Tangled By Fate

Saint Ava raised an eyebrow. "Do you know that a healer can heal anyone but their own body?"

"I knew. I'm sorry." Veronica wanted to dig a hole and hide herself there. Saint Ava bled because of her and she couldn't do anything.

Saint Ava let out a smile. She couldn't foresee this young girl's future. She instructed Veronica, "From now on you will do all the chores inside the temple. You will clean every corner of this temple. I don't want to see any dust and you must learn how to take care of the garden from me. After you are done with your chores, you will try healing the scar in my arm."

Veronica's jaw dropped. The entire Rosemary Temple would take at least a week to clean for one person.

Did it mean she couldn't be able to eat or sleep for a whole week?

The thought of not being able to sleep turned her face pale.

'C-can I go back to the temple? I don't want to stay here any longer.' She cried out inwardly.

Just the day she arrived, she had to start working. At first, she cleaned the prayer hall and a large dining room. When she became exhausted, Saint Ava told her to get the lunch ready.

She picked up some fruits from the garden and had lunch with the Saint with bitterness.

All of a sudden, a thought came to her. She looked at Saint Ava and hesitated before asking, "Umm… I don't see any furniture here except for this table and the chairs. Could they be stolen during the war Head Priest was talking about?"

"What will a king do with stone made furniture?" Saint Ava took about peach and continued, "There was no furniture except for this table and the stools. The priests who lived here didn't need a comfortable life as they dedicated everything to Goddess Juvena."

"T-then… what about sleeping? Don't they need the bed?" Veronica gulped. She was having a bad feeling about this.

"They slept on the floor. We all slept on the floor," Saint Ava calmly answered, ignoring her weak voice.

Veronica shuddered. "…No way…" She began to miss her hard, wooden bed. She bitterly thought, 'Why did they keep this furniture for?'

Saint Ava explained, "We don't let our bodies have the comfort they seek. If we do that, we become lazy and our conviction toward Goddess Juvena weakens. That's why we decided never to have anything that would make us seek comfort for our bodies."

She abruptly asked, "Do you love people, Veronica?"

Veronica was stunned by her question but soon answered, "Y-yes… yes!"

"I see." Saint Ava glanced at her. "Veronica," she continued, "if you truly want to become a healer that can save thousands of husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons during the war, you have to learn how to heal them. Those soldiers who fight for their countries and loved ones, you have to protect them. Think about those young maidens, children, and old parents. They will lose their precious family because you don't have the ability to heal them."

She added, "To gain something, you must lose something. You cannot seek comfort and achieve your goal at the same time. Life isn't a bed of roses. If you think you can do better with a comfortable lie, why couldn't you become a healer already? You couldn't do it because you were always lazing around, goofing off, having fun with friends. Even coming here, you are looking for a good bed and delicious food, right after you promised me you will try your best."

She asked her, "Veronica, I ask you again. What is your best? What can you do to get what you want? What do you actually want?"

".." Veronica stayed silent. Her head lowered automatically. She had no answer. Even her heart had no answer for any of Saint Ava's questions.

Saint Ava hit the head of the nail directly. Veronica didn't know what she wanted. She was confused. She did want to heal people but she didn't work hard for it.

Didn't that mean being a healer wasn't the thing she wanted in her life?

If that's true, what did she want?

Saint Ava finished eating and stood up after wiping her mouth. "If you can't come up with the answer by tomorrow, please leave. This isn't a place for you. you can go back to the temple and resume your daily life. You must miss your friends."

'Leave?' Veronica looked at her. Questions filling her eyes.

However, Saint Ava said no more and left.

Staring at her back, she thought how Saint Ava could stay here alone, praying, cleaning, and wiping everything by herself. She was a girl. Wasn't she scared of darkness and ghosts? Veronica was curious but couldn't utter a word.

She finished her meal and strode in the garden. Her mind was swirling with questions. She walked into the deepest part of the garden without realizing it.

At that time, she heard some birds chirping. She came out of the trance and was startled. She didn't know this place. She realized she walked too deep. However, she didn't have the time to think about it.

That's because the view in front of her was magnificent.

There was a giant tree in front of her. She couldn't see the peak of this tree. There was no fruit in that tree. The branches spread far away and the roots of the tree were big enough to sit there. It was standing in the ground with its head holding high and ever so gloriously.

If the tree wasn't a splendid sight, the flower bed under the tree was the most spectacular sight she had ever seen. There were multi colored flowers and butterflies were all over the place. The faint scents of the flowers mixed and it created a mesmerizing smell.

Veronica inhaled sharply and she felt refreshed.

She suddenly understood something.

There was no reason for Saint Ava to be scared of darkness and ghosts. There was no way she would get tired or bored living here.

This was the home of Goddess Juvena. The Goddess Herself was protecting her children who lived here.

Goddess Juvena gave them life, peace, love, and a wonderful world to live in. It was only natural for the priests to be devoted to her and do their best to make her wish to come true.

At that moment, Veronica understood what it truly meant by love and devotion.

And, she had made up her mind.