Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

The audience watched in silence as the happy family went back to their normal routine with Theo working in the tavern and Damona working at home.

As the stage dimmed again, the music continued to play in the background throughout the play and the same voice from before rose out.

{Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months with the happy couple living their daily lives.}

Soon after, ominous music began to play and the spectators could assume that something bad was about to happen.

{But things soon changed when…} 

The voice faded as the stage lit up.

Damona laying on the bed with Theo kneeling next to her was what everyone could see.

His hands covered her trembling dainty ones as he continued to rub them.

"You will be fine, Damona. A physician will soon be arriving." He urged her to remain brave and she gave him a weak nod.

An old man entered the house soon and with his came a woman who was his assistant.

In the presence of the worried husband, the woman on the bed was checked.

"She seems to have been infected by a cold." The old man pronounced but saw Theo frowning.

"A cold would have disappeared after two days, she has been in bed for a week now!" He exclaimed, anger apparent in his eyes and his words.

{The physician's second trip to their house ended with Theo learning a new truth.}

"Women are generally weaker than men so it is understandable that your wife is taking longer to recover but she will be fine soon." The woman who had accompanied the physician tried to explain matters to him.

Only then did Theo nod as he paid then and returned to his wife's side.

The scene changed again and Damona was seen back on her feet as she kissed her husband's cheek while sending him out to work.

Now, the audience watched how Damona would spend her day while he was away at work.

She would visit the market to buy daily necessities, visit the neighbors and return to prepare food for her husband when he returns.

Some of them frowned when they saw how Damona just dipped her hands in water at returning home and began preparing their dinner.

Others found it unacceptable when she threw the waste materials from the house out onto the street once she was done.

However, most of the people seated found nothing wrong with her actions as they enjoyed this daily life story of a commoner couple just like them.

The lights dimmed and the familiar voice was heard once again.

{Seasons changed for our happy couple and things were about to get happier for them.}

The music changed to a joyful note and people were excited to see what happens next.

Theo was seen walking back and it appeared that he had just returned home when he found his wife sitting on the bed with her head lowered.

"Damona? Are you alright?" Theo forgot to even remove his coat as he rushed to see his wife.

When she heard Theo's voice, Damona looked up and everyone was stunned to see the tears in her eyes.

Theo was puzzled as he knelt before her and wiped those tears but what confused him was his wife wasn't frowning, instead, she had a wide smile on her face.

"Theo, you are going to become a father." She whispered and held his hand, placing his palm onto her stomach.

Theo froze when he heard those words but her action woke him up as he grinned like a fool.

"We are going to become parents?" He questioned to seek confirmation from her and gasped when she nodded.

The audience clapped their hands when they heard this joyful news of the couple who would be welcoming a new member of their family soon enough.

The stage dimmed with Theo hugging his wife amidst the applause the audience bestowed on them.

{Theo was ecstatic as any man would be and his foremost duty became to care for his wife and unborn child.}

{Rushing to work and returning earlier with healthy fruits with him had become the norm for the soon-to-be father.}

The audience chuckled at this while shaking their heads at the over-enthusiastic behavior that Theo had.

___

When the lights turned back on, the spectators were confused when there was no one on the stage.

The light in the tent was also brightened and it was Mr. Asher who had appeared on the stage instead of the actors who should have been there.

"We shall take a short intermission here and the show would continue in a few minutes." He announced which brought the audience out of the daze they had been in as they watched the life of Theo and Damona.

Mr. Asher then brought their attention to something else that they had missed as they were immersed in what was happening on the stage.

"Snacks would be sold at the two booths on the side. Please purchase them before the show begins." He revealed while pointing at the two booths which were now filled with various items.

The keywords that Mr. Asher used were 'sold' and 'purchase' which meant that they would need to spend money for these snacks.

Hilda glanced at the booth and her mouth watered at the sight of the candies, the cakes, the meat pockets, and even the popped corn that was being sold there.

Though she did not make a fuss about buying them like few of the children seated here, Mr. Thomas had caught the desire in her eyes.

"Which ones do you want? Choose any two." He whispered in her ear and chuckled when he saw her exuberant smile.

As the show was free of cost, people did not grumble too much as they lined up to buy snacks for their families.

Mr. Thomas along with the Town elder walked to the booth closest to them to purchase what they wished.

Only a few people had not visited the booths while the majority had gone to purchase at least one item.

Mr. Thomas returned with a few items in his hand which were for his family.

His wife received the cake, his daughter took the meat pocket and candy while he held the large tub of popped corn.

The parents shared their snacks with Hilda and she too did the same with them.

Once the crowd decreased at the booths, Mr. Asher reappeared on the stage as he announced that they would begin again.

___

The stage illuminated with a woman with a rounded belly walking out of the door.

"Welcome home, Dear!" The heavily pregnant woman greeted the man who arrived and held his hand as she dragged him inside.

{The last six months have treated Damona and Theo well as they waited for the birth of their precious child.}

The voice ended with Theo feeding his wife the food he had brought over from the market.

{Damona often felt lonely in the empty house and waited for when it was time for Theo to return from work.}

The scene changed and it was the next morning with Damona waving goodbye to her husband after which she frowned and entered the house.

{Today, the tavern was busy due to many patrons arriving just before Theo could leave so he had to stay for longer.}

When Theo arrived at home, he found that his wife who waited for him at the door was nowhere to be seen.

Entering the house, he noticed that she was on the bed and was trembling while clutching her stomach.

"Damona!?" He rushed to her and upon touching her hand, he realized that her entire body was burning up with fever.

The temperature of her body was enough to scare him and he did not waste any time as he ran to the physician's house which was on the other side of the town since the clinic would already be closed by now.

Fetching the people needed to check on his wife, he returned with them and pointed at his wife in bed.

"She was fine this morning but…" Theo swallowed his words when he saw the physician signaling him to remain silent.

The old man took a look at her but his grave face brought fear to Theo's heart.

Ominous music began to play again which made the audience frown as they sat at the edge of their seats.

"Keep her temperature low. I shall come back tomorrow to check on her again." He announced while handing over a bag of medicines to the husband.

Theo glanced at his sleeping wife as he walked the physician out.

Just as he was about to turn around after paying the man, he heard something that made his blood run cold.

"Be prepared for the worst… It is too early to say anything." The somber tone caused him to clench his jaw.