Life without Industry
Rose's POV
One rainy day I was cooking a very special dinner for my husband Dimitri and I. It was his birthday and I wanted to surprise him when he came home from teaching his marshal arts class. About halfway way through the cooking I started to feel very wrong. Like the air around me was changing and it was making me nauseated. So I walked into the living room and laid on our spacious couch.
After five minutes I got up and finished cooking the Fedeo and Spanish rice because its Dimitri's favorite. I still wasn't feeling any better once dinner was done- now I know what your thinking, "maybe she's pregnant and doesn't know it" Right? Wrong. I'm not pregnant! – It felt like the air was physically sick, I just couldn't explain it.
I grabbed a piece of paper and quickly wrote Dimitri a note saying that I loved him and that dinner was on the counter, that I wasn't feeling good and was going to bed. I put the note next to the dinner and walked up to our master bedroom and changed into my track pants and one of Dimitri's shirts- one of the woes of having a husband who is 6'7 is that his shirts are like nightgowns- and climbed into our massive bed and drifted off to sleep.
I woke with a slight wooziness and my stomach was growling lightly. I sat up rubbing my eyes and stretching only to find my body hurts like hell and Dimitri wasn't there its really odd considering it was Saturday. I got out of my bed because it became very uncomfortable and was hurting my back. Once I finally dragged my butt out of my bed I started to walk to the kitchen while dragging my feet and ended up tripping on a rock or something then landed on what I thought was my carpet but was dirt? What is going on? I thought.
I looked around my room to see it smaller, is no technology, and wasn't my house. It had a "bed' if that's what you call it that, there was a little window that showed the clouds and the sun rising behind them, a basket in the corner, and a little dresser. I walked out of the room wondering if Dimitri was playing a prank on me. "Dimitri?" I called out, "Dimitri? This is not funny!" I turned the corner and walked right into the kitchen, "What happened to all my appliances?" and Dimitri was no where to be found. "Huh? That's odd. Maybe I'm dreaming" I pinched myself just to be sure, "Nope not a dream and ow." Once that was settled and I got over the shock of my house being different, I stepped outside in the stormy weather and there was nothing, and I mean nothing. "What happened to all the building, the schools, the Library?"
Everywhere I looked there was nothing but a couple of men working here and there, small huts scattered around and then nothing but open fields. "Oh…My…God! What's going on? And where's Dimitri?" my mind was going a million miles per hour, I just didn't understand what was going on. So I ran back into my "house" and straight to the dresser, I pulled opened up the draw and found these strange dresses. I pulled out a nice hunter green dress- with a bit of lavender sewn into it-and pulled it on. I looked okay but I really wanted my jeans back. I grabbed the bag that sat on top of the dresser and headed off towards the small stands in the background.
About an hour later I made it to the little market. It was cute but I missed the old stores. While walking around I got some vegetables I can cook for Dimitri for lunch and dinner when ever he came home- from god knows where- when a man got everyone's attention. He was an okay man not to tall but not to short but was very plump.
"I here by order this man to be sentenced to the guillotine for being an enemy to the republic" then the man holding the rope let it fall and it cut the mans head off. I turned away disgusted with the site, "how can people do that to other people? It's wrong." As I looked back at the men leaving the platform I seen Dimitri. "What is going on? How can he doing this to other people?" I mumbled. "He's the king he can do anything he wants." A voice whispered to me. I turned to the voice only to see her walking away face down she must have been maybe two or three years younger that me.As I looked more closely at my husband I seen he was wearing really fancy clothes- "Oh my god! He is the king." I was shocked I just couldn't think straight anymore. So being me I walked up to him and called out, "Hey Dimitri, when you coming home for dinner?"
He looked at me and started laughing. "Dimitri why are you laughing at me?" I asked, "Look lady," What? "I don't know who you are," ouch that hurt, "but I'm the king and I don't socialize with your kind." he said walking away, "My kind?" I questioned. "Yeah your kind- you know the peasants, the common people." He looked at me like I was stupid and walked away getting on his horse but looked at me for one long moment then left. "I'm a peasant." I mumbled. I knew this was before the industrial revolution happened because he had used a horse and the fact he called me a peasant. It hurt to know that I will never be with Dimitri again, to never create more memories, to never hold him in my arms.
