By Sai Aasritha Pattipati and Gargi Deshpande
The fairytale marriage of Genevieve Demerovic and Benjamin Krüger has ended, and that has to do with a joke, and a beautiful pear farm. 120 years later, when the descendants of the Demerovics and Krügers – Glaire Demerovic and Rafael Krüger – fall in love, the feud from the past is meddling in. Follow Glaire and Rafael’s ordeal as they fight for their love.
120 years ago..
Air filled with the scent of freshly baked cookies, the sun’s warmth hugging you like a cozy, knit blanket. Walking barefoot in the narrow lane surrounded by one small shop after the other, you can feel the fresh red mud enveloping your feet. Auntie Marlow is singing in her strong, raspy voice “Harloken ikzshen a himezes…” (“Come thy in all your splendor…” in Lumioran) as she opens the first shop of the morning. A group of seven children wearing bright, colorful red, white, and green patterned clothes come running to buy her cookies. One of them runs past you, brushing their excited hand against your arm. You stand back to observe them, they are laughing and talking loudly, and their smiles are strikingly wide revealing how joyous they feel in each other’s presence. Everyone in the quaint, tiny, little town of Solime, the smallest town in the country of Kingcardine, seems to smile with the same uncontainable happiness.
Just a few miles from the heart of the town, the Krügers and the Demerovics are doubling the joy of the little town, hosting an elaborate reception to celebrate the union of the families’ youngest children, Benjamin Krüger and Genevieve Demerovic. In the Krüger’s beautiful pear garden on the outskirts of Solime, the entire town gathered to cheer the couple as they took their vows. Genevieve looked every inch elegant in her beautiful white wedding dress. The silk dress, with laces at the borders, and flowers weaved into the silk, perfectly complemented her youthful innocence and allure. Benjamin, in his traditional Kingcardinian pickle green trousers with black pleats, and white vest embellished with gold plated ruffles, exuded the charm of a prince. The happy young couple stood behind a beautiful pear arch as they read out their vows, and the whole town listened in with eagerness. The wedding guests wiped their tears as Genevieve poignantly concluded her vows, “I cannot imagine life with anyone but you, Benjamin”, looking at Benjamin with an expression that only true love can buy. Evidently grateful for his now wife’s words, Benjamin finished his touching vows with a soulful and brave confession, “I still cannot believe I managed to court you, honey. Thank you for falling in love with me. I thank your father for allowing me to marry you. As a token of gratitude, I think I should give him this pear farm. What do you think?”, eliciting laughs from the guests and the emotional fathers. And with the conclusion of the heartwarming ceremony, the Krügers and the Demerovics became one.
…
100 years ago,
In dire need of financial help, Genevieve’s father, Alexander Demerovic, approached Benjamin asking for the piece of land he had promised to give in his vows. He needed that money to save his dying wife.
“I know it has been more than two decades since. But son, I am in dire need. And if you fulfill your promise, I can save my wife”
“Darling, fulfill your promise. My father has always been a righteous man. He hadn’t once brought this up these twenty years because he was waiting for you to deliver. Now he is forced to ask. Save my mother, darling, only you can” Genevieve, too, pleaded.
Benjamin was utterly shocked, confused, and angry. He wondered if Mr. Demerovic realised he did not mean what he said, it was at most a joke for the entertainment of the audience. He was not going to give away the pear farm, the most priced possession of his father. Having lost his father only two months ago to the same disease that is threatening Mrs. Demerovic’s life, he empathized greatly with what struck so close to home for him, he empathized with Mrs. Demerovic’s fight for life. But he was angry at Mr. Demerovic for making such a request, not acknowledging his grief of losing his father.
He made it very clear to Mr. Demerovic and Genevieve, “The pear farm was what my father held the closest to his heart. It is the only reminder I have of him. And he promised to my mother, that land shall be hers upon his passing. That is my poor mother’s only means of livelihood. I cannot give away the land. I cannot let go of the last reminder of my father. And I cannot drag my mother to the streets to save yours. You also know I do not make enough to feed you, our ten children, my mother, and I. But, I have never once taken a penny from my father’s farm. I live, and I want us, honey, to live on the money that I earn. What is mine is mine, and what is my mother’s is my mother’s.
