Witch
Blemished: in
the name of gods she didn't understand. She had been no different from the
other girls she used to play with - girls who wouldn't dare meet her eyes now.
Every morning she would go to get water from the river with her mother. It was
a long way down to the river and they had to cross part of a forest where many
wild animals lived. Later they would boil the water. One bucket was for cooking
and drinking, the other one for washing and watering the animals. Her family
would take their lunch cuddled together on the loamy ground of their little
hut. Every evening, after she had fed the animals, she used to sit in a circle
with her friends, singing and dancing, exchanging stories about the animals of
the forest. Every day had the same routine as the day before.
Then, one night,
everything changed. Two of her little brothers were taken ill. It happened so
suddenly, without any warning. Their bodies were hot and their tongues swelled
up, bluish in their little mouths. Both of them died before the sun rose. It
was like a bad dream and she couldn’t wake herself up. There was an unnatural
silence inside the hut. Her mother glared at her, hatred flaming in her eyes.
Finally she let go of the dead children clutched in her arms and pointed at her
with her trembling hand.
"It was you!" she screamed, spittle
sparkling from her angry mouth. "You killed them, you little witch!"
There it was, the horrible word. Its sparks burned in her heart, used up the
air she needed to breathe. It hurried through the village, spreading its
poisonous seed from door to door.
"A witch! Beware!"
Her mouth had
gone dry; words had left her, words that wouldn't have saved her anyway. Soon,
she could hear voices coming nearer. The deep voices of men, the elders of the
village, who were discussing her faith.
"Stone her!" somebody said,
"Burn her!" suggested the voice of her uncle.
She could feel fear
blazing through her veins, faint from the nausea that overtook her.
"Get
out!" A new voice whispered from somewhere in the darkness of the hut,
"Flee before they come and take you away!"
She couldn't think
clearly. Yet her hands had already started pushing against the wall, seeking
the small hole at the back. There! She had found it! But it was too small... In
a panic, she shoved away a few crumbling bricks. No one noticed the noise. Her
eyes misty with tears, she managed to squeeze through. Her feet carried her
away, pushing forward in time with the beating of her heart. By the time they
had found out, she was already hidden deep in the woods, running for her
haunted life.
by B.E. Seidl
Comments
Post a Comment