house and grabbed the quilts off her bed. She grabbed a box of matches, clothes, food, and other supplies that she would need for her long journey. She planned to go to the other side of the country, where no one knew her. She was almost done packing when the screams began. The Oracle, her mother, Ian, and Jake had all been found dead.

“Oh, crap! Crap, crap, crap!” How can the Oracle and her mother be dead? She didn’t hit them that hard with the bottle, did she? She just wanted to knock them out so she could tie them up and get away. Why won’t anything go right today! Just then, she looked out the window to see her older sister and brother-in-law coming to the house. Morana ran to the back door as quickly as she could, but in her haste, she knocked over the small wood stove, spilling the red-hot coals all over the wood floor of the main room. Before she could do anything, the fire began. Smoke and red-hot flames sprang up in her wake. Just as she opened the back door, her sister opened the front door. The rush of wind and oxygen filled the house, fueling the fire into a full-on inferno. Her sister screamed out her name, “Morana!” She turned away from her sister and ran straight into her father. He grabbed the quilts and opened them. Shocked to find things and not his other children.

Her father asked, “Where are your little brother and sister? Didn’t you get them? They were taking their naps!” Just then she heard the screams of all of her siblings coming from the fire. Her father ran into the burning house to try to rescue his children. Morana ran. She ran as fast as she could for as long as she could.

This can’t be happening. Did she do this? Was it all her fault? Why couldn't she have left sooner? Why couldn't she be faster? As she came to a stop, she climbed a tall tree and looked back at the place she called home. Everything was on fire. The fire had spread to the whole village now. But it wasn’t her fault. She couldn’t help that it hadn’t rained in months. She didn’t cause the drought. It was an accident. Right?

As she was climbing down from the tree, she heard a startling evil laugh. She missed the next branch and began to fall. Morana hit her head multiple times on the way down. As she lay on the dry forest floor, her vision started to darken. She knew she was dying. Morana softly said, “This isn’t fair. This isn’t the life I wanted. All of these things were accidents!”

Just then, two dark figures emerged from the corner of her eye. The Greek Goddess of Chaos, Eris, and the Norse Goddess of Death, Hela, stood before her. Together they spoke as one, “This is fair because you are OURS. This has always been your destiny. This is what you were born to do. Yes, this isn’t the life you wanted, but it is the life WE wanted. Nothing was an accident.”

Eris and Hela shared an evil smile and then said, “Come and receive your reward, Morana.”