“Mr. Demerovic”, he addressed his father-in-law, “I am utterly confused you would think I was speaking in all seriousness about giving away to you my father’s farm. That was merely a rhetorical question to lighten the mood during the vows. Who am I, in any case, to part with my father’s cherished farm? He labored tirelessly upon it, even in his final days when he summoned every last ounce of his strength to tend to it alone. I, in truth, never extended my hand to aid in its upkeep, not even in those trying moments. In what way do I have any authority to claim the farm as mine? None, whatsoever. The farm is not mine, for me to give to you.”
“But, I am willing to work another job. Or two, if the situation may require me to. I am willing to go to any lengths to contribute financially to save your mother”, he promised to them both.
Angry and hurt upon learning that Benjamin’s words were merely shams, Alexander stormed off. And with him, so did Geneieve, breaking apart not just their home and marriage, but also the ties of the Krüger and the Demerovic families.
Bitter and still fighting over the pear farm, Benjamin Krüger and Genevieve Krüger then walked away the same way they first introduced themselves – Benjamin Krüger and Genevieve Demerovic.
…
Present day…
“Good morning, this is Aizhltain News reporting on an exciting discovery. In the mines of Garald, geologists discovered a precious stone they are calling Lumaraite. This tiny stone, approximately 2 cm, could be worth over a trillion dollars. Only 7 of these stones exist in this world. And two of them, the Geologists located, are situated in private properties in Solime, Kingcardine, and Hellodio, Glacedia. After examination, the properties of the stone were declared unfit for industrial use. With the government authorities in the countries deciding to let the stone too, remain a private property, the lucky families are about to become, possibly, the richest in history.”
In Solime:
The boys are hurtling out of the classroom, already kicking the football. The highly-anticipated Arlherst University vs Hiemann University inter-uni football finals is about to be underway. Rafael Krüger is leading Arlherst Uni’s red and yellow jersey-clad team. He is a tall, well-built lad. His tanned skin, golden curls, sharp jaw, and toned muscles along with his incredibly sweet and easy-going personality make him, perhaps, the town’s most desirable. From the stands, Glaire Demerovic couldn’t help but feel down in dejection as she cheered for Rafael’s championship-winning goal. She turned away from him, disturbance written all over her face, thinking “There is no way I could ever be with him”. Shaking her head vigorously, “No, no, don’t even think about it, Glaire”, she sternly told herself. As she was looking away, Rafael turned to her, curious to know if she was noticing him. “Why does she look sad? Did something happen? Should I go up to her?” Rafael just couldn’t stand seeing her upset. He loved it when she smiled. Looking at her wavy brown hair, up in a ponytail, swishing as she jumped around in joy, always made his day. Glaire was the popular girl. Everyone loved her, and everyone wanted to be her friend. She had natural charisma, the most infectious laughter, and an incredible sense of humour. Rafael was head over heels in love with her. They would make such a phenomenal pair, and they knew it too.
After the felicitation ceremony ended, as the crowd started to thin, the team made their way back to the dressing room. Rafael, who should have been celebrating his championship-winning goal, just couldn’t get the sight of Glaire’s upset face out of his mind. He needed to know that she was okay. He zoomed out of the room, unbothered that the team was cutting a cake to celebrate the victory, and ran to one corridor of the university after another, until he found her. She was walking past the library, with her friends, still with a sullen face. “Uhh.. um, Glaire?” he called out in a shaky voice. She turned around. Her eyes grew wide. Her lips pursed into a tiny smile. “Can I.. uh, can I talk to you for a quick sec?” he was trying so hard to be subtle. If only subtlety came to him as easily as kicking a championship-winning goal under high pressure. Sensing a moment coming, Glaire’s friends walked away quickly, giggling amongst themselves. Shyly, Glaire made her way to Rafael. “Hey.. yeah?” she sounded so timid and out of character that she couldn’t explain it either.
Fidgeting with the hem of his sweaty jersey, Rafael finally and nervously splurted out, “Listen, I don’t want to seem like a creep. I promise I’m not. It’s just that, you know, you were in the front row. And I noticed you were kinda off. All good?” Glaire broke into the biggest laughter, relieving Rafael and making him happy, he loved to see her smile. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Thanks. Awesome goal, by the way, and congrats on the championship” she said. “Why.. are you so concerned anyway?” she blushed. “Uh.. first, thanks ” Rafael nervously chuckled before continuing “You’re putting me on the spot haha. They say you’re smart for a reason, huh?”
