Days of Past's Future

Roland sat on a chair inside the door of his brother-in-law’s home, his legs straight out and arms folded. He didn’t have to wait long. 

Tatenai burst in. Roland had never seen him so furious. “This outrage is unforgivable! Rosheen is devastated. You’ve left your poor sister, a widow.” He trembled, his face red and twisted.

Roland glared at him like a lord to a wayward villein. “Yes, she’s a widow. Her child’s father is dead. But if you thought I couldn’t avenge my sister and protect her from being manacled to such a monster, you know nothing. You neither protected my sister nor punished Malchus. I’m taking her away, and we’ll go home one day. Your scheme to keep us here has failed.”

“I didn’t intend to keep you here. This was just about your’ return’. But you’re no longer welcome. If you ever set foot in this village again, I’ll kill you. Go! Get out of my sight.” 

Roland remained seated, his eyes and mouth open. Tatenai, who’d been so loyal to Malchus, hadn’t shed one tear over his friend’s death. He hadn’t acted on behalf of Rosheen after Malchus’ appalling behavior. Now, he focused on Roland for stepping-up and settling the record. Something wasn’t right. He stomped his feet down and raised himself, eyes flashing.

“I’ll happily leave with Rosheen. I’ve never understood your obsessive need to bring us here. How you shielded Malchus, who owes you everything, is preposterous. We now both have what we want. You’re rid of me, and I’m taking Rosheen.”

Tatenai’s face remained inscrutable as he turned and left Roland, who expected more hostility.

They needed to leave, but Roland had to convince his sister. He entered Tomas’s home, where Rosheen sat weeping. Her friend, Tamara, her sister Anna, and Tatsinda, Tatenai’s daughter, comforted her.

“You’re not welcome here,” said Tomas as Roland pushed past.

“I’m here to take Rosheen away. Tatenai has ordered it, and there’s nothing keeping us here.”

Rosheen shook her head. Tamara said, “See, she doesn’t want to go.”

“But you pleaded with me to take her away!” 

Everyone looked at Tamara in shock. “I won’t deny it, but if Tatenai ordered it, it must be. Tatenai should’ve punished Malchus. Instead, he protected him. Never made any sense.”

“You see,” said Roland. “Rosheen’s a widow. Her child is fatherless. I’m her brother. I’ll care for her.” He turned to Rosheen. “My dear sister, I’ll ensure you return to your family. No one else here will do that for you.”

Rosheen sobbed, “I can’t return and explain how my children came to be.” 

No one analyzed her plural statement. Tatsinda, Tatenai’s daughter, burst into tears. “What about me?” 

Anna took her arm consolingly but addressed Roland. “We’ll all visit you both, bring you things you need. This is not the end.”

Tatsinda looked comforted, though her tears still spilled.

Roland became gentle. “Rosheen, you need to pack. Tamara, can you help? We need to go before Tatenai changes his mind. He may kill me yet.”

“He’d never!” sobbed Tatsinda. “You’re too important to both of us, though I don’t imagine he’ll want us to marry now.” She hung her head.

Everyone looked at her, astounded.

Can she be joking? Roland thought. “Young lady,” he said, “we’ve all had enough of weddings for one day.” After killing Malchus, who was both the groom and Tatsinda’s uncle, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. Heavens, I’m not getting soft about her, am I? She still views me as marriage material? he thought.

Tatsinda’s smile flickered despite her tears. She clung to his arm. “Don’t forget me,” she begged.

Rosheen wailed afresh. The outcome had been a tragedy. Her eyes darkened, and a cloud of sadness followed her as she left the room with her friend Tamara.

“Don’t worry,” said Roland. “We’ll be happier once we’re away from here. We should’ve left from the start. I’m sorry I’ve caused you all such grief. I’ll make it up to Rosheen.”

When they returned, Tamara and Tomas hugged Rosheen, kissed her, and promised they’d visit soon.

