Chapter One: 1

~~~The Forgotten Sign~~~

~~~~Chapter One~~~~

1

The drumming hummed along the long trail of a narrow passage in the deep jungle, beneath the waxing moon. The passage led to a structure. The structure was raised to seven humans height and had a flat space for rituals at the top. The flight of steps counted two hundred and sixty. As the drumming intensified, a man of ritual garments walked up the steps. At the foot of the structure, the King and his consorts and children and ministers sat regally. The townspeople and villagers crowded silently far far away from the structure. The man walking up the steps was the Priest Lord and today, he was also the Calendar Scriber. The waxing moon lit the dark sky and exposed a heaven of stars. The calendar was to be scribed that night. A time of utmost importance, for the future of the kingdom was dependent on the graces of the Gods. The Priest Lord reached the top. He stretched his hands outwards to embrace any signs from the heavens and the stars. The heavens and the stars kept their secrets, but this night, they started to reveal something. The Priest Lord started writing and he cried. The calendar was taking form and coming alive. The Priest Lord cried. He continued dating and asking for forgiveness. After many hours, he stopped. He could not continue. He buried his face into the calendar and yelled, "If time should stop. It will stop. Heavens have been kind to us to let us breathe for many days." With that the Priest Lord died, and the calendar stopped at 12.19.19.17.19.


The alley was dark, shielded away from the dancing neon lights of the city. Here it was, a forgotten part of the flashy city. An orphan struggling to make sense of this opulent world. Yet this orphan has his secrets. The city was built upon what was deemed morally just and right. A world cocooned in a web of righteous justice, legal protections and moral beliefs. Yes. All these were deemed to be the foundation of a thriving city and society, for which the people prided upon, even as they were fulfilling their own dark and hidden desires. Of adulteries, lies, hypocrisies and the seven sins which manifest in many ways that Lady Justice would rather stay blind to.

The alley was a place where such justice and moral rights does not applie to. It was a place where human was human. The place where the darkest desires became a reality. The giggles on the prostitutes, the smiles of the crack vans and aloofness of hired killers. Upon them all, the real boss of this alley is a man of toughness and pride. He was Lord Dragon. A nick-name that was anachronistic to this world. Yet, a nick-name it wasn't. For Lord Dragon was a man struck fear in many. The police ignored him and his gang. The city ignored this flawed skin. No-one else except those with desires to be fulfilled came to acknowledge this alley.

Within this alley lived another woman. This woman also fulfils people's darkest desire. To give instant gratification and a peace of mind. She is fondly called the Rice Lady. The tools of the Rice Lady was simply rice. She threw a handful of rice onto the table and will speak the future as she carefully feel the rough grains. Many had came to find her. To ask of fortune, to ask of career, to ask of love and to ask of what is going to come. To know of a little is much more satisfying than obtaining the last wave of happiness from prostitutes or the peace of mind from a job done from the hired killers. Everyone wants to know their future. To start planning for the inevitable? To start worrying for the inevitable? Or simply to start enjoying what was good that was to come and to escape irrationally from the bad.

The Rice Lady has answers to everything.

Just the recent days, the Rice Lady had a disturbing aliment. She could not peek into the future however hard she concentrated. She could still speak of the future until a certain date. Beyond that she was speechless. And she had to blabber some stuff to assuage her clients.

She was worried.

The day was Monday. The Rice Lady sensed, or whatever that was left in her. Sensed, thought, felt. She could not identify. Yet, a strong feeling overcame her. She left her table. She took with her a fistful of rice and kept the rice in her pocket.

She walked deeper into the alley, away from morality and normalcy. The air was damp and she knew she has reached her destination.

"Can I speak to the Lord Dragon?" she asked a bulgy man. She waited. The bulgy man looked at her, frowning.

"Rice Lady. You have not come so deep into the alley before. Even upon the request of Lord Dragon."

"Yes. Time was not right. I knew what he wanted to ask. And I knew he was." The Rice Lady replied. "Time is not on anyone's side. I am worried. Please let me see the Lord Dragon."

The bulgy man made a call on his mobile. There was no answer. "I am sorry, Rice Lady. Perhaps you would want to come back another day?"

"I would if there is still another day. My time is probably up and my usefulness has dried. Perhaps I would come another day. Perhaps. And you probably would want to move aside from your current spot." The Rice Lady walked away.

Yes. The bulgy man did move aside. After all, who would doubt the words from the Rice Lady. Not even Death. With his mischief, the Rice Lady choked upon a ball of rice. A befitting death for the lady who relied on rice to spill the juicy truths of the future.