"Thank the gods we finally found her. How stupid were they to think they could run forever? Get that witch and tie her up," A fat man commanded from the crowd of people that had gathered around the shoreline, after the wave had subsided.
It was nearly over three hours after the wave had destroyed their home, damaging a lot of farmland located beside the seashore, and flooding a lot of settlements in Ventaris. When Rachael woke up, what she saw was nothing but ruins of the lighthouse littered on the cold white sand, while her mother was nowhere to be found. She took her time searching for her mum among the wreckage. After many futile attempts, she gave up her search.
The moment she decided to sit at the mouth of the seacoast to mourn her loss, the villagers were already on their way to determine what had happened. When she caught sight of them, she stood up and gave them a pleasing smile, with the hope that they all came to look for her mother, or at least sympathize with her.
However, she was wrong.
Two men from the crowd already made their way toward her. Rachael stepped back, but she unknowingly fell to the ground when a log of wood from the ruins made her trip. The two men grabbed her and dragged her forward, and towards the man who had ordered her capture.
"There she is. Daughter of a bastard. She deserved to be killed. She and her mother just destroyed the only farmland my deceased husband left for me. That's the only thing I use to remember how he cruelly left this world because of the ill fate her mother brought upon us. As if that's not enough, they also succeeded in taking away the only source of my little happiness. My only reminder," one old lady from the crowd cried out.
The accusations came rolling in. "She must have angered the gods with her strange ways!" "She probably did something wicked and we all suffered this punishment!" "Her mother is the cause of all these.!" Rachael wanted to defend herself, to explain that she had nothing to do with the flood, that she was just as much a victim as they were. But when she tried to speak, her voice was drowned out by the crowd's anger.
"How funny you were to remember that you all got happiness. Did you ever in your life consider that of mine and my mother? And yet you showed up here yelling that we took away your happiness?" Rachael laughed hysterically.
"What about ours you stole away all in the name of culture? What about all those years of pain… rejection… and abuse? Did you consider that?! And yet you dare open your mouth to lecture me about happiness?
A loud slap was heard. Then again and again. "Shut your silly mouth, you idiot. You just validated my suspicion. Her mother has transferred that ill fate to HER!" The fat man said in anger.
"She must be dealt with," One shouted.
"No, she must be banished. We have endured enough. This land won't continue to live in fear after all these years. Just look at us, almost every week or month, our land gets flooded with tenacious waves, destroying all that we took our time to build," another voiced out.
"Why not kill her before we all perish? What have we done to deserve this cruelty from a mother and her despicable daughter?" another voice spoke.
"We did NOTHING!!!! You are the cause of your problem!!" Rachael yelled.
"Are you people sure we are the cause of all the bad things happening? What if…, what if…. all these accusations were just a plan orchestrated to blame my mother under the veil of punishing her for no reason? Those who she called her own, those who were meant to protect her all turned their back on her. WHY? WHY!!!? She struggled to break free from those holding her captive. But her strength was less compared to those keeping her restrained.
Rachael's eyes caught the gaze of the fat man who was known as the village head. She glared at him with so much hatred that almost made the man choke. She knew that beneath those black eyes of his, he was hiding something. A truth maybe. A fact that may threaten his very existence. But no, she watched as he tried to suppress the words that were screaming to gain dominance in his mouth.
"As expected, she has the type of sweet-honeyed tongue just like her mother. The sweet tongue of deceiving spirit. Take no heed to what she said. For she can ensnare you with the alluring words that flow out of her. Get her tied. I just received an order of what to do with this small, little devil." he gave her a menacing chuckle.
It was only when the chain was put around her neck that Rachael realized how serious the situation was. The villagers had decided to punish her for their losses, to make her accountable for their misery. They dragged her through the mud, tying her hands and legs, and yelling abuses at her. "You witch!" "You monster!" "You should have drowned in the flood just like your pathetic mother!" Rachael struggled, screamed, and pleaded for mercy, but no one listened. They were blind with rage, and they wanted to see her suffer.
***********
They locked Rachael in a small cabin at the edge of the village, away from the other villagers. They did not feed her or give her water. The only light in the cabin came from a small window, and the only sound was her sobbing. She was cold, scared, and alone. She had no idea what was going to happen to her or how she would survive. All she knew was that she was innocent and that there had to be a way out of this nightmare.
When it was getting late, they took her away from the cage which was used to prevent her from running away. Almost all of the villagers had gathered to witness what would become of her fate. Some even came with torches in case they were to condemn her to death by burning.
When the village head came, the crowd made way for him while he walked towards her. Standing in front of Rachael, he let out a pitiful sigh and turned to the crowd.
"Dear people of Ventaris, we all know the pains and hell this girl and her mother had caused us over the years. I can't begin to mention what happened as I will be grieved. However, during the recent storm that shook our land, her mother mysteriously disappeared. All thanks to the gods, she met her unexpected end. But we were left to face the little catastrophe she left behind as a daughter." he paused and looked at them before continuing,
"To get rid of this evil, and free ourselves from any shackles of the sea or any other force that threatens our existence, we'll take her daughter and throw her off the sea. Let's use her to appease the sea" he spoke.
"Yess!!!!!! They all shouted.
"No, no, this can't be happening. I have done nothing wrong to deserve this. It's just a normal phenomenon that occurs. Land near waters is bound to face harsh climatic disasters. You can't take me out to the sea. I'll be happy with any other pronouncement but not these," her voice cracked while she tried to plead for innocence.
"Sorry, I can't fall into one of your little traps. TAKE HER TO THE DOCKS!!!" the village head pointed at her.
Before she could utter her next words, she was blindfolded with a red cloth, severing her sight from seeing what was happening around her. Rough, large hands grabbed her two arms and lifted her, dragging her forward with force despite her little effort to stall herself behind. The only thing she could hear was only the cacophony of echoed chants from the distorted voices of the villagers. The rest of her vision was bathed in total darkness. She had no knowledge of where she had been taken to.
When they arrived at the shore, the glittering expanse of the sea was spread out in front of them like an azure shimmering sheet. The wind whipped Rachael's loose hair around her face, as her light skirt billowed out. Boats and ships danced on the blue horizon, their bright sails like beacons on the waves.
She knew they had reached the shore. A place where she'll be made to face whatever thing her fate had in store for her. She had passed through a lot. And the most amazing thing was that it made her stronger. Life had thrown a lot of difficulties and hardships at her that made her feel like her 'FATE' had nothing more surprising to offer.
The village head ordered them to bind only her at the front of the ship. They quickly obeyed him and carried her inside the ship. When they must have tied her at the front of the ship, the sailor set everything in motion and ran off. They all stood and watched as the ship gently, but slowly started sailing off into the great water. None took pity on her. Their faces held no expressions while the girl and the ship finally disappeared out of sight.
Finally, the girl was gone. And so was the ill fortune that befell them. That was their conclusion, or so they thought