The Gray Fence
The Spinster's Curse
*banner by yssa_kikz143
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She stood in front of the dirty mirror. With the help of the light from the lamp, she stared at her reflection. It was too noticeable not to be seen. Her cheeks were flustered and her eyes looked alive. She leaned in closer, her eyes darting to the reflection of her lips. Her right hand automatically lifted as a finger poked her lower lip, wondering why the feel of her finger on her lip felt normal while the touch of Jiyong’s lips made her tingly. She gasped and jumped back. She looked closely at the mirror and saw her face except. . . she was smiling! Fascinated, she could only watch and stare at her face. She wondered before why it was so easy for others to smile but now that she was able to do it, she found it quite easy to do.
“Ah ha!” she laughed. For the second time, she gasped, her hand flying to . She stared at her reflection once again. Her eyes were wide open in what seemed to be in excitement. She lowered her hands and wondered why she covered . She had never reacted that way before. But then, she realized that she just gave a short but genuine laugh. She CAN laugh. The realization suddenly confused her.
She stepped back and went to her mother’s room. But the room was empty. Her head went to the side, silently wondering where her mother went. But then, her mother never tells her anything she does not need to know. And if indeed she needed to know, perhaps it was not the time for it yet.
Occupied with the memory of her meeting with Jiyong, she went to her makeshift bed on the floor and took the wooden figure of Jiyong under her blanket. She stared at it and traced its facial feature with her forefinger. With a blink, she settled the figure beside her and closed her eyes. Not long after that, she fell asleep.
As half of the world slept, two figures were silently going about the deep and darkest part of the forest. The small clearing was too quiet, even insects did not dare make any sounds.
“I am aware of it” a male voice harshly said. “I have been aware of it from the beginning which you obviously missed”
“Forgive me” the woman hoarsely whispered. I have failed to notice it. But surely, my daughter would not have the same fate as-?”
“She is not your daughter!” he snapped. “I am grateful to know your faith is as strong as ever. But you cannot claim what is never yours. You are aware of course that when the darkness swallows the stars and moon, and after the ceremony, she will no longer be the child you knew, we all knew”
“What about the boy? He is not a local resident here”
“I am still weighing my options and of course, am still waiting for a sign from our Mother, just like how she gave me a sign to warn the meat vendor that harmed the girl. But if he somehow proves to be a. . . hindrance or a problem, then I shall see to his termination myself. For the meantime, guard the child very well. If this all goes wrong, you shall be held accountable. You know the punishment, sister: death”
“The child. . . . she’s beginning to ask questions”
“It is not yet time for her to know”
“I understand” she murmured.
“You can leave”
The woman bowed her way back. She turned around as soon as the man stared to leave. Soundlessly, she started walking. Showing no signs of confusion of the direction or path she’s heading, her thoughts swirled chaotic around her mind. She paused for a moment and gazed up at the sky. The stars shone innocently down at her. She was rather restless when she should feel otherwise. After a while, she decided to ignore her restlessness and went on with her journey back to the cottage, convincing herself that there is nothing to worry about. All is well.
Yes, all is well. She already knew what was going to happen so the impending separation from the girl should not bother her. She should be honored to be chosen to raise her. Bracing herself, she held her head high. She had sworn her life to their Mother, she should do her best to see through what has been asked of her.
All seemed well. The night looked like any ordinary night, quite ordinary for some to dwell into dreams. One of them was Kwon Jiyong. For he was deep asleep, his mind wandered off to dreamland. But then, not all dreams are sweet. Subconsciously remembering the story the old lady told him, it unsurprisingly filled his dream.
A cottage stood quite alone atop the hill. Something was different, though. Instead of the shabby and weather-beaten cottage he used to see, a well-kept wooden cottage stood in its place. The broken fence was nowhere in sight, too. In its place, a gray-painted fence stood quite unceremoniously in front. There were well-tended flowers at the front yard. There was a curved stone path that leads to the front of the little dwelling. He stopped upon hearing a soft giggle from his side. What he saw took his breath away. A girl, a year or two younger than him was happily chasing two butterflies. But that’s not what took his breath away, it was her face.
Her face. . . . The word beauty would not suffice to describe it. He needed a stronger and appropriate word but he was too dumbstruck and mesmerized to think of something. Unknowingly, he took a step forward towards the girl, breaking a broken and dry twig along the process. The sound made the girl stop in her tracks. She looked at him with awfully pretty brown eyes that made his throat dry. The butterflies flew away as they stared at each other. Finally, the girl tilted her head to the side in a great resemblance with how Sandara tilts her head to the side.
“Good day, Mister” she greeted in a well-mannered tone. “How may I help you?”
“W-well, I was just passing through”
“You are new here, are you not?”
“Y-yes” he stammered, feeling rather stupid. “I’m on a vacation, actually”
“With your parents, I presume?”
“No, I’m alone”
Her eyes widen. “Truly?” she asked eagerly, slowly closing the distance between them. “That must be sad”
“It’s spacious, actually”
“Spacious?” she echoed. “I could not quite imagine someone as young as you could manage to wander off alone. I would probably not survive a day or two without my parents. That would be sad and lonely”
“Are your parents around?”
“They are probably gardening” she said. “I love vegetables. How about you?”
