Wednesday

The day of enlightenment has finally come for Anju! Or has it?

It was raining. The weatherman had said Wednesday was supposed to look clear, but it was raining. Were the Gods crying for the loss of one of the best generals the Atokan Army had seen for years? No, Anju didn’t believe it. It was just coincidence that a storm front had moved in during the funeral of E.J. Spoorn. Yes, from her spot behind a rather conveniently placed tree Anju could see the outdoor funeral taking place under a sporting tent. She could hear almost every word that the priest was saying, and she felt that most of them were kind words that this man had never deserved.

Anju had known only the bad side of General Spoorn, but she inferred that his bad side was so terrible that he didn’t even have a good side. It just wasn’t possible. The fact that there were only a handful of people at this funeral didn’t help matters any. Most of them looked like they were men that fought under him in battle. She wondered if they came here of their own free will, or did it for their own reputation.

“God, if I knew it was going to be this nasty out, I wouldn’t have bothered coming!” Anju muttered under her breath.

“What’s wrong? A little rain getting to the poor little immortal, Hn?”

Anju jumped and flipped around so her back was against the tree trunk. She had to bring both hands up to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming and alerting the crowd gathered behind her.

“God d****t!” Anju whispered fiercely, “Don’t scare the s**t out of me like that! Why can’t you be normal and tell me you’re f*****g behind me before you insult me?”

“Hey now,” the man responded, a wide grin spread across his face; “You’re the one crashing my funeral. Not me.”

Anju puffed her chest in pride and held up her chin. She refused to give in to this man. She had come here to see him, after all, but she wasn’t expecting to have to prepare for this meeting. She knew what she wanted to say, but seeing the man who almost gave her the final death in person again was something she couldn’t handle. Anju had always been strong and independent, but sometimes it was hard. Now was one of those moments.

“Coming to pay your last respects to the man you killed?” Spoorn laughed, the smirk still on his face.

“I didn’t kill you and you know it!”

“Right, sorry. You just helped it along. I suppose that isn’t the same thing.”

“You b*****d! Augh!”

Anju was fed up with this man already and they had only been talking for less than a minute. She had to keep herself focused though. She had come here for a reason. She had to ask him a few questions that could affect her family’s life!

“Listen you,” Anju told him, “I need to ask you some questions.”

“Hm? That why you’re here? Funny, I was under the impression you just wanted to marvel at my amazing body one last time.” The older man responded.

Anju smacked herself in the forehead out of frustration. She didn’t want to let this man know exactly how much he annoyed her, but it must be pretty evident at the moment. Of course, now Anju couldn’t help but think about Spoorn’s physical appearance. Normally, Spoorn was a guy you wouldn’t take a second look at. He was on the short side and fairly small. His dark hair went down to almost completely cover his ears, and his muscles were hidden when he wore long sleeve shirts or jackets, which was part of his uniform. The only thing that stood out about him was the sparkle in his amber eyes. There was always an unnatural glint there, as if he was laughing at you constantly. She also guessed that Spoorn had been picked on a lot as a kid, since he actually had a rather feminine physique. In fact, the first time Anju had met Spoorn, she had been fairly certain he was a girl. That was, until he spoke. His voice was gruff and shaggy, and she could only describe it as if someone had split his vocal chord with a knife. It was rather scary when you’re expecting a high pitched, sweet angel voice from him.

“So, you gonna ask, or are you gonna gawk all day?” Spoorn laughed, bringing Anju out of her thoughts.

Anju frowned at him. This was her only chance to know the truth behind what had happened to her family. This was it. It could end up being a total bust, or he could lie to her, but she had to try.

“Why did Atoka bother attacking Ithaca? They’re so small. Why would they care if they had a government change?” Anju asked.

Spoorn looked shocked that she was asking him a question about history, or rather, country politics. It seemed to take him a moment to gather his thoughts, but he actually did give her an answer, which was more than Anju was expecting.

“Ithaca used to be, ah, powerful? They were stronger than Atoka once, even though we are massive compared to them in size. So anything Ithaca does pisses our leader off. I’ve only been in the army since I was sixteen, but I’ve been to Ithaca quite a few times.”

Anju blinked at Spoorn. She was thankful for the answer, but it hadn’t particularly been what she was looking for. Maybe she could continue to successfully question him? It wouldn’t hurt to try.

“I knew that they used to be strong. I meant, why did they attack Ithaca once they had defeated the Communists?”

“What?” Spoorn gasped. He looked shocked that Anju had even suggested such a thing.

“The Army Camps, Spoorn! Like the one you were in charge of until I destroyed it! There was a second attack on the Ithacans that lived here, that hadn’t done anything to hurt anyone!”

“Ah, right. That. Heh, well, I guess it’s just history repeating itself, huh?”

