THE BACKYARD

THE BACKYARD


Michael’s POV

I must commend Madison. It’s so cold out here and I can’t believe she’s been doing this alone. Riding the carriage from the province to the city's outskirts in the dark takes courage.

A few rides later, the carriage came to a halt. Madison turned to me with a smile. “We’re here,”

I stepped out of the carriage and then stretched my hand toward her. She took it and also alighted. Eliot hopped down from the horse. Madison took off the hat attached to the cloak covering her face.

“Some men usually wait for me here every Wednesday but it looks like they stopped coming since I didn’t show up for a  month,”

I grabbed one of the baskets in the carriage and dropped it on the floor while Eliot was tying the horse. After he was done, he helped me carry the other basket while Madison took the lead. We followed her.

We made our way through a narrow path that led to the foot of the mountain. We stopped in front of a small village with makeshift tents.

I spotted two goats freezing in the cold but it wasn’t their shaky body that caught my attention. The goats were skeletal in nature, depicting hunger.

I looked around the area and noticed that there was barely any green land. I know it’s winter and the ground was starting to freeze but there was something about this land. It looked as if nothing could ever bloom here irrespective of the season.

Madison stopped in front of a large makeshift tent and clapped. Eliot and I dropped the baskets.

“Hello!” Madison’s voice rang in the cold air,”

There was no response. Looks like the whole settlement was still asleep.

Eliot turned to me. “I should go and check the horse. I’m wearing a guard uniform so it might..

“I totally understand,” I replied to him with a smile.

He bowed and left. Moments later, I heard footsteps clicking toward us and I turned back to the tent. An old man stepped out and then walked toward us with a shawl held by his frail hands across his body.

He saw Madison and his eyes beamed in the dark. She rushed toward him and they shared an embrace.

“We thought you abandoned us,” he told Madison after they broke off the embrace.

She sighed. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional,”

The old man’s gaze shifted to me. Madison cleared her throat loudly and walked back to me.

“This is Michael, my husband,”

I smiled.

The old man walked up to me and stretched out his hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Marcus, the community leader,”

I shook him.

“Your wife has been doing a lot for us lately. We appreciate her kindness and I’m glad to finally meet the lucky man she’s married to,” Marcus told me.

I smiled and wrapped my arm around Madison’s shoulder. “I’m lucky, indeed,”

Marcus cleared his throat loudly and began to move from one tent to the other, knocking on the small entrances and talking to people.  

Soon, residents began to troop out of their homes and we were surrounded by about a hundred people. The people stood around us with bright smiles and while Madison was interacting with some of them, I began to study them.

Some of them, especially the children had no shoes or shawls on. Despite being covered with a thick cloak, I was freezing to death yet there were many here without shawls and these tents fluttering in the wind don’t even look habitable. The plane was sparse, exposing them to the harshness of the weather.

After all of them were gathered, Madison held my hand and pulled me to the center. Then she cleared her throat loudly and faced them.

“I brought some food items and some supplies. The blankets should be distributed to those who didn’t get them after we ran out. There’s also shawls for the children,” she began.

I held her hand more tightly.

“I’m sorry but this is the last time I’ll be here,”

All of them had shocked expressions etched on their faces.

Madison sighed. “I think I’m being monitored and for my safety, I don’t think..

She stopped halfway as tears began to well up in her eyes. I gave her hand a tight squeeze.

“My wife is deeply sorry but this quest is becoming increasingly dangerous for her. We apologize if this end would shatter your hopes but we crave your understanding at this crucial time. As you all can see, it’s not her wish to stop bringing aid but the risks are getting worse,”

People sighed and some of them began to murmur. Marcus came forward and everyone fell silent.

“Madison has done for us what no one could ever do and we will be eternally grateful to her,” he turned to Madison with a proud smile. “Thank you for showing up for us and trust me, we understand the risks you take and we understand if you’re pulling out,”

“Yeah!” The people chanted.

“It’s okay if you’ll never see us. We want you to carry us in your heart and believe that we will be praying for you and your husband. The universe will be kind to you,” said Marcus

My heart melted. Madison flashed a sad smile.

I looked up. The sun was about to set. I turned to Madison. “We have to leave now,”

She turned to Marcus who probably heard me. He gave an approving nod and offered to walk us out.

Madison had her head down the whole time. I’m sure she couldn’t bear to see the look on the faces of the women and children.

When we neared the spot where the horse was tied, I turned to Marcus. “You can head back now,”

He smiled and placed a hand on Madison’s left shoulder. “Thank you,”

He then turned around and left. Madison immediately fell on my chest and sobbed for a while.

“I’m so sorry, my love. It’s all for the best,” I rubbed her back tenderly.

She sniffled, wiped her tears with the edge of her palms, and replaced her head covering. I replaced mine as well.

We made our way back to the carriage and Eliot immediately began to untie the horse. I led Madison into the carriage and once we were settled, Eliot started wheeling.

He drove the carriage down the road and took the path that led to the province. We arrived before 5 am and then rode to the backyard. Eliot pulled the carriage to a halt. While he was tying the horse, Madison and I quickly stepped out.

We took off our cloaks and dumped them inside. Madison turned to me. “Let’s go,”

“Just a second,” I replied and walked to Eliot.

He dusted his hands against each other with a smile.

“Thank you so much for your discretion and assistance. I know you have a lot of questions but it’s best if we don’t talk about them. Be assured that Lady Eleanor will no longer put herself in harm’s way. This was her last quest,” I told him.

“I understand,” Eliot replied. “Kindness doesn’t need to be explained. Now you two must hurry inside. The guards on the morning shift will soon show up,”

I smiled and went back to Madison. We held hands, turned around, and traced our way to the back door.

“Are you okay?” I turned to Madison as we walked toward the door.

She nodded repeatedly.

I sighed. “Let’s get you in bed so that you can have some rest before breakfast,”

She sighed..

We got to the door and I pushed it open. Madison disappeared inside and I followed. We held each other through the dark and continued marching down the dark hallway.

We were about to take steps in the direction of our room when the lights suddenly came on. Madison and I stopped. All the lights in the hallway were turned on.

We exchanged confused glances and slowly turned around.

Lord Worthington was standing right behind us in his night robe with his arms folded across his chest.

A lump suddenly developed in my throat while Madison was beginning to tremble.

“Where are you both coming from?”