“I’ll make baby clothes,” said Tamara. “I’ll be there before baby comes, don’t worry. We don’t expect Roland to be the midwife!”

Tatsinda still clung to Roland. “Does it have to be this way?”

Roland gazed into her pleading, tragic eyes. “You knew it was hopeless. I have to care for my sister.”

Roland and Rosheen left for Tatavian and Anna’s. Once Roland had packed, Anna, their sister, supplied food and necessary items.

Tatavian hugged him and pressed him to take the bow and arrows. “You’ll need these, brother. We’ll visit soon, and I’ll show you how to make your bow.”

“Gramercy, my friend. Prithee, take care of Anna. I know you will.”

“Farewell. I can’t say we’ll miss you and all the trouble, but we’ll visit you soon.”

Anna clung to him, weeping. “Oh, Roland. Did you have to kill him? It’s so awful.”

“Trust me, Anna, I had to avenge Rosheen and eliminate the danger Malchus posed. You’re such a good person. Farewell, for now.” 

They were on their way at last. Rosheen wore her old riding boots and strode away with him, seeming resigned to their fate - an unreal outcome after her marriage a few hours before. Roland’s test had begun. He looked over to her as they trudged down the path. “You’ll go home. I promise.”

***

As evening drew closer, Roland and Rosheen set up camp for the night under the trees. Tasty meat pies from Shiree’s kitchen would sustain them until morning. He explained where they’d live and how they would survive. He formulated a plan to leave the island safely and inevitably return home. Rosheen looked heartened. She seemed to agree.

“I know you did what you had to, Roland. You had to protect me after what happened . . . I guess the circumstances warranted murder, though it’s an evil thing to have done. I never wanted to give birth to orphans.”

He gazed into her eyes and felt swallowed into their melancholic serenity. It occurred to him that their eyes matched like a mirror image, one dark and one fair, just like in the prophecy. She was indeed his sister!

“I am truly sorry, Rosheen. I’m intrigued about something. You must be younger than me, as your birth resulted in our mother’s death. The date of my baptism is the 29th of Calends of April 1009, in the 9th year of the reign of King Henry 1. What is yours?”

Rosheen looked at him thoughtfully. “That’s not quite the date of my baptism. It’s the tenth of Calends of May 1009.”

They both stared at each other.

“God’s bones and nails!” said Roland, “It had to be after ours, as mother died, and you were taken away. The three of us must have been born one after the other on the same day. You are a miracle!”

Rosheen shook her head slowly. “It’s hard to believe we three share the same birthdate. For all your faults, you’ve instinctively been drawn to me and protected me.”

Roland held her close.

“I know you want to take me home, Roland, but I don’t know how it can work. I am ruined. A widow without a husband. My family may still want us to marry. It wouldn’t be safe to divulge we are brother and sister. How can we tell them I had to marry another who is dead, and I have his child, not yours?”

“I believe they will be grateful we have returned.” 

She sat in silence and studied him with a resigned look.

Later, he drifted to sleep, his mind filled with happy thoughts of what they’d do on arrival at the shore.

***

When he awoke, he lay on the couch at Tatavian’s. He struggled to unscramble his confusion. Has everything been a dream? Can this be a dream? he wondered

Anna came into the room and swished the curtain aside. “Time to rise, brother.”

This morning seemed the same as usual. He’d go along as before until he understood the how and when of this situation. How could he have finally left and now be back where the problems started?

Anna served their usual breakfast, trenchers of bread with soft-boiled eggs and mugs of fragrant herbal tea. Tatavian seemed in no rush for him to leave. This couldn’t be the wedding day when Tatavian couldn’t get rid of him fast enough.

Afterward, he grabbed the bow and quiver and headed out. The sun shone no more brightly than usual. What day is this? He found himself at Tomas’s home. With the door ajar, he could eavesdrop.

“Just hold on a moment so I can adjust this tuck, Rosheen,” Tamara said.