“What are you talking about? This is the first time Atoka has ever rounded up Ithacans that live in their own nation and force them into physical labor for the Atokan Army!”

“No, that’s not what I meant! D****t woman, listen to me before you start talking, Hn?”

Anju was noticeably upset at that comment, but she knew if she did anything now she would never get the answers she needed.

Spoorn continued as if he had never been disturbed, “Atoka has always hated Ithaca. It’s just natural. There’s no logic behind it! Kind of like Greece and Turkey hating each other, or England and France. No reason! But it doesn’t stop them from fighting for centuries on end!”

He paused to let Anju take in what he had just said before continuing, “So Atoka was just trying to annihilate the entire Ithacan race so they wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore. They were tired of it. They almost destroyed Ithaca about 90 years ago! They’ll do it again and again until Ithaca’s gone. And right now, Atoka owns them. There’s barely any people left alive there that are natural born Ithacans. Ithacans that live here are being deported just so Atoka doesn’t have to deal with Ithacan rebellions here. Look, I know you like the Ithacans, but the truth hurts d****t!”

Anju stared blankly at the general. He was right. She hated it, but he was right. There was nothing she could do. If she married Lance, she’d be in danger of being deported and never seeing her family again. Or Lance and his children would be deported, including Soren, and she’d never see them again.

“You were in the army,” Anju said at last, her tone softer than it had been before, “What will happen to my family? I’m engaged to an Ithacan. Will they take my husband and children?”

Spoorn was surprised once again by the girl’s words. He didn’t like surprises.

He growled, “Look! Don’t worry about it! Life happens!”

When he still got a pathetic look from Anju, he sighed and added, “They probably won’t take them, since you’ll be married to him. They aren’t complete b******s! God.”

Anju looked slightly better after hearing that comment. She smiled lightly at Spoorn and said, “You’re right. That makes me feel better. All of this did. Thanks.”

She turned to leave, but was stopped when something grabbed her hand. She turned around with an angry look on her face, but she tried to calm herself down when she saw that Spoorn wasn’t hostile.

“Not gonna stay for the whole party? You might as well, since you bothered to crash it. You don’t leave before the cakes served!” Spoorn laughed.

He let go of Anju, giving her the choice to do as she pleased, and walked up to the tree Anju had been hiding behind earlier. He peered off of the side of it and stared at the people he had once known, and would never be able to cohort with again.

Anju couldn’t help but feel bad. She didn’t know what it felt like to have to leave so many people behind. She hadn’t cared when she ran away from home at age 16. She had wanted to leave them behind, and she knew she could always come back to her immortal family. Spoorn would never get that. She slowly walked up to stand next to the man behind the cover of the tree. After a few moments of silence, Spoorn lifted one scarred finger to point at a woman in the front row. She had a young child sitting next to her, maybe around the age of 7, and her arm was wrapped around the girl. An older looking boy that was obviously in his late teenage years sat next to the little girl.

Spoorn explained, “That’s my wife, Nyra, my daughter, Eglantine, and my son, Kludd.”

“Oh,” Anju gasped. She hadn’t expected Spoorn to be the family type of man. The children had strange names, but she couldn’t judge, her name was Anju.

“Kludd Spoorn?” she questioned, giving the man next to her a look.

He laughed, “Yes! My wife named him. Don’t blame me!”

Anju laughed with him. She couldn’t help it. Though he was a complete b*****d, his laugh was one of those annoying contagious ones. Whether you wanted to laugh or not, there you were, laughing along with them.

“Yeah,” Spoorn sighed when he finished, “That’s my family. I’m going to miss Eglantine quite a bit, I suppose, but I can live without the other two. Nyra’s cheated on me a few times. She’s never admitted it, but I’ve seen the signs. I don’t think Kludd was ever mine in the first place. He looks like her, though, so it’s impossible to tell unless you get a blood test. Guess I didn’t want to know.”

Anju stared at Spoorn, not believing what this man was telling her. He was almost a complete stranger to her, but he was pouring out secrets as easily as Anju could pour tea. She realized, though, how alone he must feel. She had felt that way when she was by herself, so she finally went back home to the open arms of her family. Spoorn didn’t have that. It sounded like his family’s arms weren’t really open in the first place, but now that he was dead to them he didn’t even have that sad option. Anju was the only person he really knew now. Anju felt bad for him, but she tried to suppress it. “This person is evil!” she told herself. But Lance had been evil once too. Now she was going to marry him in four days.

They both stood and watched until the rain ended and the funeral dispersed. They waited in silence until the tent was taken down and everyone had been gone for a while. Finally Anju said, “You know, I should get going. Thanks for the info.”

She moved to walk away but she was caught once again. Without turning, she peered over her shoulder to see Spoorn’s hand resting on it. It was permanently scarred from a rough life, and she could see where one finger was bent out of shape.

Spoorn spoke, “Tomorrow. Meet me here, alright?”

