A Summer’s Tragedy

Inside her bedroom, Ruth seemed to be an insane girl talking alone. She opened the window and stared outside, and had a conversation with something that could not be seen.

“It’s your chance to kill her,” whispered the whirling wind.

Ruth thought that she had definitely changed into a merciless woman since she came back; she didn’t know how to love anymore. Ruth hesitated to do what the wind commanded, but it pushed her to go outside her bedroom and go inside the kitchen where her mother was cooking something.

Dorothy was cooking food for their dinner when she saw her daughter going towards her. She felt something was wrong with the way her daughter walked, as it wasn’t the way she did before, but because she’s just a little girl who wants to act like an old woman through imitating others, Dorothy prevented herself from making a bad hunch.

“Hi darling,” she greeted. “Do you want anything?”

“I want your life,” Ruth replied in a familiar voice. “Your life for her life.”

“Ruth?” Dorothy interrogated. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend that you don’t know, mom.”

Ruth approached her mother and, without thinking, pushed her. Dorothy ricocheted against the wall. She didn’t know why her daughter was so strong, but one thing crossed her mind: it wasn’t her real daughter, but the woman who came back to take revenge.

“Stop! You got to stop this!” Dorothy implored. “Please… I don’t made any mistake to you, it was you who killed yourself during my wedding.”

Ruth, was screaming the same thing in her head, but no one could hear her. Her feet and hands conspired to follow their master. And currently, she was handing a sharp dagger and slowly walking towards her mother.

“Don’t you really know why I killed myself?” Ruth played the dagger on her mother’s cheeks then to her temple.

“Please.” Tears rolled down Dorothy’s face because of fear.

But Ruth continued; priest without a head: blood sheds on the floor!

***

Where did that crazy girl go? Callisto asked himself while walking down the riotous road. He already searched for her everywhere, but he can’t find her. Currently, he remembered one place she always went every time she transformed into an ugly girl.

Consequently, Callisto went to the bench, but instead of Stalin, he found Linley, who was sitting there. She seemed to be waiting for someone, but for sure it wasn’t Callisto, but Lazaro, who turned out to be her boyfriend.

“Hi, Linley,” Callisto greeted. “Have you seen Stalin?”

“Who am I to know where she is?” Linley stood up. “I’m not her watcher.”

“I’m just asking, why are you so snobbish? Are you still mad at me? Why? Would you like it if I became gentle?” Callisto simpered.

“Your face is too thick to show that to me again.”

She turned to leave, but Callisto grasped her arm and what happened next made their worlds turn slowly. He claimed her lips, and wouldn’t let go of them, as long as she didn’t turn flabby and he didn’t fail. Linley was frozen, her heart was racing, and she remembered her feelings for him.

They were both lulled as they sat down on the bench. Linley couldn’t directly look at Callisto’s eyes, but Callisto does. He himself turned her face to face him.

“I’m… um… I’m sorry for my recent acts,” Linley stammered.

Callisto couldn’t say anything. He didn’t know what he felt for her, but one thing was certain: he wanted her to be with him always. He wanted to kiss her lips, touch her face, and bolster her every day and every night. But he remembered that he was searching for the ugly girl.

“So, have you seen your ex-friend?” Callisto asked.

“I’m sorry, Callisto, she never showed her face again,” Linley replied.

“Well, that’s just fine. I can search for her.” Callisto stood up.

“Can… Can you let me help you search for her?”

“Yes, of course.” Callisto grabbed Linley’s hand and their world stopped and stared for a while as their eyes met again.

On the other hand, inside Stalin’s house, Sebastian was waiting for a call from an embalmer. If they could really embalmed the stinky woman, because it’s already dusk, but they were not going there yet. Meanwhile, the telephone rang.

“Hello?” Sebastian asked.

“Hello, dad? It’s Ruth. My mother… My mother was…” She sobbed on the other line.

“Why? What happened to your mother? Huh?” Sebastian sounded curious, but the exact description made him, worried.

“She’s blee… ding, ad, ad, need to o home aw.”

“Ruth? Ruth? What did you say? Ruth?”

Even the telephone doesn’t work well, Sebastian thought. He couldn’t understand his child’s words, but he knew she was crying and saying something about her mother. So, Sebastian didn’t waste his time; he immediately traveled back home.

When Sebastian was going home, he met his son with a beautiful girl. Callisto inquired about his father’s plans. Sebastian told him that there was something wrong that happened to his mother.

Consequently, Callisto wanted to see his mother too, but his father told him that he didn’t need to do that. Therefore, Callisto and Linley only mind their own task, which is to find Stalin. They didn’t really need to search for Stalin because Callisto knew that whatever happened, she would come back to their house, especially at dusk.

“I thought that we were going to search for Stalin, but why did we go here?” Linley queried.

“And why did you seem to know nothing about the curse? Don’t you know about it yet?”

“The curse? What curse? Stalin didn’t mention anything about that to me.”

“So, you’re not really close friends if you don’t know about the curse that’s penetrating your friend.”

“Hai,” Linley sighed. “I and Stalin were friends since young. Since she wasn’t crazy like this-I don’t know what happened-she’s always avoiding me now.”

“Isn’t that because of me?” Callisto smirked.

“Because of you?” Linley inquired. “I don’t know.”

“Yup, we don’t know. I also didn’t believe at first that she was crazy, but as time went by, there are many things about her that I came to know,” Callisto said. “Let’s get inside their house first, and I’m sure you’ll be amazed of what you will see.”

Callisto didn’t let go of Linley’s hand as he led her into Stalin’s house. The smell is now worse than it was in the morning, but Linley wasn’t really surprised to see the coffin where Stalin’s mother was lying. She wasn’t informed that her friend’s mother died.

Meanwhile, Sebastian arrived home before dark totally gathered. He hurriedly went inside their house. His mind was telling him to be calm, but he also felt something was wrong. As if his house was surrounded by darkness.

The door screamed, and the bloodied Dorothy, covered in cuts, was exposed at his front. Sebastian wasn’t aware that tears were already streaming down his face. He wanted to scream, to jump, to run, etcetera, etcetera, but what he could only do was cry.

His feet slowly brought him towards his wife. He embraced her shiveringly. No sounds were coming out of his lips, but his face could not be painted as his heart was hammered a thousand times.

“Who killed my wife!” Sebastian yelled.

Ruth heard him, but she didn’t say anything. Her mind was screaming that she didn’t mean to kill her, but it was already done. She couldn’t bring her mother back to life, and her conscience wouldn’t give her peace.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.