'Xia Mu is coming out, children come back inside,'mothers would warn their children. This was the usual occurrence for the past ten years ever since her husband died. Even though it hurt quite a lot, she had gotten used to it and went on with her her normal duties.
That day she got married was the happiest day in her life or so she thought. Her supposed happiness didn't last long. Six months later,her husband died in a tragic accident on the mountains during a hunting trip. To worsen her plight, she had no children and the envious enemies seized this opportunity to spread malicious rumours about her.
'She is a witch and she eats children that's why she couldn't give birth',they said.
'Superstition and its unknown ways', came the fleeting thought.
As her usual practice, she made her way to the riverside.
As she got closer , she say a car seat on the shore.
'This is most unusual' she mumbled
She dropped the bucket and walked cautiously towards the sight, her curiosity taking the best of her. She turned the seat to face her and expecting the fright of her life, she closed her eyes and gave a shrill scream.
After sometime when she noticed that nothing happened, she opened her eyes and saw a pale looking child in the seat quite unconscious.
'Goodness,I must be dreaming' she thought aloud.
She stood there in disbelief and pinched herself to see whether she was imagining things .
'I'm not imagining things. I'm not dreaming. This is actually a child ' she shouted.
She then picked up the child carefully and tied her on her back and walked back to the village.
Thos day was a market day and so many people were gathered in the market square, close to her house. Everyone was curious and wondered what she carried on her back. The people gathered around her and there was a crowd. They noticed that it was a child and they broke in a frenzy of comments.
'Where did you get this child?'
'Whose child is so good looking like this?'
'Are you going to eat that child?',came a sarcastic question.
Hearing this, she stopped in her tracks .She turned and smiled coldly. A lot of men gasped. 'She's so beautiful', they all thought.
"You're talking to me?",she asked with a smile, her cute and innocent expression seemed to claw on their hearts like a kitten.
'Yes, you. Aren't you going to use her for your meal?',she rebutted.
"Me? Don't you help when I cut them up? Aren't you one of us?", she countered.
As soon as she said that everyone created a distance and looked at her strangely. And strangely enough, she was one of those people who spread such rumours about her. Xia Mu's cold gaze seemed to be reminding her and telling her 'Weren't you one of the people who spread rumours about me? This is your retribution.'
She couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. 'You!',was all the embarrassed woman could say. Before she could cause a scene, her husband emerged from the crowd to pull the red-faced woman away who left screaming and cursing.
'And if you'd excuse me',she said and they cleared a path for her.
As soon as she was out of sight, everyone resumed their normal duties but however gossipped in small groups.
The men couldn't help but talk about how beautiful she was.All of them looked love sick, fawning over her beauty.
On the other hand, the women couldn't resist the urge to rip her 'beautiful' face to shreds. They hated her to the death .
Oblivious to the commotion she caused in the village,she propped the child on the bed and mumbled,'Your arrival has given me a new insight on life. I'm forever grateful'
She went to her garden which was in a disarray and plucked some herbs to burn as incense to enable her wake up quickly. Setting herself to work, she prepared the herbs and dropped down to sleep after saying a prayer in her heart.