How long has it been? We've been running through the woods for days. Or has it been weeks? I can't remember.
After we left our home, Stella told me why all that happened. Why our mother was murdered.
It is quite simple in fact. It wasn't because of something she did or did not do. It was because of one simple thing.
Those chivalrous knights that were in the stories that our mother told me when I was little, their whole purpose is to kill people like us. Witches. All those terrible monsters, all those people that were killed by the knights in those stories, are us. We are the monsters.
In their eyes, we are impure beings that don't deserve the gift of life. We don't deserve to exist.
"Why?" That is all I said. That is all I wanted to know.
"Because we are witches" That's all she said back then.
Those words still echo through my head when I sleep.
It just doesn't make sense. Why we don't deserve to exist? Why all those people go out of their way to kill us? We didn't harm anyone. We did nothing wrong. We just wanted to live in peace.
I understand now why Stella felt so angry that time under her bed.
I can feel it boiling inside of me. Growing with every thought about how the world works. This anger. This feeling of impotence.
Why it has to be this way? Why we have to die just because someone decided so? Why we don't deserve to live!?
"Stop it, Alice"
My sister's voice takes me out of my spiral of emotions.
I look up to see Stella's face. She looks at me with sadness in her eyes.
"What do you mean 'stop'?"
"If you keep thinking like that, you may end up doing something you'll regret for the rest of your life."
"Oh, so you mean that I should just accept the fact that the whole world wants me dead?"
I stand up
"Are you saying that I should just, move on knowing that at any moment some guy wearing armor will come out of nowhere and kill me just because they say I'm not allowed to live?!"
Tears start running down my face. I take a step closer to her.
"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I HAVE TO ACCEPT THE WORLD TAGGING ME AS A SINNER JUST BECAUSE I EXIST?!!"
Stella stands up and hugs me. Tears covering her face too.
"I'm saying that I don't want to lose you too."
I froze upon hearing this.
"Other witches thought the same way and decided to do something about it. And ended up burned alive. So the best we can do for now is try to live the rest of our days quietly hoping for nothing bad to happen again."
Her words come out between sobs as she hugs me closer.
"But... But... That's not fair!" I cry out loud hugging her back.
"I know, I know... But that's how the world is. And we can't do anything to change that"
We both cry the night out. Our voices echoing through the trees like so many others before us.