The Fiery Night
The Spinster's Curse
*banner by G-Dara21
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She was surprised, that was pretty clear to him but as she went on motionless for the next few minutes, he started to think that she’d gone into shock. Despite himself, he could not help but get drawn deeper into her brown orbs that were quite visible with her eyes widening in surprise. He could not quite believe how the townspeople treated her inappropriately. It was impossible to think how they could be so blind not to see her beauty. Men and women alike would be enchanted by her face, bewitched if one prefers. Yes, she can be eerily odd at times but she could actually be quite funny and cute.
He gave a jolt of surprise when Sandara suddenly jumped to her feet. Without a word, she turned away and ran back to their cottage. He got up to his feet and decided to follow her. He was not sure what to say to her or even say something. He possibly could not apologize to her seeing that he was not sorry for what he did. He did not ever feel a twinge of regret from the act. It was weird for he never felt as excited as eager for anything or anyone before now that his feet were a bit jerky as he walked towards the cottage. Not only that, he realized his insides were trembling, not from fear but something else.
He hesitated a moment upon remembering the door of the humble dwelling. But he had gone this far already. He knocked. And he did not have to wait that long for Sandara opened the door as soon as he stopped knocking. He could not help but smile upon seeing her face. It seemed like her face has been fixed into a surprised look. Her eyes were still wide open and he glimpsed upon a faint pink on her cheeks.
“You should not be here” she said.
“I just wondered why you suddenly ran away” he shrugged.
“You should not be here” she repeated. She then grabbed his hand and started pulling him away from the cottage. Despite himself, he smiled upon seeing their intertwined hands. Slowly, she started building up speed until she finally broke into a run.
“Are we eloping?” he laughed as he watched her hair being blown by the wind. As they made their way down the hill, Jiyong suddenly had given thought on how he had been running all his life – running from everything everytime he felt suffocated but never had he really felt free, until now. How this type of running could make him feel so free? He doesn’t know either.
They finally stopped at the bottom of the hill. Sandara let go of his hand and turned to him. “I shall come to your house when the stars are high up in the sky”
He smiled. “I’ll wait”
With a jolt, Sandara once again ran back up the hill. With a soft chuckle, he turned away and started his short journey to the rented house. But not long after that, he saw a very old lady staring at him with wide eyes.
“Young man” she called in a strangely brittle voice. “Have you been up the hill?”
“Yes” Jiyong answered, feeling like his privacy has been trespassed and violated. But since he did not want to be rude to an old lady, he chose to answer.
“You fool!” the lady spat. “Have you not been forbidden by your parents to wander up the hill?”
“I’m here for a vacation” he patiently explained. The lady paused, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“Very well” she quietly said. “Come in then?”
“What?”
“Are you deaf? I said come in. Let us sit in my porch” she imperiously said, turning back to her house. Jiyong was so tempted to rebel. The one thing that he hated the most is the older people ordering him around. But since he was not a local, he heeded. Alertly, he followed the old woman. As he walked down the step stone, he could not help but admire the blooming flowers in front of the garden. The old woman must have cared for her plants dearly to make them look so healthy, colorful and beautiful. Well, of course most flowers are colorful and beautiful. But these. . . they are genuinely colorful and beautiful that their beauty reminded him a bit of Sandara. He chuckled once and shook his head. It was stupid of him to compare Sandara’s beauty to a mere and worldly beauty of a flower. Sandara. . . she’s incomparable.
“Sit” the old lady ordered.
“Err. . . okay”
“Tea?” she offered.
“No, thank you”
“It is quite rude to refuse what is being offered to you, most especially by an old lady” she said.
Jiyong stared at her in disbelief. “Fine. A tea, then”
“I thought so” she smiled, filling two porcelain cups with a tea. “How long have you been here?”
“Just a few days” he shrugged.
“Is there a particular reason why you chose this place for a vacation?”
“Nothing in particular” he answered politely. “It’s pretty far from where I came from” he added with a shrug.
“Children these days” she spat again. “They think they’re so clever, wise and able to live without their parents’ help”
“I’m not a child” Jiyong defiantly said.
“In the manner of appearance, you quite right” she said in a wise-like tone. “But in the works of the mind, you are quite a child, an infant to be exact”
“An infant?” he coughed.
“You haven’t seen the world as it truly is” she knowingly said, looking up ahead with a distant look in her eyes.
“And you had?” Jiyong asked through gritted teeth.
“Not entirely” she said. “Probably half of it, though”
“And what exactly the world looked like, if I may ask?”
“Nah” the old woman shook her head. “Don not let me ruin the world for you. You see, the world for young people like you is quite the opposite of what it really is”
“Huh” he snorted. “That. I’ve seen that part”
“You only THINK you’ve seen it”
Both assessed each other quietly. Jiyong was slowly losing his patience – no, he already lost his patience but he wondered why he’s tolerating this. “I can’t see the point or direction of this conversation”
“Ah, forgive me. My thoughts to wander most of the times”
“I could tell”
“Now” she pronounced quite loudly. “To the matter at hand, do you know the history of this town?”
Jiyong paused. “Not quite”
The old woman leaned back, looking rather satisfied. And it irked the life out of him. “A hundred or so years ago, when this place was barely a town, when the people call it the place after or before this place, there was a beautiful girl who lived with her parents up at the cottage on the hill”
Jiyong straightened up at this. He suddenly found himself genuinely interested. And the old woman noticed this.
