The Empty Heart

By Navya Kartik Vithalani

“Stop, stop! Stop right there. I am going to catch you this time for sure.” cried a girl as she chased a bright golden-haired boy who ran far amidst the bushes, in a dark cloudy sky, with no source of light except for the young lad’s hair, that shined through. This was not the first time when the girl ran after him. Many times, he had lured the girl towards him by the scent of lovely flowers or extraordinary light, then ran away, with the girl following him.

The girl was Lacofia, princess Lacofia of Skotenia, the land of dark, where light was unknown, as dark inhabited the sky, with not even the moon or stars brightening the world. Skotenians’ eyes were adjusted, as though of an owl, with great ‘night’ vision.

There was hole, almost halfway through the chest of Lacy. A round hollow and dark hole. But it was nothing extraordinary. All Skotenians had ‘the hole’, it made them special, along with the night as long as eternity.

Lacy ran behind the boy, determined to get hold of him this time. But, with a sudden thud, Lacy was on the ground. Somehow, she fell and hit her head with a rock. It felt like her body was burning. She tried opening her eyes, as she lifted herself but was hit with a stock of unbearable light that blinded her. She hit right back to the rock as if someone had punched her.

Her eyes opened again to a familiar darkness, but a dissimilar boy amidst it. She jumped up with a bounce. “Who are you?! Where am I?” she snapped as she saw around, chills running down her spine.

“Easy, easy.” The boy said in a Spanish accent. “I am Hiaromb, you can call me Hian. And you are in Fontenia, Princess Lacofia.” he added, bowing to the royalty.

“H-How do you know my name?”

“I know everyone in Skotenia, I lived there; until a year ago”.

As Lacy calmed down a bit, she noticed that Hian’s ‘hole’ was, not a hole. It had grown flowers, lovely scented flowers. And his body shone. It was the scent, and the light that attracted her towards him.

“My parents died in an accident soon after my birth. I had no place to live, no food to eat. So, I ventured to the outskirts of the forests, surviving on the fruits of the trees, living under the shade of leaves, living like a nomad. One day I found my way to Fontenia, Where the light found the happiness and liveliness in my life. I decided to stay here for a day or two before moving again in search of food. It seemed as though light was my food and the rays were my water. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months, the light was something I had started to get used to, the night never fell, and neither did my smile. Once, I realized that everyone deserved the life of a Fontenia. I ventured around here and found a library. Many books about this land, I found in there, which I read with immense pleasure. Seems that all of the land was as bright as Fontenia, when the evilness of people combined to form the thick mist that made Skotenia. So now the goodness in people can help them to decrease the mist and come back to Fontenia. Now, I thought to guide everyone back here, and have a ‘happily ever after’, of the fairy-tale with me as the hero, but it seems I need a curious and passionate person like you to be the heroine. You must have noticed the flowers growing from my hole? These grow when You witness the light of Fontenia for more than a day. And anyone Whose feet are situated in Skotenia, will burn down to ashes at the first sight of these” he narrated

“So, you have kept me in the dark so that my hole, too, doesn’t blossom and I can go back to Skotenia and direct everyone here.” Lacy assumed

Hian nodded solemnly with a satisfying smile.

***

“I can’t wait to tell everyone” Lacofia whispered to Fona, her pet owl as she ran back home. She felt like screaming and telling everyone all about Fontenia, the flowers and Hian. But she controlled herself till bedtime, as she wanted her mother to be first to hear it all. She didn’t quite believe a random guy whom she had never seen who spoke about a dream that she hadn’t even thought of in her wildest dreams, but when she overheard the queen, too, talking about the bright world and the Fairy-Tale like history, she believed it till the depth of her hole.

It took lots of patience, but at last the time came when she narrated the whole story to the littlest details to her mother. The Queen's face was glitching between a smile and frown, and soon her face turned expressionless and evil, like a villain who is facing some problem or something like that. Lacofia didn’t understand what was going on, until the queen spoke… “Lacy, promise me that you aren’t going to tell anyone about what you saw and neither will you go behind that Hian again.”

Lacy sat straight in the bed “But why mum, ‘everyone deserves the life of Fontenia’. I heard you saying this a few hours earlier, that is the very reason I believed that this all is not just some prank or something.”

“Dear, those were just hollow words. If everyone finds a way to Fontenia, no one will need a royalty, they will be capable of ruling themselves. You do want to remain the princess, don’t you?”

“No, not more than the happiness of people.” Lacy said, almost in tears.

“I am going. I will get everyone to Fontenia”

Lacy ran out the room, when she felt hands, gripping her tight.

***

‘How could mum do this to me?’ thought Lacy. She felt it screaming her head off. Not like she couldn’t speak, well, she couldn’t now. The queen had locked her up in the dungeon and tied her hands and legs and taped her mouth! “I really don’t want to do this to you dear. As soon as you understand my point, just press this button, I’ll come and carry you lovingly to your bed like I did when you were little.” her mum had said, as if that was ever going to happen.

Lacofia had been crying for hours, but now, it was no time to cry. She had to find a way to get to Hian and ask for advice, but mostly just lighten her heart. She spotted a nail sticking out just like they do in Fairy-Tales. She crawled up till the nail and freed herself, though it was harder than she thought, especially the part where you can’t see what you are cutting. Once, she accidentally sliced her palm a bit, but that pain was nothing in front of the pain she had gotten, thanks to her mother. She whistled and called Fona there, and told her to make little murmurs so that if the queen or anyone else comes across the door, they don’t feel that she’s gone missing, and open up the door just to find sliced ropes and ripped tape.

She hopped out the window and ran hysterically towards the dense forests.

