Once again, she found herself in the position of being mesmerized by the bracelet. Her fingers easily remembered where every crook was on the well-worn bracelet; it was muscle memory at this point. She could finally see what it looked like now, just like what her mind had envisioned earlier; wooden, beaded, and filled with cracks. The only thing she had missed out on was the small engravings, just like symbols, all over the beads.
Ava forgot all time and place as she was consumed into the world the bracelet created for her. Occasionally, someone would leave a bowl of soup beside her bed. Ava never touched the bowl as she did not feel hungry or thirsty. Hence, she had no idea how many bowls of soup had been left untouched. Not that she cared. The bracelet kept dragging her back into its captivating world.
The sharp ringing sound cut through her new world as the curtains moved and revealed an older woman. Ava quickly slid the bracelet over her wrist and moved her hand back under the duvet. For some reason, she couldn´t bear the thought of someone ever noticing the bracelet.
"Good morning, Ava."
She stood with her back to Ava as she greeted her, so the only thing Ava could see was the long silver hair and the white headpiece on top of the woman's head. Judging by the hunched-over posture, she could be one of the elders that Raven had spoken about earlier.
"Is it morning?"
Just then, she realized how much she had lost track of; the time, the place she was now at. At first, she blamed the curtains around her bed that always covered the windows. As reason struck Ava, she knew she owed the bracelet thanks for losing as much time.
For her, it had felt like five minutes. Until now, when she realized that so much more time had passed. Yet, it all felt pointless to worry about as long as she looked at the bracelet.
"Yes, I believe so."
The woman turned around, and Ava´s heart skipped a beat as she saw the face. She had assumed that the woman would look like any other old woman, but she was wrong; both of her eyes had a dull grey color all over, her skin was wrinkled - almost like it was melting with dark and large spots rested on top of the wrinkles all over her face. Once again, Ava found herself staring at a woman who should have been dead.
"I am blind, you see."
"I´m sorry", Ava breathed.
"Oh, don´t be. I can see clearer now."
Honestly, what the woman had said did not make any sense. Was it another sick sense of irony the world had decided to play on the women here? First Raven and her eye, and now this older woman who was blind. Considering all of the eye troubles here, she understood that her own eyes might not even be safe.
Not long after, the small talk about Ava´s condition appeared. If she was honest, she could barely feel any pain. She had full mobility in her body, which she should be grateful to have. Considering the hanging situation, she should have gotten paralyzed - if not dead.
"I am aware that Raven has spoken to you about us, the elders, am I right?"
"Yes."
"So you know what comes next?"
"A choice."
Ava watched a sad smile spread on the wrinkled lips. The woman seemed to be delivering the choices with a heavy heart. The bracelet had taken away her time to think and reflect upon what kind of choice she would have to make. So now, she was a bit taken aback that she had to make a choice right away.
Yet, she knew no choice could ever be as catastrophic as getting sent back to the village to die.
"I want to make sure you understand the entire situation before you make a decision. As Raven must have told you, no matter what you choose it probably will hurt a lot. In a way or another."
Ava stared back at the woman blankly. Her mind was racing as she tried to think of the possible outcome of what she would have to choose from. Life or death? What could be worse? Will she be able to choose the best option?
The woman, who introduced herself after suddenly remembering that she was a stranger to Ava, drew in a sharp breath as she started to inform Ava about the mess she had created. The townsmen had been searching every single inch of the river she had fallen into for two weeks now. They had even hung more people as they could not find Ava.
A lot of innocent people had died in her place, and the numbers would only rise until Ava was back in their grasp. The townsmen were deadset that Ava was the witch, and would make heaven and hell move to find her.
Out of nowhere, she changed her tone of voice as she started to talk about this sanctuary. Here, women who had been fortunate enough to survive the horrors of their trials were now living in peace alongside one another. Their savior, as she referred him as, had all found them at their lowest and given them a place to stay - for a price.
He had offered them shelter, food, warmth, and a job. Every single woman who lived here all worked to earn their stay. Ava knew straight away that the older woman had an obvious bias, probably grateful for being alive.
"For a price?" Ava interrupted her.
"Yes," the woman laughed sadly. "I lost my sight. Raven lost a toe."
"Why?"
"You´ll understand if you choose to stay and work."
Ava let out a dry laugh. The price she would have to pay could either be a body part, a sense or it could be much worse. It was a surreal price for anyone to pay, just for shelter and food. Ava was well aware that she could end up much worse off than Raven, as she concluded that she would not be allowed to choose herself.
"What´s my other choice?"
"You get food, water, and change of clothes and you´ll have to be on the run from the town for as long as you still breathe."
Ava was well aware of the situation she was in with the town. There was no way she could go back to the cabin, as it was probably the first place they would look for her. If she chose to run, she would do nothing else for the rest of her life; until Ava comes over someplace or someone who has no idea who she is.
Her chances of survival were low with the second option, yet every fiber of her body told her to run away.
"I´ll take my chances with the town."