Roland peeked around the corner. He saw their backs. Rosheen was wearing her blue wedding dress, which Tamara examined carefully. 

Saints! This is before the wedding! But how many days before? he thought.

He headed out of the village to practice shooting and ponder. He rounded a corner and collided with a villager. “Excuse me. Pray, tell me what day it is?”

“It’s Thursday.”

“Gramercy, and sorry.”

Roland thought fast. No one else seemed aware they were reliving the day. The day before the wedding! He remembered practicing shooting all morning and went home and found Anna. She’d innocently told him about Friday’s wedding plans. He only needed to do as before, and everything that took place could be relived, including Malchus’ execution. But is Malchus still to die? He worried, feeling sick with indecision.

***

That afternoon, Anna’s fingers strummed her lute as she sang her song for the wedding. Roland paused at the door a second time and listened without entering. He felt a strange Deja vu, though he already knew the time and location this time. Anna needn’t be involved.

What am I supposed to do, though? Let Malchus live? Yet, if I do, how can I save Rosheen? But murdering him twice? he thought, as he wrung his hands. He didn’t want to be remiss, but it seemed so insignificant to not involve Anna this time.

In the distance, he noticed Tatenai. Roland turned and continued down the cobbled street. Tatanai headed towards Malchus’, so Roland slipped out of sight. What an idea. I’ ’ll listen to what he and Malchus discuss, he thought.

Tatenai entered his friend’s home. Roland sauntered down and halted at the threshold. Loud voices emanated. 

“Malchus, this is what you’ve always wanted,” Tatenai said.

“It would be different if it wasn’t the darkie!”

He’s talking about Rosheen! He should be grateful, thought Roland.

“You’re doing the right thing, my friend. There’s a child to consider.”

“It’s the only reason I’m doing this. But if she thinks she will order me round, as before. Well, it’s not going to happen.”

“Why are you being like this?”

“She came here with her friend and made out I’m the one in the wrong. Stupid fool! It’s her own fault.”

“Malchus!” Tatenai sounded shocked. “You did wrong. You are responsible.”

“And what if I knew? What if I hadn’t forgotten, as I said? Would she be disgusted and leave me alone? I doubt it. Stupid wench needs my help.”

“So, you knew what you did, what really happened? . . . You forced yourself on her! You need to think about your innocent child!”

“Nothing you can do about it now.”

“Rosheen doesn’t deserve to walk into a trap and be treated harshly. l admit I wanted it to be nicely and morally resolved, but not at Rosheen’s expense.”

Malchus sneered. “You’re the one who’s walked into a trap! You were so anxious for her to help me. Now, you won’t say a word because if so, I’ll tell everyone what you did.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you know perfectly well. All these years, you told everyone I couldn’t free you, that you couldn’t leave this village and return to Rua at the shore to protect her. In truth, they captured me! Sure, you finally freed me, but then we took Shiree up into the hills until after the battle. You left Aunt Rua to suffer the consequences of your departure all those months because you didn’t return as promised. You chose to stay with Shiree at the expense of all those lives. The fight happened due to you, and I’ve kept your secret. We three are the only ones who know your non-return resulted in the fight. What will happen if I tell everyone?”

“Rua caused it. She sent me.”

“You left her to die. Never kept your promise to return.”

“I’ve always kept my promises to you and Shiree. It’s why you didn’t tell.”

“Except you never gave me the one I wanted, the red-headed one. You inflicted me with a virago with dark hair. I’d be better off without her. She’d better do as she’s told. And if you do anything about it, I’ll tell them what you did. You caused all those deaths, virtually murdered them all, because you fell in love with Shiree and stayed. Shiree may not want to admit it after all this time, but it is the truth.”

Roland felt numb with disbelief. Knowing all this only made him more determined to get rid of Malchus. He restrained himself from entering and pummeling them both. 