Anju tensed and looked away from Spoorn. She wasn’t sure what to say to that. This man had caused her so many problems, and yet he wanted her company? What if this was a trap and something bad happened to her? Yet, somehow, she couldn’t stop her heart from racing. Was it because of the moment they had seemed to share earlier? The secrets he had revealed to her?

“When?” she found herself asking, still looking away from the man.

“Whenever is best for you. I’ll wait as long as you want me too. Heh, I have nothing better to do anymore.” Spoorn laughed.

Anju slowly nodded her head and she felt a slight blush spread across her face. She felt Spoorn release her, and without turning back she walked away. As soon as she felt Spoorn’s gaze leave her back, she started running. 

Author's Note

This is probably my favorite chapter so far. Especially compared to the last two. Please enjoy it! And yes, the SpoornxAnju has finally arrived! Whooooo!

Warnings in this chapter would have to be cussing, of course it's Anju and Spoorn together, and mention of death.

Credits for Anju go to Tiny.

By the way, the picture credit goes to tiny too. It's Spoorn and Anju.

Reviews

[Meat of Dog]

I see that Spoorn, at least in the beginning of this chapter, is calmer than before, I wonder if he's matured a little since becoming immortal. I imagined him the crazy, quick to anger type but he seems to have chilled out. He knows how to get on her nerves, holy cow, and that can be more aggressive than fighting sometimes. The gravity of the situation seems to have shifted to something far more serious with the threat to her family, and what not. Somehow I sense that her fear is getting under his skin (Spoorn I mean).

The whole thought of eating cake at your own funeral is so delightfully morbid, I love it. I'm glad, with Spoorn's unfortunate situation, that there's potential of him finding a friend in Anju, though his attitude makes me worry about her future marriage. Spoorn seems layered, more a duty soldier than an evil person. I'm excited to read more!

other suggestions:
None

[Mary Evans]

“Anju had known only the bad side of General Spoorn, but she inferred that his bad side was so terrible that he didn’t even have a good side.” Do rephrase the sentence sounds kinda… stiff? Same here “Anju jumped and flipped around so her back was against the tree trunk.”

“You b*****d! Augh!”- this begs for a tag. Show us her actions, her expression.

Your story still seems to be lacking major conflict. You need a purpose, a drive; so far it’s rather unclear or simply weak. I do see something forming like the deportation issue but it’s not something to be introduced in chapter 4, you do it in chapter 1.

“Greece and Turkey hating each other,”…. Now, I don’t belong to either of the nations but I do know a bit of history. I don’t think they hate each other in a particularly notable way other than occasional conflicts, much like those that happen between any other bordering nations. I mean yes the Balkan nations didn’t particularly like each other in the past and still to some degree today, but specifically Greece and Turkey aren’t in the centre of it. Bulgaria hated Turkey, Macedonia hated Bulgaria, and Serbia hated pretty much everyone else. And if you’re making your conclusion based on any world news you’ve seen… yeah they tend to blow things out of their proportions. Also no, “No reason! But it doesn’t stop them from fighting for centuries on end,” there are many and I mean many historical and cultural and political and even linguistic reasons some countries don’t particularly like each other even till modern times, many books and articles were and can be written on the topic. Anyways I’m getting majorly side-tracked here… Back to the topic- If your story doesn’t take place in the real world using made up countries might be better. If you do want to use real names, try not to make strong political statements such as those. (Especially England and France, don’t even start that topic.) (Unless of course the purpose of your story is to make a certain political statement.)

For some reason I began feeling your story as an essay on imaginary politics rather than a fictional narrative, that is not good. More action and through action description, less bland exposition.

And now that you went into her worries about the possible deporting, and from then on, the story seems much more interesting, that’s the way to do it. Her dialogue and exchange with Spoorn seems intriguing and manages to capture interest. Just try to establish Spoorn a bit better, is he a total jerk or does he really have a good side, pick one. (I say this because Anju keeps trying to beat his supposed “bastardness” into the reader’s mind. I’d sugest you clear it out a bit. “This person is evil!” she told herself.” This part is ok though, even perfect, it grasps the issue without you having to point it out over and over again.) Also be more subtle, Spoorn is way too blunt about his life story and wife cheating on him. You can keep the meaning just make the words more… dodgy? If that’s the right word. Or at least add pauses and tags and expressions and such stuff.

[Star Wolf]

Spoorn is turning out to be a very interesting character. This is a really good chapter.

[Dearantlers]

I understand why this one is your favorite chapter so far. It's really good. Wow, you have some interesting things going on here.

[Black Cat Fever]

Now this really is a good chapter! I think I enjoyed this one so far most of all. Your book is coming along nicely.

[Tina Kline]

A really interesting chapter and an unexpected turn of events. What's up with Spoorn wanting to spend time with Anju?