~Chapter 10- Parting ways

~1146~

~Ten years prior to the incident~

In the dead of night, Urba slipped out of bed and began to gather all her belongings. The tiny wooden-framed bed was the one she had known her whole life. The same was true of the lumber-built home in the countryside she lived in... She needed to get away from it.

She slipped on a long, loose dress, just like one the city folks wore. Demure, not the sort that a country girl like herself would typically wear. Everything she considered essential was gathered into a single bag, as was the money she had saved from working for her mother for the twenty-one years of her life.

She left her room with quiet steps so as not to wake her mother or brother. She crept outside, closing the door as silently as possible, before making her way down the road towards the nearby town.

Hazy lights from town reached her through layers of thick, morning fog. All in the countryside were asleep aside from her. But she had to make sure that she was there once the carriage reached town. She'd pay to go to Mortel and figure things out from there.

Urba had never once left the area. The liveliest place she'd ever been to was the humble town just down the road from there. There were times when she thought she had convinced her mother to take them on a trip, but she always found an excuse not to.

"There's work to be done," her mother would often say.

Urba walked through the empty cobblestone streets, clutching her belongings closely as she traveled to the outskirts of town. As she passed by a clearing just outside of town, it reminded her of a conversation she had with her mother a few months prior.

After a day of work with the lumber company, Urba returned home with her brother and mother. Her hands were calloused, and her body sore from the work of the day. Her mother believed that a woman could do any work that a man could.

Urba brought up something that had been on her mind for a while.

"Hey, mom? I was thinking of getting a house somewhere?"

Urba's brother Lumb, a lanky young man with an axe over his shoulder, replied, "Really? What for?"

Urba's mother pulled at her overall straps and said, "That's fair. A young woman like yourself would want a place of her own."

Urba wasn't used to her agreeing like that. She excitedly began, "I was thinking of buying-"

Her mother interjected, "Oh! You don't have to buy anything! We could have the company build you a home. Maybe, something on the outskirts of town?"

That wasn't what she wanted to hear. She didn't want to live in the countryside anymore, but she knew her mother wouldn't understand that.

Urba continued through the town, taking a seat at a bench where the carriage would usually arrive. It was late at night; it'd take a few hours before the carriage would come. But she'd have to depart as soon as possible. She didn't want mom to know she was leaving until she was already long gone.

Urba sat patiently for the carriage. As the night carried on, she noticed people in town starting to wake in their homes. A few early birds stepped out onto the streets, but they didn't pay her any mind.

A young man began to walk towards her, taking a seat on the bench near her. She knew who it was but didn't dare look.

He spoke, "So you're just going to sneak out like this?"

Urba peered over and saw her younger brother with a callous look on his face.

Urba kept her eyes forward, "You wouldn't understand."

"I can't believe you. You're just going to leave us like that? Leave mom?"

"I just want to live my life. I'll never be able to do that here."

"That's not fair!" Lumb's voice intensified. He was now facing her directly. His thin, calloused hands gripped the bench. "Mom took care of us all on her own. We should be there to take care of her."

"Lumb..." Urba faced her brother, "I'm not like you. I can't be happy here. I know if I stay any longer, I'm just going to end up hating mom."

Lumb was taken aback by this. His face was a mix of anger and melancholy. But she knew her brother. He'd rather be angry than sad. It was easier for him.

Lumb's eyes turned cold again, "So what, you're just going to leave mom alone?"
Urba turned away. It didn't matter what she said. Her brother would never accept her decision. So, she remained silent, simply clutching her things and looking forward.

"Fine. Do what you want." Lumb abruptly walked away with angry energy, disappearing into the fog of the night. As the sound of his footsteps lessened, she wished she had said one more thing.

But mom won't be alone.

Urba knew that Lumb would always be there to look after her. Even when she wouldn't.

The sun broke over the horizon, shooting through the fog around her. From the fog emerged a carriage pulled by horses. A man with a wooly cap and white curly hair pulled the reins on the horses and stopped at her bench.

"You're here early." The man commented, revealing a golden tooth as he smiled.

Urba replied, "I'm ready when you are."

"Hop in," The man replied, motioning to the back of the carriage.

She circled to the back, climbed on, and handed him her fee for the ride, "To Mortel."

"You got it!" The man flourished the reins, motioning the horses to get moving.

The carriage lurched into motion, bouncing unevenly on the gravel road as her home slowly diminished behind her. She didn't need to see the bridge to know when they crossed the river. Each of its boards had been cut at her family's sawmill, and the rhythmic bump seemed to count down to the moment she'd pass beyond her mother's reach forever. She looked back and said one final goodbye to the life she knew as she moved on to her new one.