The Black Soul
The Spinster's Curse
*banner by yssa!!
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It’s as if the world has gone mad. It was impossible and yet, the evidence was right in front of him. Could it be that Kim Yoojin’s inside Sandara’s body? If that is what is happening, then where was Sandara? Or, what happened to the girl that he knew.
“H-how. . .?” he stammered.
Sandara, or moreover, Yoojin smiled again and straightened up, not bothering to answer his question. She looked around at the others who were staring at her in awe. Then, as if coming back to their senses, they all knelt down and murmured words he could not understand.
“My children,” Sandara spoke softly, but it sounded wrong in Jiyong’s ears. It was as if it was not Sandara’s voice. “My children,” she repeated quite dramatically, bringing crying sounds from the others. She then closed her eyes, looking as if she’s taking pleasure of hearing her children cry for her. “It’s been a while. . .” she said. “It’s been a while since I felt the gust of the wind against my skin, blowing my hair. It’s been a while to hear real sounds coming from real people. It’s been a while, indeed. I could just taste something delicious in the air.”
“Mother,” they murmured.
“I can taste emotions. . . you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to come back through this body. Through this body, I’ll be able to –”
“What did you do to my daughter?!”
Everyone went silent as the agonized scream echoed around them. Others looked fearful at the boldness of Sandara’s adopted mother. But Sandara, or Yoojin just stared at her curiously. Then, her face went sober. “I understand where you’re coming from,” she said. “Surely, you are worried for your daughter as I am worried to all of my children, to you. Eventhough we are not bonded by blood, still we are a family. Do not worry, for Sandara still reside inside. Although I must say I’m quite surprised with you. Surely, you knew this would happen right from the beginning?”
“Bring her back, please. . .” the woman begged, dropping to her knees. “I will give up my wish if you bring my daughter back!”
“Fool!” the leader suddenly interrupted. “How would Mother live if she is to bring Sandara back?”
“S-she’s dead? My Sandara’s d-d-dead?!”
“Foolish woman,” the leader spat. “Did you just not hear that Sandara still reside - !”
“Enough,” Sandara quietly said. “I do not wish to see my children fighting. Please spare my heart.”
Jiyong would have believed she was genuinely hurt if not for the look on her face. There was something not right in there. “It saddens me to see you arguing. Surely, you all know that even though we are not bonded by blood, we are bonded by one purpose? You all have worked so hard and for so long just to bring me back and help me take my revenge.”
“We only want justice to be served, Mother,” the leader said. “What you went through. . .” he went on in a sorrowful voice. “We could not imagine someone would go through like that and still survive. . .”
“I barely survived,” Yoojin said through Sandara’s voice quietly. “All these years, I have been waiting. . . waiting and waiting for the right time to come. I admit I got impatient for a while especially seeing all these. . . all these people live a normal life without even knowing what their ancestors did to me. Is it my fault if men find my beauty so irresistible? Is it?”
“No!”
“Of course not!”
“It is not your fault Mother!”
The responses were quite pathetic to Jiyong’s ears. But he remained silent. He was not sure what he should do or if he should do something. He was so confused and truthfully scared that he just remained on the spot.
“I am grateful to each of you,” she then said, looking satisfied. “If it were not for your hardwork, I would not have come back –”
“What about Sandara?” a woman’s voice sliced through, earning silence from everyone. Jiyong looked at them and was quite astonished at the incredulous, disbelief and angry looks everyone was giving the woman.
“You knew from the beginning this would happen, would you not? You knew of the plan from the start and yet you went through with it.”
“W-well. . . . y-yes. . . but. . . but why her? Out of all people, why her?”
A look of impatience came over Sandara’s face but then it quickly disappeared. She smiled understandingly and walked over to the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Would you rather have Sandara here than your Mother?”
The woman did not answer. She just had her eyes widen in fear.
“Why Sandara?” Yoojin went on. “You all know the ancestor of Sandara, yes? It is all part of the ritual. I could only –”
“So you really are a witch,” Jiyong blurted out of nowhere.
Sandara’s head snapped back at him. “I am not,” she said. “At least not fully-pledged.”
“Then what are you?”
“You would not understand,” she said. “When the villagers attacked us that night. . . I was not able to. . . do anything to help my parents. So I swore I would come back and make revenge. But it took me years and years to come back. There were. . . certain limitations, certain requirements in order for me to come back. But going through that process made me a cursed soul, only able to live through another person’s body. Not just any person’s body, but this body. But since Sandara’s soul is too pure, certain sacrificial rituals were made. And of course as time of my return neared, I required Sandara to do the sacrifices. Then you came, what more way to corrupt a person’s soul?”
“What do you mean?” Jiyong asked in bewilderment.
“Your arrival woke something up in Sandara,” Yoojin went on. “One way to corrupt a person’s soul is to let her feel desire and passion. And your arrival brought those feelings from Sandara. Although at first, I instructed my loyal son here to forbid her to do any interactions, it was just a pretense because the more you forbid someone, the more they will rebel against it. Of course, rebellion could also contribute to the corruption of a person’s soul. Although I admit for one moment I doubted if the plan would work. I was beginning to think that Sandara would run away with you to the city.”