“Err, vegetables are fine” he replied reluctantly as he wanted to be truthful and to be pleasant at the same time.
She smiled. Her teeth were so white that it somehow sparkled under the sunlight the way her white skin and dress sparkle. “My name’s Yoojin” she introduced, holding out her hand to him. “Kim Yoojin”
“I’m Kwon Jiyong but you can call me Jiyong” he answered, smiling back as she reached her hand out for a handshake.
But something odd happened. The moment their hands touched, he suddenly felt warm. And then it grew warmer and warmer until it was too hot for him to take. He tried to pull his hand back but it was as if his hand was glued to Yoojin’s hand. To his great surprise, the hand he’s holding burst into flames. He looked up and gave a yelp as the girl was suddenly surrounded with fire. But. . . she was not burning. She looked quite the same. And his eyes widen even more when Yoojin’s face stared to alternately change to Sandara’s face and back again.
“I swear” she harshly said. “I swear on my parents’ bones, I shall extract revenge! I will kill them ALL! I WILL CURSED YOU ALL!”
There was an explosion. And soon, he was caught up in the fire himself, scorching his skin, him dry. He screamed in agony. But there was nothing he could do. He was dying, he was burning. Amidst his scream and the unbearable pain, he heard a high-pitched laughter.
He gasped awake, his body wet with sweat. Panting heavily, he sat up and buried his face in his hands. When his breathing went even, he got to his feet and stepped out of the room. He bent down over a sink and splashed water across his face, the beads of sweat glistening under the ray of moonlight that escaped through the kitchen windows made of glass. He took a clear glass and filled it water, gulping the liquid in one swallow. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to decipher something from his dream but the more he think of it, the more the dream became blurry. After some feeble attempts, he finally gave up. As he climbed back to bed, he instantly fell asleep.
The following morning, Jiyong woke up earlier than he used to. He decided to pay the old lady a visit. He was not certain why, but he felt as if he needed to visit her. Taking a quick shower and patting some casual clothes on, he went to get some breakfast first. After that, he went to the house of the old lady. He silently but surely walked to the door and knocked. He waited. Then, he knocked again.
“What is it Mister?” a female voice came from behind him. He whirled around and saw a middle-aged woman with gardening tools on hand.
“Oh hi” he greeted. “I was wondering if I could talk to the old woman who lives here. I forgot to ask her name yesterday, I’m afraid”
The woman looked at him with a frown on her face, her eyes narrowed to slits. “An old woman?”
“Yes” he slowly nodded, starting to feel bad of what he’s about to hear and discover.
“You must be mistaken, boy” the woman answered. “Nobody lives here. This house has been kept for rent. I can assure you that this house has not been occupied for years. Nobody wants to buy or rent this because it’s too near to the hill”
Jiyong smiled tightly. “Yes, I think I made a mistake. I should go now”
He walked as fast as he could away from the house. After putting a much satisfactorily distance between him and the house, his steps faltered. A deep frown creased his forehead, wondering if yesterday’s event was just his imagination.
He came to a halt upon realizing that he just climbed the hill without intending to. His eyes strayed to the cottage. He remained on his spot but his recklessness made him step forward. He walked and walked until he finally reached the door. He lifted his balled fist to knock but even before his knuckles could touch the wooden and beaten door, it creaked open. The prettiest brown orbs greeted him.
“You should not be here!”
Unknowingly, he smiled. “Hello”
“I can do that too” she said blankly with a twinge of distractedness.
“What?” he asked, confused.
“Smile” she answered. “Look”
He waited but nothing happened – her face remained as blank as ever. Unable to stop himself, he chuckled.
“I was able to do it” she said matter-of-factly, blinking once. “You should touch my cheek with your lips”
He stopped chuckling and stared deep into her eyes. But like before, he failed to se any emotion. “It’s called a. . . kiss” he told her.
“A kiss?” she softly asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Yes” she slowly nodded.
“Do it then”
He paused for a moment, her innocence taking him by surprise yet again. It was as if he was so evil for taking advantage of it. And now, she was asking him to do it again. His conscience poked him but his head was already descending, unstoppable. And then, his lips touched her cheek gently. He slowly pulled away. Eventhough he had seen it twice, seeing her blush and her eyes wide open with life still surprised him. And then slowly, the corners of her lips began to curve upward. The word surprise was not enough to describe how he felt. But he was not just surprised, he was amazed, enchanted, taken in. . . he had seen how beautiful she was but the smile made all the different there could ever be. It was then that he truly, deeply and genuinely appreciated her innocence and incomparable beauty. She was a rare gem, one of a kind.
“You’re beautiful” he breathed.
She blinked, her smile suddenly disappeared. “You should not be here. I told you not to come here”
“I’m sorry” he said. “I was just wondering off when my feet led me here”
“You should leave then” she said. “Quickly”
“Will I see you later?”
She paused and eventhough her face did not show it, he could tell she was thinking. “Yes” she finally answered.
“I’ll wait for you”
“Go”
“See you later” he whispered then turned to leave.
Not long after Jiyong was gone, Sandara took a step back and closed the door. As she turned around, however, she saw her adopted mother staring at her with wide eyes.
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got new banners for TBP!!
credits to sweetmafi!!
tada!!!
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