04_ Witch's Cremation
Jane opened her eyes to a noisy, tumultuous commotion. She woke up tied to a tree, and before her stood a multitude of people. Some looked like nobles, others like commoners. Everyone was gathered together, and I was the center of the crowd. The more she strained to escape, the more frightened she became, and some children burst into tears. She even received unpleasant stares, like slaves sold in a slave market. As she struggled with all her might, someone grabbed her head and slammed it against the tree with all their might, leaving her unable to resist. She glared to the side, seeing the man who had tried to kill her earlier standing there. The man, who had glared at her with a bitter smile, met Jane's eyes. He smiled even brighter, ignoring Jane's words to the "crazy" man. A prickling pain accompanied her, and for some reason, liquid trickled down her forehead. The man opened his mouth, the liquid suddenly obscuring his vision.
"Do you see this? This is the witch we only heard about in legends."
'Are you saying that witches really exist?'
'Where in the world is there a witch!'
'Wasn't that something that only existed in legends?'
People were buzzing around her. It was as if everyone had planned it, no one believed in the witch. But their eyes were already brimming with curiosity. They pretended not to notice, but it seemed as if everyone was expecting it. It made sense, since the witch, a legend, had been captured without a trace. Perhaps they thought she was being seduced. The witch who had indiscriminately killed mere humans was now tied up.
"I was walking through the forest when I saw a witch attacking a child. I saved the child from the witch and ended up getting a wound on my arm. And this is the child I saved."
The man, showing what looked like scratches from the grass, confidently placed a child in front of him. The child stood there, looking terrified. It was clearly the child he had saved. Perhaps the child had been threatened by the man, or perhaps he was lying out of genuine fear. The child, meeting his gaze, nodded in agreement, seemingly on the verge of tears. The child's nod stirred the crowd.
Jane, her limbs tied tightly to the tree, no longer resisted. No, she couldn't. Just the gaze of the child, staring at her and the people commotion, was enough to make it hard to breathe. No... The gaze of the child, who looked exactly like Sherry when she was young, was terrifying. Whenever she looked at the child, she thought of Sherry. And then she imagined things that would never happen. For example, when she looked into that child's eyes, it seemed like even Sherry was afraid of her, and that made her scared, terrified, and want to die. It seemed like it wouldn't be as painful if she just died right there.
'Then what are we going to do with that human... no, the witch!'
The people nodded at the man's words, which seemed to be filled with the will to kill them immediately. The man, looking at them, grinned with satisfaction. Everyone followed the man's plan. A smile on his face, the man walked towards the blazing campfire.
"I killed a witch today, not an innocent civilian. I would appreciate it if you could all pray for the death of this evil witch."
The man, who had been speaking with a vengeance, placed a dry branch into the blazing campfire, and it instantly caught fire. Jane's feet were littered with branches, as if he had planned to kill her from the beginning. And the fire he threw, as if it were a given, would naturally envelop Jane. Watching the dry branch burn and turn to dust, some whispered, "Is this acceptable, with only a child's testimony?" Others, displeased, suggested he kill her. The situation quickly became noisy, and Jane squeezed her eyes shut. Just as things were starting to look more favorable for Jane, the man quietly laughed. And as he clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, everyone turned to him. And the blood flowing from Jane's head, tied up next to him... no, the wound vanished from their sight. As if it had never existed. Even though their faces were still stained with blood, most of the people who had been murmuring, "Is this okay?" as the wounds disappeared, now looked at Jane with fearful eyes. Some even changed their attitudes as if nothing had happened and urged her to kill them. The man, watching their reactions, smiled brightly. He had effectively threatened the child, so if he just killed her, no one would know what he had planned. Everything was according to plan. The man, who had been watching the crackling branches that had been lit at some point, threw them at Jane's feet. Some sighed in relief as the flames slowly engulfed her, while others laughed, as if celebrating the witch's death. And finally, there was the child, staring at him with fear. The child had probably lied to survive, but he hated the child who had repaid his kindness with enmity. No... It felt like nails were being driven into the child's face, fearing him with that expression. It was the death she so desperately wanted, but she didn't want to die like this... As the flames drew ever closer, a fear unlike any before gripped her. As if her prediction had been correct, a pain she'd never felt before, even in the moment she fell from the gunshot, in the moment she died by her own hand, in the moment she was stabbed to death, enveloped her.
Kkaaa ...
- I uploaded it without checking the spelling, so I uploaded it once to make sure there were no spelling mistakes or if I missed anything, but I uploaded it because I didn't write a title... I'm sorry if the alarm kept going off.. But the important thing is that I wrote it like this and forgot about it until now and am uploading it now..😣