“Damn right” she chortled. He couldn’t help but notice the glimmer in her eye, and how her face lights up every time she smiles. Her smile always reminded him of the colours of a rainbow. Heat rose to his cheeks, and he hid his embarrassment with a light guffaw. “I…uh…I don’t know. I just noticed” He obviously lied. Rafael was inept at lying, to say the least. Suddenly, he felt the need to take her to his favourite spot; the roof of the Psychology building. He had always spent his wistful nights and listless days in that huddle. He also went there sometimes when a cloud of hope spoke to him, just like he was about to now. He stuttered, “do you…uh want to go to a spot with me to watch the sunset?” He knew how she admired the sunset. She subtly smiled and nodded, all while blushing behind the facade of her nonchalance.
They climbed up the stairs and opened the door to the beautiful haven that was the rooftop. The Psychology faculty had customised the space as a casual dinette as an experimental setting for one of their researches, which faced the beautiful sea of coastal Solime. However, the bustle slowly dwindled at the end of the experiment, leaving the place aesthetic and deserted. The canopy of ivy perched over the ground, entangled, covered the bricks of the walls. Seating chairs were kept around small tables, and the rays entered and glimmered and brought life to this arrangement. Glaire had the look of wonderment on her face, while she gazed at the view the highest building in the university had to offer, which showed her a frenetic sun kissing the still waters of the sea. Rafael smiled. They both sat in silence for a while as they glared at the view. The clouds bathed in the sun’s light and dressed themselves up in colours of aquamarine and tangerine, bleeding through shades of lemon and maroon. Cool breeze danced around the room and electrified it. He suddenly felt the need to play with reckless abandon. He felt a rush, the kind that gave him jolting goosebumps under his sweatshirt and screamed in his ear to make a move. He looked at Glaire; her face always melted the crust of ice he usually walked around with. He finally blurted out, “Glaire?” “Hmm?” She hummed. “I…” He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling shyly. “I think I like you”. Glaire smiled. She did not say anything. Instead, she nestled into his arms, which spoke more than a thousand words ever will.
…
Passersby in the hallways could never not see the smiling couple decking the halls in their own misty haze, hands intertwined. Glair and Rafael were the sensation, owing to Glaire’s popularity. In no time, their secrets spread in the air. There was also one news story slowly picking up. It seemed like the talk of the town, with new versions of the same tale, and their predictions travelling ear to ear.
“Kruger and Demerovic?” yelled a voice. They looked at the sweaty senior who just called out their names. “Yes?” Rafael replied. He said, “Haven’t you guys heard?” “Heard what?” “The mysterious discovery of Lumarite here in Solime? Your family seems to be the owners, and Demerovic’s family has something to do with it too.” The misty haze broke. “What? Are you kidding?” Rafael said, almost in disbelief. “No man, don’t you know the stories?” He said, sipping gatorade. “Alright, I will look into it. Thank you”. Rafael said hastily, to escape the conversation. Clutching hands, the pair sped towards the dormitory.
…
Glaire and Rafael looked at each other with part fright and part confusion. It has been a day since they had been investigating about the land and its history, and have made frantic calls to their pedigree for the same, and what they uncovered has left a churning feeling in their stomachs. The final call they’d made to Glaire’s great-aunt gave them everything they needed to know.
Her instructions led Glaire and Rafael to a secret vault in Glaire’s house. She had spoken something about letters and of promises. Of old letters left by her father for the future bloodline that are to be found, which will keep alive the senile wound and the blood on the hands of…
“Kruger!” Glaire exclaimed while she sifted through the shrouded secrets of the vault, sifting through all of the sacrosanct items to find the one letter that she was destined to read. She waved a creased envelope tinted with cinnamon wounds to get Rafael’s attention. She broke the red seal and opened the letter.
She opened her mouth to read it out. Her eyes fell onto the part written in crimson.
“I swear on the soul of my wife, our life and the promises forgotten, my blood shall bring youth into this world who will avenge this betrayal with fire”.
Rafael and Glaire’s mouth was left agape. Tension hounding their chests, they could feel the invisible, yet ever so thick wall forming between them. They decided it was best to retreat to dormitory after this revelation for it to subside.