Seems that crying really made you hungry, for she hadn’t even covered half the distance, when she lost her energy and fell to the ground. She saw a basket of fruits lying in the distance. She crawled towards them at a slow and easy pace. Once the basket was in hand reach, she pulled out a banana, peeled it, and nibbled on it. It wasn’t sweet, neither was it bitter, it… was tasteless! A common problem with the food of Skotenia, like, what else could you expect with plants growing in the dark, literally.

She lay on her hand for a second before noticing a blurry figure in front of her. She focused on it. It was the queen, Lacofia’s mum. Lacy smiled lightly without any strength to get up. The figure came closer, Lacy could see her mum’s sparkly necklace and the neat bun on her head. The sweet face atop of the queen’s lovely dress was all Lacy could focus on. Her mum came near, bent down, and suddenly, her sweet smile turned into an evil grin. She turned into a monster! Darker than Dark, scarier than fright, cross-eyed wide sharp teeth, cloudy appearance. Lacy was speechless, until the monster opened his mouth as if he was going to swallow Lacofia whole, when she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The monster disappeared, the scream was unheard, as Lacy opened her eyes. “Nightmare, yet better than reality.” moaned Lacy as tears rolled down her eyes. She spotted a distant figure approaching her, and, naturally, jumped up and made a run for it.

***

“I can’t believe Queen Shorsia could say something like that. No way!” pointed Hiaromb, once he had heard the tale of Lacofia

“Neither can I.” added Lacy, almost in tears, again

“Come on, princess, no time to cry now.”

“I have a plan” he continued after a while of silence

He whispered something into Lacy’s ears and gave her something, as she left.

***

Lacofia had tied herself back up, and, pressed the big violet coloured (Lacy’s favourite) button her mother had told about.

She heard a ‘cheering’ tune for a second, before queen Shorsia burst in through the door hugging Lacy tight “I knew you would understand my helplessne…. I mean my need” she said standing up and dusting off her dress.

The queen did as she promised, just a little less. She carried Lacy to her bed, except in her baby cradle instead of the mum’s arms. She made Lacy sleep and went out of the room whispering good night.

Lacy waited for a minute or two before, following her mother, tip-toed, not to be noticed. She found the door through which the queen had gone and opened it with a slight creak. “We can’t let people get to know about Fontenia, and, except us, only Lacy knows about the bright world. And, I know her, she would never let people suffer when she knows where happiness is. She’s told she won’t tell, but I don’t think she’ll be sticking to it for long. So, keep an close eye on her, okay?” she heard her mum say. Though she couldn’t see whom queen Shorsia was talking to.

“I thought if she won’t see me around, she will tell the truth why she’s doing all this, but no.” reported Lacy, narrating the whole story to Hian “And thanks a lot for this far-talk-wireless-device-thingy. It really helps” she added

“You mean the mini microphone and speaker?” said Hian

“Yeah-yeah, that thing, your library really has some advanced stuff”

“So, now, we’ll follow our plan, time- 6w.t. (six hours past wake time, as there were no am or pm), till then, no communication, remember, ‘close eye’. Bye”

***

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!” Lacy’s scream echoed through the dense forests.

The next day, the queen and she had come to pick some flowers, when she had run ahead of her mum like usual.

Queen Shorsia ran towards the sound, worried for her little one, when she felt Lacofia’s hands gripping her, one hand gripping hands and the other closing the eyes... The queen tried to free herself, but sort of unwillingly, as she moved where Lacy pushed her, whereas, if she wanted, she could free herself easily. Lacy closed her eyes herself at a point and left queen Shorsia, as Hian took her to Fontenia from there.

Lacy ran to town screaming “Queen’s in danger, queen’s in danger”

All of the people abandoned their homes and works and followed Lacofia’s trail, to save their beloved queen. Lacy made sure that everyone was on the way to Fontenia and ran there herself.

The people were amazed at the shining sky, many fell to the ground like Lacy had first, but all liked the new change in the atmosphere. Hian came out of the cottage where he had kept the queen, and explained to everyone; the tale of Fontenia. Lacy ran as fast as she could, for she was left behind the crowd as she had to stop for checking houses. The land started to fall down behind her. She raced hard but the falling was faster than her run. From Fontenia, everyone cheered and worried for Lacy, as they noticed a merchant ahead of her, who reached before Lacy, but couldn’t step in the bright world. He turned into a dark, scary, glob looking like mist fading away, flumes with anger. He was the monster Lacy had seen in her dream!!

“I knew it” whispered Hiaromb

The glob faded away, like mist, as the whole of Skotenia. Lacy fell just one step short and fell with the ground. Her scream echoed through the land.

A second later the land filled with gasps and ohs of sadness and cries and moans.

Hiaromb rushed forward, followed by the queen, who just entered the scene.

They looked down, and below, they saw Lacy, hanging from a piece of rock.

***

“I am so very sorry dear.” said Queen Shorsia, as she passed a shovel to Lacofia. All the people were crumbled up in the little cottage, surrounding Lacy, Queen Shorsia and Hian; expecting an explanation for what was happening.

“That merchant, Woo-Woolian, had come to me yesterday, asking for some permit or something. As I turned behind to get the royal stamp, He turned into a monster! He told me to do as he said or else, he would devour you and all my people. He asked me to lock you up and had seen blood in the dungeon, so knew you went out, and told me to keep acting.”

“That must be the evilness glob, I read it in the library, the evilness combined to form an evilness glob, who made Skotenia. He’d die along with Skotenia if no one resided there.” added Hian

“I’d got that sadness glob thing in my dreams, mum came towards me and suddenly turned into the glob!” exclaimed Lacy

“Maybe you were destined to save our people.”

By Navya Kartik Vithalani