Leaving Corbin behind to take care of their luggage, the carriage and the horse, Sylvia left to find help with the coachman. Sylvia was following the coachman wordlessly, but her wand was tightly clutched in her hand, ready to use if she needed it.
Her senses were alert, and she maintained a safe distance from the coachman to buy some time if he tried to over-smart her in any way.
Fortunately, the man minded his business, and after fifteen minutes of walking, they found a small ghetto consisting of about ten houses.
She let the coachman talk with the people living there. Fortunately, those people agreed to help and came with them, carrying axes and large cutters to cut the branches. They also carried long and thick ropes to try to move the tree out of the road.
Sylvia released a sigh of relief once she saw the carriage standing right where they had left it. But as she neared the carriage, she didn't see Corbin anywhere.
Her brows furrowed in wonderment, but before she pondered over it more, another shock hit her right in the face.
"Oh my god!" She heard the coachman's voice from somewhere around her.
Her eyes were glued to the clear road, her mouth opened wide agape.
"How did the tree moved?" One of the men, who had come with them asked.
The coachman searched for Corbin, but the man was nowhere to be found.
"Where is that man? Did he run away?"
The coachman opened and peeked inside the carriage, only to see Corbin fast asleep in his place. The man shook Corbin's leg lightly to wake him up.
Sylvia watched in suspicion as her companion for this journey woke up, yawning loudly. Corbin rubbed his eyes before they settled on the coachman.
"Oh! You are back! Have you found the help? Can they make a way for us?" He asked while getting down the carriage.
The coachman pointed to look ahead. Corbin lifted his gaze, and his eyes widened in shock.
"Oh! You have already moved the tree out of the way?!"
"No, sir! We have just arrived here. Look at the size of that tree. How can we a handful of people move it with only ropes and our physical force?
What exactly happened here after we left? How did that tree move?" The coachman queried.
Corbin shook his head, rubbing his forehead after that. His face was washed in confusion.
"I... I don't know."
"You don't know?" Sylvia narrowed her eyes at him.
Their gazes clashed, and she noticed something strange in his blue eyes. She instantly broke their eye contact, keeping her eyes anywhere but his face.
"No. I was tired and bored. I had nothing better to do so I sat inside to save myself from the cold. I didn't realise when I fell asleep.
I wouldn't have woken up for the next hour if you hadn't woken me."
"Are you sure you didn't hear anything or saw anyone around?" The coachman asked again.
Corbin nodded his head sincerely. "I swear!"
"Then..." The coachman trailed off, not understanding the reason behind that miracle.
But when one of the men spoke up, all the colour from the coachman's face drained away.
"I think... I think it is a ghost's doing."
Sylvia wanted to laugh out loud. Many people believed in ghosts, but she was a witch. She knew for sure that ghosts were not real.
Yes, there were unsatisfied souls, but they were stuck in another realm. Very few could travel between the two realms, and she didn't think any of them would care for some passengers and move a giant tree to help them.
"Gh-ghost?!" The coachman gulped in fear.
"Yes." Another man nodded his head. "We have heard that there is a ghost in this area. Some passengers have encountered it during night travel.
We initially wanted to build our houses here because the road is nearby. But when we heard about this ghost, we decided to build our houses as far away from this place as possible."
"But why would a ghost move the tree and not try to kill me or eat me alive?"
'Maybe you didn't seem tasty to it.', Sylvia wanted to retort but held back.
"Maybe... maybe that ghosts wanted all of us to gather here so it can attack us?" The third man trembled in fear, looking around with horrified eyes.
The others nodded their head in agreement. "If you are any sane then leave this place as soon as possible. Come on let's go from here before we get into a trouble."
The trio watched the group of men running back to their houses as if they were getting chased by a lion. Sylvia found the whole thing not only confusing but also hilarious.
She would have rolled over the ground laughing her heart out if she was alone or on Warthford Island.
The coachman ran to take his place behind the reigns while he told the pair to get into the carriage fast. Sylvia and Corbin did as they were told before the carriage moved forward on the now clear road.
Sylvia glanced at Corbin, who stared out of the window with an unreadable expression on his face. She wondered what was going on in his mind.
Was he scared like others? Or did he not believe the ghosts like her? Was he confused about what happened?
She couldn't fathom. She thought of asking him about it but then decided against it. After a while, Sylvia found her eyelids getting heavier again. And before she knew it, she passed into the slumber.
Corbin sat in silence. He caught Sylvia sleeping in her seat, half of her face was still hidden under her scarf. He stared at her for a couple of seconds before his gaze dropped into his lap.
He had his hands placed in his lap, covered in gloves. He carefully pulled out the gloves. His jaw tightened forcefully as he stared at his palms.
His bloody palms, adorned with deep and long cuts. His hands had a few scratches around them as if his hands were scraped by something sharp and rough.
His hands shook as anger boiled within him. His expression changed. An irritating mixture of pain and frustration filled his nerves as he slowly curled his fingers into tight fists.
Why? Why was he like that? Why?
He screamed the same question over and over in his mind until he felt white pain shooting into his head.
And just like the past twenty-five years, his question remained unanswered.