….
Rafael gazed into the spider’s broken web that lined the grills of the window, torn due to the heavy winds that blew earlier, and how it was desperately trying to spread its legs to connect every strand again to save its abode. The air smelled like dew on freshly mown grass, blanched with the vegetables cooking in the window above theirs. Moths hovered over the meekly blinking Christmas lights on the dusty window. Rafael pulled the blinds to all of it. “What do we do, Glaire?” Their families were at war. Poisonous words were thrown through the telephone lines each time they made a call home. A frightened maiden who served tea at Glaire’s house told them that she had been serving men in black suits and suitcases every evening while they spoke of promises in between sips of tea. The same was the case at Rafael’s house. “Glaire?” She was still unresponsive. Rafael sat beside her, and turned her chin toward him in a swift motion. There were tears pooling at the brim of her eyelids. She choked out in a murky voice, “Your family should just give the land.”
“It’s not that easy, Glaire”
“It is, your family has just made it complicated”
“You do not know what went down between them, Glaire”
“I do, actually. All the loud screams and tears that I have received through the telephone line about siding with the enemy from my mother tells me everything I need to know”. She spat. “And you’ve been so nonchalant about it Rafael. Makes sense, you wouldn’t understand”.
Rafael was never the one to get agitated. He was always calm as a rock during a storm. “I understand, Glaire, I really do. But we mustn’t be bothered by this. And by ‘we’, I mean us. I don’t want to lose my present and my future because of something that happened in the past”
“Your future-”
“I see you in it, you know.”
The dimly lit room was filled with the sound of the rain slowly pouring down on the wet cement floor. Glaire looked at Rafael longingly, silently playing his words over and over within herself. She felt like a mosaic, broken but beautiful. Broken because she was torn between the justice for her past, and the fight for her future. And beautiful, because she had Rafael with her.
Rafael wiped the tears that had been brimming at her eyelids. He embraced her in his arms, slowly swaying to the music of the rain and their pounding hearts. Softly, yet ready to fight the world. “We’ll figure it out, Glaire. I will talk to my family about this tomorrow. Let’s see what can be done. I believe in us.”
And in this instance, she decided that it was the fight of her future, where the wounds of the past were merely to be healed.
The morning light weaved through the silk curtains into the cold room. It melted the crusts of ice on the window pane which leaked water down the length of the wall underneath. Glaire got up frantically, walking past the golden shadows in the room. She grabbed her coat and her keys and took the taxi to the airport. It had been three days since Rafael told her everything would be fine, and three days since her anxiety had been at an all time high. Rafael had gone home to convince his parents to let go of the land and legally obey the commitment made years ago, and his flight was supposed to land back today. In the past three days, she herself tried talking to her parents. Talking turned to convincing, convincing turned to begging, and begging turned to screaming. Exhausted and defeated, news from Rafael was her only hope now. She reached the airport just in time when his flight landed. She’d slept the extra hour today due to the comforting blend of cold December wind and warm morning sun putting her to sleep. After a long wait, Rafael walked through the doors. They instantly smiled and ran for a hug.
Rafael knew her through and through. He saw the fear in her eyes, and without much ado, he said the most awaited words.
“I was able to convince mom and dad. They understood my genuineness and plea, and have agreed to let your family own the land and the stone. But on one condition. If we promised to get married in the future, then your family and mine could share the stone.”
Glaire stayed silent, sullen to his words.
“It’s not the stone that they want Glaire, it’s the power that comes with it. I noticed the way mom and dad were arguing with me on it. And they would let us do whatever the hell we want as long as they still have the power, even if it means sharing it. And I’m sure that past the age-old rivalry which had been dormant for so long, they only want power too. Otherwise, this conflict would not have reignited only with the discovery of the stone. If power is a possibility, people would give up anything to get it, until it isn’t a possibility anymore. They would do anything Glaire, anything. And we play upon just that, giving them the power they want.”
Planes flew and planes landed. People entered and people left. But Glaire stood still, grateful for every road, every stepping stone, every stop and go sign that led her here. She knew they had won this battle, a small victory in their war with her parents. But she could worry less. She knew that they’d win. She knew the victory would be theirs. She now knew that love wields enough power to undo the power that wields hatred. And she knew, in her heart, if she had him, she had everything.
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