She smiled a little before launching onto the story. “Even at such a young age, her beauty stood out like a beacon on a starless and moonless night. She had a great deal of admirers which made the other women quite jealous of her. She was friendless because she was being envied and disgusted. Being poor and beautiful tolled on her. But despite that, they were happy. As the girl blossomed and stepped into womanhood, she however became more beautiful than ever, words would not suffice to describe her beauty. Men and young lads like you pursued her, some even offered riches they could not believed existed but she rejected them all. One young man, borne from a rich family and bore good looks laughed at those who have been rejected, arrogant and confident as he was, he boasted that he shall have the fair lady’s yes. He pursued her. But in the end, she rejected him, too. He convinced himself that the girl was just being shy to mend his wounded pride. Then one day, when the lady past by their house to the market, the young man saw the lady stole a glance at their young gardener. Driven by anger by the rejection and jealousy, he accused the family as a family who practices dark magic. You see, dark magic was quite popular and feared at that time. You do not know how violent the people could get once they suspected you practicing it. He said that it was probably why the married men and young men were attracted to her. This, of course, caused uproar; most especially from the women who have been neglected by their husbands because they were too preoccupied lurking around the hill in hope to have a glimpse at the beautiful girl. And since the young man came from an influential family, many believed him.
Women were particularly active in during the discussions on how to deal with the family. Some were quite sympathetic, but they were outwon. They came to a decision to get rid of the menace. They said it was only right for the family and the cottage to burn down. When night descended and the children have been put to bed to sleep, the people marched to the hill up to the cottage with torches and knives on their hands. While the family in the cottage was asleep, they set it on fire. They laughed as they watched it being burned down. Women cackled upon hearing screams from inside. They stayed there, just watching everything burned to ashes. And then, it rained.
The rain killed the fire and to their surprise, a figure was standing among the ruins and the ashes, face covered with dirt but quite unharmed. The people were too stunned that they only stood motionlessly under the heavy rain. Driven by grief, the fair lady swore that she will return and have her revenge, she swore that everyone will pay for what they did. And then, she flee to the forest. They searched the whole night for her but they didn’t find her.
The next day, they hanged the innocent gardener, accused of being in league with the lady. The people never stopped searching for her in the forest for days. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to month and months turned to years. They finally stopped searching for her. Some believed she must have died from hunger while some said that she was probably attacked and killed by a wild animal or she might have performed some powerfully dark magic that it killed her, whatever the reason was, they were glad of it. Good riddance, they said”
There was a lingering silence in the air. Jiyong sat motionless, absorbing everything. “How did she survive that fire?”
“Only she knows” she said.
“It was an interesting story” he said. “But I don’t see its connection to me going up the hill”
“Don’t you?” she shrewdly asked. “That place is cursed!”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t believe in things like that. And if what you said was true, I do not think the lady is still alive. It has been a hundred years, you say”
“True” she nodded. “But she survived the fire, did she not? How can time stop her from living?”
He shook his head again and stood up. “Thank you for the tea”
“Young man, I have warned you” she called out. But Jiyong went on his way, feeling rather stupid for wasting his time in an obviously farfetched story.
The day went on without mishap. When the night came, Jiyong was particularly anxious as he waited in front of his door for Sandara. He whistled under his breath to drive the boredom away. He gazed up at the dark sky filled with stars. He then leaned his head against the closed door and closed his eyes.
“Hello”
His eyes blinked open upon hearing the voice. He jumped to his feet. “Will you stop sneaking on me like that?”
She just blinked at him.
“So. . . where are we going tonight?”
“Where do you want to go?” she asked.
He smiled. “You’re a fast learner” he praised. “Would it be alright if we stay indoors for tonight?”
She nodded. He smiled again and opened the door, gesturing her inside. Sandara marched in, her eyes silently roaming around. She looked back upon hearing the sound of the door closing.
“Would you like something to eat or drink?” he asked, making his way to the kitchen with the girl silently following him. The girl did not answer, though. But he still went on preparing a juice and biscuits, just in case.
“Your house is neat” she commented.
“It’s technically not MY house” he said. “I’m renting it”
“I know”
He chuckled. “So. . . do you know how read?”
“Yes”
“Indeed? How?”
Our Mother gave me the knowledge and skill to do so”
“You mean, YOUR mother?”
She reached out for a biscuit and turned it around. She smelled it first before taking a bite. “This is delicious”
“Of course it is” he said. “It is imported. I took it when I left home”
She tilted her head to the side. “You” she said. “You confuse me”
“In what way?”
“I do not know, either”
“Oh well, we’ll figure it out soon. We have all the time to figure that confusion of yours out”
“No, there is not much time left. You should leave before the stars and the moon get swallowed by darkness”
“What would happen if I don’t leave?”
She did not answer at once but he patiently waited. “You need to leave” she finally said.
“But why?”
She blinked. Then she blinked again. And again. “You just have to leave”
“I’ mot going anywhere until you tell me why” he stubbornly stated.
She got up to her feet. The act was too sudden that it knocked the chair down. “I need to leave. We should not see each other ever again” she monotonously said. “Fare-”
“No” he stopped her, getting to his feet too. “We are friends, are we not?”
She did not say anything. He sighed in defeat.
“Fine, I will leave when that time comes”
They eyed each other in silence. In the moment of silence, something unexplainable stirred inside him. No, he was not being the perfect gentleman Sandara deserved but he could not find the strength to resist her. It was probably a mistake look at her lips because for the second time around, his head started descending on hers. But he changed course in the end. Instead of her lips, he placed a gently kiss on her cheek.
“I think I’m being too fast” he chuckled as he straightened up. Once again, he was amused at the sight in front of him. She was blushing once again but there were no signs of surprise in her face. She looked rather. . . shy. Her hand lifted to her cheek. With a jolt, she suddenly sprinted out of the house.
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