After my encounter with the king I walked back to my house and started to make lunch, I was making a small salad- I didn't know how long I was going to be here so I was going to eat as little as possible- when there was a knock at my door. It was the girl from the market she wanted to tell me that I was brave to go talk to the king and then left again. Once my salad was finished I headed to the little pond behind my house to wash my dishes when a tall figure steps in front of me. I looked up to see none other than Dimitri. I bowed only to show respect and called out "Your Majesty. What can I do for you today?" I asked politely. "Look I'm sorry about this afternoon. But you said you had lunch." He shrugged. "Of course. This way." I pulled out the vegetables again and made another salad and then one of my steaks for him. We talked for about two hours when lightening threatened the sky and the thunder boomed. I didn't want him to have to ride in that it was going to get bad and fast, "I better let you go so you don't get caught up in that storm," I said quietly I did not want to get sent to that guillotine thingy, "That's very kind of you." "No problem. Plus I don't want you to get sick." I added with a smile. "Good-bye your majesty." I bowed again. "Good-bye," I stared at him as he left and slid down the door crying "I love you," I called, "It hurts to know that you will never know I'm your wife and how strong are love was." Little did I know he heard it all.
Once the king left I got all the dishes and washed them, I walked into my bedroom and grabbed the basket and went to wash the dresses. About half way through washing them I when to go hang up the dresses that were already washed and hung them up. As I was walking back to wash the rest of my dresses I heard a stick break, I froze and looked around. No one was there. I shook off the gut reaching fear and continued to walk to the pond. Kirk. I turned the sound was closer. Kirk. There it was again. I turned now fully scared and ran and ran. I didn't care where I was going I just knew I had to get out of there. I was almost home when another figure stepped out of the shadows. Great he has got a friend, I stopped cold there was nowhere to run and the other guy was catching up. I was truly frightened now. They were going to hurt me I just knew it. Just as the other guy caught up the second man grabbed me. I fought with all my might but then he put me behind him as though he was shielding me from danger. Now I was really scared and confused. Just as the man got close the man who is protecting me stepped into the moonlight and it was Dimitri, but he was different his clothes were those of a peasant.
I backed up into a corner as the two men got into a fight- of course Dimitri won- and the man ran off. Dimitri turned to me and asked if I was okay then I blurted out the stupidest thing, "Why did you do that? You could have been hurt. Why did you do that? I'm nothing but a peasant." I was so confused. Kings weren't supposed to save peasants let alone dress like them, I guess I didn't realized I spoke because he ended laughing again. "I snuck out. I was supposed to join you for dinner. Remember?" "Right. This way your majesty." We walked back to me little hut again and I heard him mumble " I don't want you to call me your majesty." But I didn't want him to know I heard him and just kept quite. I smiled at that. But why would he not want me to call him that?
At the house I got the last two steaks out and cooked them, I then made more salad. Note to self go get more food. Once the food was done we sat at the little table didn't talk and it was very comfortable. It felt right. Then I asked the question I was dying to know, "Why are you dressed like a peasant?" I was amused they a king would dress like common folk, "I snuck out and didn't want people to know see me." He stated. "oh." That's all I said for the rest of the evening we just sat there quietly. I wasn't going to wash the dishes until tomorrow morning when the sun was out. We sat there for maybe twenty minutes when he said, "I heard what you said. You said that I would never know I'm your husband and that I wouldn't know how strong our love was. What did you mean?" he asked, "I'm not from this time. I come from the year 2010 and in that time era you're my husband and we have a nice house and were happy. But here you're a king, I'm a peasant were never to be together again and it made me sad." I didn't realize I had tears slowly falling down my cheeks until he wiped them away.
I looked into his big brown eyes then more fell. It hurt so bad to know we will never be together. I turned away from him and went straight to my room. I laid down on the bed and just cried. When I felt warm arms grab me and pull me to his chest. I knew he would have to leave soon and I just couldn't deal with it. "Why are you crying? Sweetheart." I looked up at him and said "I don't want you to leave but you must." I climbed off his lap and showed him to the door I didn't want him to go but he had to. "I will see you tomorrow or when ever you can come by. But you need to leave so you don't get in trouble." "I won't get in trouble and I'm not leaving my wife," I looked up at him when he said that, "Yes you're my wife, I know that because whenever I'm with you it feels right." I smiled and went to kiss his cheek when he grabbed my face and kissed me hard on my lips. We pulled back and smiled at each other, this was the way its supposed to be. "Do you want to come to bed? I'm tired and I don't want you to leave yet." I asked, "Yes I would love to" he said while smiling. I grabbed his very large hand and dragged him to the room. I changed into my track pants and his over large shirt and fell asleep in Dimitri's arms.
I woke to the smell of bacon and eggs and wondered- who's in my kitchen?- and all of the memories came rushing back and knew Dimitri was making breakfast. "I didn't know kings could make breakfast" I joked to Dimitri, when I noticed I was back in my house, with all my pictures and all of my appliances. I was so relived to be back in my own time that I didn't realize Dimitri made another joke, "So I'm a king now?" "You'll always be my king.' and I kissed him hard on the lips and we lived happily ever after.
Two years later Dimitri and I had a beautiful baby boy, then two years after that we had our twin girls. They grew up to have many children of there own. And Dimitri and I died at the age 65 and 70. Our kids still live on and always tell our story to there little ones. I guess you can call it Life without Industry.