My name is Julia.

  I was born here in Hatula village. I’m told we were on the small side; we had about eighty to a hundred people in the whole village. I happened to think that was a lot. It was more than three times the number of people who could fit in our local church at once. Most of the villagers were wives and children. But among the adult men, most were farmers.

  We lived pretty far from everything. It was a half-day's walk to the nearest village. Juka village. They had almost twice as many people as we did. They were pretty similar to us outside of that. I knew nothing of the world beyond that. I heard it would take days, even by horse, to reach the next village. But none of that much mattered to me.

  I was just a village girl. I turned sixteen last month and was now officially an adult, and I already knew how my life was going to go. I was gonna marry Kevin, we planned our ceremony for later this week. His mom was just fixing up his wedding clothes. We’d then move into one of the empty houses. Kevin would begin doing more farm work, and I would take care of our home.

  I rubbed my belly. I looked forward to having his baby. I wanted at least two—one of each gender. I looked around the grassy fields, with a light breeze, and the sun shining in the sky. What a paradise. A perfect place to live. The land had everything we could ever need. A place to play. Places to pluck herbs for medicine or cooking.

  At the moment, I had finished all my chores. So until I officially moved into my new home, I was pretty open. I decided to climb this big oak tree near the farm lands. I could see Kevin out in the fields working hard. This was a challenging week for him. He was pushing himself extra hard because once we were married, the men would tease him if he needed help.

  “Yeah, you get it, love,” I thought, offering him a prayer. I needed to work hard, too, if I was going to be a good wife for him.

  The day of my wedding came in a blink. My wedding dress was off-white with some blue embroidery and trim. The dress was in our family for a long time. Not just my mother and grandmother, but her mother too. I wasn’t sure if it was older than that, though. Mother had spent the winter adjusting the dress to fit me. I had wanted to help, but she stopped me. It was a mother’s job, she said. I’d have to wait until my baby was getting married.

  I huffed a bit, but she only laughed. Father said she huffed the same way when she was my age. Because of all the fittings, I had worn this dress many times, but today was the day I got to wear it for real. I was beyond excited. We made our way to the church; it was nearly noon, the best time to get married.

  Not everyone could fit into the church. So, many of the men and women were outside bringing around tables, chairs, and food for after the wedding. Tradition said I had to be the first to enter the church. So I did just that. I walked by myself all the way up to the altar. The benches could sit about twenty-five people. The church was made of stone but had some fancy colored glass to paint pictures.

  Looking around my feet, I saw a faint green light. The churches were places where people could pray to every god. But most of the churches I heard of were dedicated to a specific god. This one in particular was made for Luft, the God of Wind. The church was designed so that the noon sunlight would be at the direct center of a seven-pointed star made from the special green glass. Thus, casting me at the center of said green light.

  My family came in first; they were guiding the children in. We always let every child watch weddings. They would sit in the second row from the front. The first row was reserved for the bride's and groom's families. After that, my friends and Kevin’s friends would enter. Kevin’s family was next, followed by Kevin himself.

  He looked so handsome. This was the first time I had seen him in his wedding clothes. It was the same off white color as mine. It was a button-up shirt with a bow, as well as a nice-looking jacket and pants. His blonde hair was combed too. His green eyes sparkled to me. The most dazzling part was his smile. It told me he was equally impressed by my own wedding dress.

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  Once we were both at the altar, a priest came up and placed a bible in front of us. I put my right hand on it, then Kevin placed his left hand on it. I smiled, I was so happy.

  “We are gathered here under the light of the gods to unite these two individuals in holy matrimony. Our very own Julia is electing to become the wife of our very own Kevin. She does this of her own will and for her own desires. Is this accurate?”

  “It is!” I said almost too loudly. God, it was so true.

  “Our very own, Kevin, seeks to become the husband of Julia, and you do this of your own free will and for your desire to live up to her expectations. Is this accurate?”

  “It is,” he said, looking me in the eyes. I blushed in response.

  “Marriage is a gift from the gods, a sacred union that is unbreakable. It is through this gift that we of the world of man have made it this far. Julia of Hatula, do you understand the gift you are receiving? Do you promise to faithfully love, serve, and care for your husband? Forsaking all other things, both living and non-living, in the pursuit of holding this sacred union?”

  “I do,” I said. I never found out what forsaking was, but it felt right to say yes. I assumed it was something I should be doing.

  “Marriage is a gift from the gods, a sacred union that is unbreakable. It is through this gift that we of the world of man have made it this far. Kevin of Hatula, do you understand the gift you are seeking? Do you promise to faithfully love and fight for your beloved wife? Forsaking all other things, both living and non-living, in the pursuit of holding this sacred union?”

  “I do,” he said.

  “Then let us seek the Gods’ blessing. Seal your pact with a kiss.”

  I leaned forward and closed my eyes. I felt his lips touching mine. I felt so happy in this moment. My mind wandered. The Gods granted a symbol of marriage to those who got married. My mother and father received necklaces. Kevin’s family rings. What would be the symbol of our union?

  “May the Gods bless this union!” the priest shouted.

  Our kiss broke, and we looked around. This is when the divine light should shine, and we receive our gift. Yet, it was taking longer than usual. The crowd mumbled as they looked around. I looked to the priest, who was looking up. When I did the same, I saw something I had never seen before. Something was beginning to block the sun. It looked like the moon. In a brief instant, the entire church went dark. No divine light. Instead darkness.

  “Samuel,” I cried. “What does this mean?”

  He didn’t answer; instead, he headed to the back door. Outside, it looked like dusk was approaching. The winds were blowing wildly. What did all this mean? I noticed a tingle on my left hand. Looking, a band of light wrapped around my middle finger. When the light faded, I had a golden ring on it, with a seven-pointed star and a green gem in the middle. The priest noticed.

  “Does this mean we're married?” I asked.

  He looked at Kevin, who showed off both his hands. He didn’t get a ring. Why only me?

  The priest shook his head. “No, you are not married. Marriage gifts always match. His lack of a ring means this is different.”

  “Then what happened?” I asked. I tried pulling the ring off. I didn’t want it if it meant we weren’t married, but it wouldn’t come off. “I can’t get it off.”

  “I don’t know. I need time to look into it,” he said.

  The mood got sour very quickly. I cried into my mother’s arms. Father told everyone to return home for now. The sudden block of the sun had put everyone on edge. We didn’t know why or what was even happening.

  Once I was back home, we got some butter to try and help me get this ring off, but nothing worked. It felt like you’d sooner rip my finger off than get it to budge in even the slightest sense of the world. Up in my room, I looked out the window. No one was outside. The day's events had spooked everyone.

  What did I do wrong! I jumped into my bed to cry myself to sleep while I waited for the priest to figure things out.