“I should have forced her,” he gritted.
“You should have,” she said. “But it is too late now. Although do not fear for I do not have plans to harm you. I find you very interesting, Kwon Jiyong. You remind me of someone I knew before.”
“W-what you are thinking would not happen!” Sandara’s adopted mother broke in onto the conversation again. “One of the consequence of. . .of your return is to remain a spinster f-forever!”
Sandara smiled, or moreover over, Kim Yoojin smiled. “No dear,” she sweetly said. “It will be Sandara who will be cursed to be a spinster forever. With all the rituals that have taken place, her soul will be cursed to remain alone forever; her body will remain like this forever, never changing. I will be of control to this body forever.”
The woman let out a broken sob and curled in a tight ball on the soiled earth. Sandara then looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. She looked so peaceful for a moment but then, when she opened her eyes, Jiyong almost screamed out loud. The sockets were empty as she raised her hands up to the sky. Everyone watched with bated breath. After a while, a strong wind blew their way, even blowing the clouds, covering the moon from their view. The whole place was then covered with darkness.
In a hoarse voice, Sandara then started chanting.
Audire me, o iratus spiritus de terra.
Audite me qui animi perditi.
Exaudi me, etspiritus contribulatus solum viventium vita.
Exaudi placitum. Exaudi placito vindictam!
Despite the hoarseness of her voice, despite the fact that he could not understand any of the words, Jiyong found himself mesmerized. He found the chant. . . dangerously beautiful.
Dolor est dolor.
Tua angustia est angustia.
Ira est ira.
Meum dolorem meum doloremmeum ira tua et anima mea confirmet, tibi sit virtus.
Exaudi orationem meam, volo et concedo.
Volo vindictam,
volo iustitia,
volo vindictam!
The wind started getting stronger. Somewhere beyond, he heard roaring sounds of some sort, it was as if it or they were agreeing with what Sandara was chanting, or what Yoojin is chanting.
Ego videre dolor!
Ego videre sanguine!
Ego audire clamoribus!
Ego audire angustia!
For some weird reason, Jiyong started feeling. . . scared that his hairs started rising up. There was something sinister in the atmosphere that he could not point out. And then, just like a while ago, Sandara’s body was lifted in the air, it was as if she was floating or flying. Her hair was flying weirdly around her as a black sort of wind or dust surrounded her.
Dolore est voluptas!
Ut tua voluntas mea!
Praebueris aures tuas, et redde mihi pugna!
EXACERBO VENITE ULCISCI OMNEM ANIMI TERRA!
Sandara’s mouth then dropped open. Then, the black wind or dust went inside and an eerie scream came from her. It seemed to go on and on and on. Until finally, the black wind or dust were gone. She dropped to the ground unceremoniously. Everyone was silent.
Slowly, she stood up. If he thought everything was weird already, seeing Sandara’s feet above the earth just half an inch only proved that everything could be weird. She looked at her so-called sons and daughters. “My children,” she said in a weird voice. She sounded like a million people talking. “Take a part of me. Take this part of me and make them suffer!”
She screamed again and a whirl of black and red came out from , going straight into everyone’s chest, except his and the sobbing woman curled on the ground. Everyone else was then lifted off their feet for a moment. They seemed to freeze in midair, like frozen people floating. Then, all of them opened their eyes at the same time, all were sockets were empty. They dropped to the ground graciously.
“Ire et eos pati! Ire!” the million voices from Sandara’s mouth screamed. “IREEEEEEE!”
They all took off and headed towards the town. They moved so eerily quiet then Jiyong felt as if he were seeing ghosts gliding through the forest.
Minutes ticked. He waited, although he was not sure what he was waiting for. And then, it came – the screams from the townspeople: man, woman, old, young. They were all screaming from pain, from agony, from anguish.
“What are you doing to those people?” he asked shakily.
Sandara turned to him and smiled. “They deserve it.”
“Sandara, stop this!”
She laughed. “Sandara is asleep. She would never wake up again.”
“Sandara, I know you are still there! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”
“She would not wake up, Jiyong,” she silently said. “She will never wake up.”
“Liar!” the sobbing woman hissed.
Sandara turned to her. “I am very disappointed with you,” she said. “Out of all people, I expected you to be the most loyal of all.”
“Bring Sandara back to me!”
Sandara raised her hand and spread them widely apart. She balled her fist, making the sobbing woman screamed. The woman’s body was arched off the ground. Sandara then reached for her neck and opened . A gray smoke came from the woman’s mouth and went into Sandara’s opened mouth. The woman then went limp. As she did, Sandara dropped her body to the ground. “Fool!” she hissed.
Sandara then turned to him again. She smiled sweetly and started walking towards him when she suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened. “No,” she whispered, grasping a fistful of hair at both ends of her head. “Sandara, what are you doing?!”
A faded echoing voice answered, “What did you do to my Mother?! What did you do?!”
Although the voice was like a faded echo, he recognized it as Sandara’s real voice. And he was surprised to hear anger in it.
“Stop!” the million voices came back again. “Stop it, Sandara!”
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