My plan is going ahead! What has the time repetition been for? Now, I’ll feel no guilt at all. I believed Malchus to be the embodiment of evil. Yet Tatenai, for all his so-called good intentions, is more so. He seemed loyal to Rua but never kept his most crucial promise, leading to the slaughter of innocents. Then he lied. He’s the worst traitor of all! Deserves death many times over. To hide his treachery, he indulged Malchus and bred a monster! I must save Rosheen. Can’t just take her away. There’d still be the problem of her child being base born. Malchus must still die after he has married her, he thought.

***

On Friday morning, Roland left early. The sun shone so brightly that rays of light transformed into molten bronze, as it pours from the crucible of a metal worker, yet his heart felt like lead.

At the clearing, he imagined where everyone would stand in a large, flat area steeped in sunshine. His position could be adjusted as required. He hid in the trees on the rise overlooking the meadow. As he clenched and unclenched his hands and shuffled his feet, he convinced himself his actions would eliminate evil.

Roland watched them arrive, concealed by meadow grasses and shaded by trees. Tatenai stood with Malchus and Rosheen before him. The six invited guests stood back to view. He saw Anna glance around, but not in his direction. Rosheen was as radiant as before while he crouched above and behind them again, eyes focused on his target, Malchus.

Everything appeared the same, from the radiant sunlight and buzzing bees, cicadas, and twittering birds to the fragrant greenery. An eerie, disassociated feeling swept over him. Rosheen’s innocence, compared to the extreme guilt of the two men, impressed on him how imperative it was to save her. This time, revenge wasn’t his only reason.

When Tatenai finished speaking, Roland rose, poised with the bow and arrow, with the arrowhead he’d made and kept for Malchus. His revenge lust caught in his throat like bile as he repeated each movement.

Just before his arrow left the bow, Anna looked up and shrieked, “No, Roland!” 

He startled a split second before the arrow sped towards its mark.

God’s Bones, Anna didn’t know I’d be here! he thought in horror.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion, altered from before.

Rosheen, with perfectly imperfect timing, just as Anna cried out, turned. She stood towards Malchus and appeared to protect him as she looked up at Roland. Their eyes met; her face determined, unafraid.

She knows! How can she know? he thought. She can’t have returned from the future as well!

In a split second, the arrow slashed the side of Rosheen’s neck and became embedded between Malchus’ shoulder blades and into his heart. He slumped face-down in the grassy meadow with the arrow protruding, having died instantly.

Rosheen gasped, released her flowers, and fell beside him, clutching her neck. Blood spurted . . .

Shiree and Tamara rushed to her side, and Tamara pressed the skirt of her dress over Rosheen’s wound. 

Anna, Tatavian, and Tatsinda scrambled up the bank and found Roland sprawled on the rise. Anna, there first, knelt over Roland, sobbing. She clutched his hands, but he pulled one up and clutched the side of his neck, feeling his life leaving him. How can I be feeling the same as Rosheen, he thought.

“How’s Rosheen?” he choked desperately. “Is she alright?” This is a worse tragedy. Oh God, please let Rosheen live, he prayed.

The words of the funny song Anna had sung months before came to mind. 

“The youth shot with an arrow true from the bow in his own hand . . .

Alas, Alas, you have done me great harm, 

for with your arrow straight and true, you have caused me to fall. 

Now, as my life is leaving me, though you think I’m yours, 

you have no hope of saving me . . . I shall die.” It wasn’t a joke at all.

He heard Tatsinda sobbing while Tatavian comforted her. She couldn’t be consoled.

Anna gripped Roland and shook him. “Stay awake!” she cried. “Oh, how did you know? Why did you do it?”

“Sister, you told me.” Roland felt his body slump as in a faint. He heard their anguish but couldn’t respond. He hadn’t bled, yet he perceived his whole being ebbing away.

Anna cried desperately, “I never told him! We all could’ve been so happy. I just wanted him to stop. Not for Rosheen to die.”