You’ve just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As you look around, your gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. You duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? she begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”
((How do you respond?))
“My name is Amalia,” she began softly, her voice faltering slightly, as if she hadn’t spoken in a long time. In front of the old witch sat a small, thin woman whose face bore traces of exhaustion and old wounds. “I come from a small farm high in the mountains. Life there was hard, but it had its rules, its rhythm. We were poor, but together with my family, we resisted the frost and drought and had a home and hope.”
She paused, and as her gaze dropped to the ground for a moment, it seemed as if mold was creeping around the pillow – a dark sign of what she had lost.
“And then the war came,” she continued finally, her voice sounding more like an echo. “They said they would protect us, that we would be safe. But when the soldiers arrived…” She stopped, her eyes darkening, as if ancient flames and smoke were rekindling in them. “My home burned down. And with it, everyone I had ever loved.”
Amalia’s hand trembled for a moment, but then she quickly withdrew it. She had no tears left – or at least she hoped she had already shed them. Now she was merely a wanderer without purpose, without meaning. “Since then, I have been wandering,” she continued. “Looking for something that would give me a reason to go on. A glimmer of hope. Perhaps a new home, perhaps just answers.”
She lifted her eyes and met the gaze of the old witch. The witch’s wrinkled eyes were fixed on her intently, as if seeing deep into her soul. “Perhaps I came here because I have nowhere else to go. Perhaps something guides me forward, even though I don’t know why. But… if you were expecting me, maybe you can give me an answer?”
Recommended Comments