Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

When the play came to an end, the spectators all vacated the tent in an orderly fashion with numerous thoughts in their minds.

They had just watched a show which displayed the life of ordinary people just like them and this gave them a sense of connection to the characters they had just seen.

The Thomas family too returned to their home, Cozy Inn, alone as the Opera group had work to do.

As it was late in the night when the show had come to an end, Mr. Thomas carried his daughter in his arms as he led his family back home.

___

The next morning, Cozy Inn was back to the hustle of catering to thirty-odd guests who had come back after finishing their work late in the night.

The Opera group along with Mr. Asher was set to leave for the next town this evening so they were enjoying their free time right now.

Once Hilda awakened the next morning, the first thing she did was rush to Ms. Yasmin and congratulate her on her stellar performance last night as Damona.

Right now, the crew was having breakfast at the dining hall when Hilda came running towards them.

"Ms. Yasmin looked so pretty yesterday!" Hilda exclaimed as she showed them a toothy grin to prove her words.

Yasmin patted the seat next to her, indicating Hilda to sit and eat with her.

Mrs. Thomas served her daughter and then returned to the kitchen as she had a lot of work to do.

"Did you like the show?" Mr. Asher questioned from the other side of the table.

Hilda's immediate nod brought out chuckles from the actors who were present right now in this room.

"I liked the play and I learned new things too!" She declared with enthusiasm.

A bespectacled man sitting next to Mr. Asher looked up from his bowl of porridge at her words and glanced at her.

"What did you learn yesterday?" He quizzed with his brows raised.

When Hilda heard his voice, it took her only a few moments to recognize this voice.

'He's the man who spoke during the play!' She widened her eyes at this discovery which elicited another chuckle from them.

She did not know what the word 'narrator' meant or she would have called him that.

However, Mr. Asher took the initiative to introduce the two people to each other.

"He was our narrator for last night and had only arrived before the show so you did not meet him before." He disclosed the identity of this fresh face.

Hilda nodded with a smile as she liked this man's role in the show for he told her everything that was going on, reducing her confusion at times.

She then remembered that the narrator had asked her a question so she did not make him wait any longer and answered him.

"I learned the importance of washing hands, cleanliness, and also the power of love!" She revealed what her thoughts were about the show she had watched.

Mr. Asher and the narrator were impressed with her grasp of their concept and nodded in approval of her answer.

Yasmin then continued to ask about various scenes and how the child had liked them.

Hilda was expressive about her thoughts and did not shy away from having a conversation with the rest of the people seated around her.

However, just as their breakfast was about to come to an end, there was a certain memory of last night that had resurfaced in her mind.

"What was that song that Theo played when he was sad?" She inquired while tilting her head to the side.

The actor who played the role of Theo lifted his head and looked at her with sparkling eyes.

From the moment she had arrived, all she spoke about was how good Yasmin had been and no one had paid any attention to him and how he had acted last night.

Finally getting the chance to speak, the handsome young man did not hesitate to reveal the hardships he had faced for this role.

"That song is called 'Tears Of Our Love' and it is a very difficult song to perfect. It had taken me three weeks of practice to play that piece without looking at the sheets." He spilled his sorrows before the little girl.

When Hilda heard the name of the song, she felt a strange sense of anger, the same that she had experienced last night.

Though she was sure that she had never heard the name of this song or the music, she still could not explain where these feelings were emerging from.

While she was in her thoughts, the actor was speaking about what had taken place with that song.

Usually, the actors would only pretend to play the piano on stage while the official pianist who sat behind the curtains would play the music for them.

However, for this scene, it was suggested that he learned to play the piece to improve the way it was portrayed.

Three weeks of rigorous training was what he had to undergo to achieve this result but before this girl, no one else had even pointed it out.

Therefore, the young man looked at her with sparkling eyes as he asked her a question he wished to desperately know the answer to.

"Did you like it?" He inquired about his playing skills.

Hilda looked at him and did not have to ponder even for a second before she answered him.

"No." She blurted out the first thought that came to her mind.

The people around them burst out into peals of laughter and the young actor's shoulder drooped at her response.

"Were my piano skills so bad?" He muttered and looked at Mr. Asher for comfort who was also trying hard to hold in his laughter.

Hearing this, Hilda snapped out of her daze and shook her head violently as he had misunderstood her words.

"I dislike the song because it made me sad, not your skills." She corrected him, bringing back strength in his drooping spirits.

Mr. Asher too added that the actor had done a great job and the gloomy air of the song was what had caused Hilda to say that.

He finally regained his smile and nodded as he too felt that the song was melancholic which was the perfect accompaniment for the emotion which they were trying to depict in that scene.

The group then gathered to finish packing their luggage as before the moon rose, they would have to begin their journey to the next town to showcase the same play there as well.

When Mr. Asher and his small team went back to the Town circle to make sure that their tent from last night was packed up as they would have to leave tonight, they met many residents of the town along the way.

Most of them had questions for them which these men were happy to answer.

The most frequently asked questions were whether what the physician said about the miscarriage and the tips he had given to Theo were real or just made up for the sake of the play.

When the Town elder had come to meet them along with a few other people, they had the same queries.

Therefore, Mr. Asher revealed to them valuable pieces of information.

"Sir, everything that was said by the actor playing the physician on stage last night was approved by the Royal Medical Association." He attested to the validity of this claim.

To prove his words, he even brought out a document that he had kept safe in his coat's pocket all along.

When the Town elder read the document, it had the same content as what the actor had taught Theo and the others which proved that everything they had also learned last night was authentic.

The signature of the Dean of the Royal Medical Association at the very end of that document was enough to wipe away any doubt they had in mind.

"Our King wants us to live better lives and not suffer like Theo and Damona due to their lack of knowledge." The Town elder nodded as he handed back the document to its owner.

Mr. Asher smiled as he accepted the important paper and went back to his work, pleased that their job here had been accomplished.