by Piper Hannah
We were not the first ones to be burned as witches in this town. I could sense the death of the girls who died before us, tied to a pole at this very location. I could feel their aura.
The villagers surrounded us, less than a hundred people, and they were all strangers today. Some looked at us with fear. Others looked at us with a sense of righteousness that was so out of place because of what they were about to do to us. Murderers – that’s what they all are.
Standing somewhere in the back was our family. They were the ones who loved us the most, and yet, they were the ones who turned us in. My parents were huddled together, hugging Edith tightly. In their eyes, Edith was their good daughter, and after today, she will be their only daughter. I wish I could hug my mother one last time and try to explain. Elizabeth and I never meant for any of this to happen. We were the ones blessed by these angels. We were not evil, and certainly, we were not witches.
My uncle had his hand on my father’s shoulder as if reminding him that he was not to interfere. My cousins looked on with dread, but truly, I couldn’t blame any of them. They just didn’t understand. Even I didn’t understand, and it was too late. Elizabeth and I both admitted to our crime – that we can see angels. We also said that we were not witches, but that did not matter to any of them.
Looking at my parents, I saw their pain, but they were also looking at me as if I was the one who betrayed them. Truly, they did not have the right to feel that way because Elizabeth and I were the ones who were betrayed this day. At least Elizabeth was behind me and facing the other way. She did not see the look on our family’s faces. She could be spared that, at least, and she will die thinking that our family still cared for us.
Several hours ago, I was still hoping that our angels would come and save us in time. Now, tied to a post and waiting to be burned, my hope was fleeting very quickly.
The crowd was silent, and a single man approached us. He was holding a torch. It was Cromwell, the self-appointed leader of our small town. He was the preacher who preached his own gospel. I wondered why this town ever listened to him. Who was he, and what was his power? I looked at him; I saw his graying beard and the determination in his eyes. One thing was for certain. He really was going to set fire to us. Sadness filled my heart. Elizabeth and I were not ready to die.
It was then that Cromwell’s son, a twelve year-old boy named Bentley, came forward, holding a jar. He didn’t look at me as he splashed kerosene onto the pile of wood that surrounded me and Emma. I almost sobbed. Bentley and I were friends. We always fished down the river, and sometimes, he helped me with my chores.
“I’m not a witch Bentley,” I whispered. He was close enough that he could hear me. I don’t know why I bothered explaining. He couldn’t help me even if he wanted to.
“I know, Gwen. I know,” he whispered back, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, Gwen.” He sprinkled more kerosene onto the wood. Cromwell walked towards Bentley and placed one hand on his shoulder roughly. He was still holding his torch.
“Elizabeth and Gwendolyn, you have both been found to be witches, possessed by demons. May God have mercy on your soul,” Cromwell said. His voice was loud, drowning the other voices in the crowd. No one spoke up to defend us.
From somewhere deep inside of me, I found the courage to speak clearly in a voice that hid the fear that threatened to consume me.
“No,” I said as I stared at Cromwell, “May God have no mercy on your soul.”
Then, I looked into the eyes of the people who were determined to kill us. “On all of you.” I could not see Elizabeth’s face, but I felt her hands grip mine under the rope that tied us together. She approved. It was something she would have said, and I said it for the both of us.
As my eyes stared at the unfriendly faces surrounding us, some of them flinched. Some refused to look at me at all. They knew that what they were doing was wrong, but they also refused to aid us. I looked at the faces of my family, my sister, Edith, my cousins, friends, who only yesterday, spoke only kind words. Today, they thought that we were witches, and all we needed to do was die. We were alone, and we will die.
“Witch,” I heard someone say. I didn’t know who the voice belonged to, but it did not matter.
Cromwell came closer, and he raised his torch up in the air. The crowd was silent. Then, he threw the torch towards me. It flew in the air and landed in front of me. The wood caught on fire, and it started to burn.
I watched in fright as the wood fed the flames quickly, black smoke rising. The villagers were not the enemy now. There was also fire and smoke. It threatened to consume us, and eventually, it will kill us.
I felt the heat of the flames, but the smoke was the more determined killer. It swirled all around us, and I couldn’t breathe. I started coughing uncontrollably, and my eyes stung. I felt Elizabeth’s hands. She gripped my hands tighter as she struggled against the rope that bound us together. Then, I heard her coughing. Elizabeth had always been careless, but she was a good person. She didn’t deserve this. We did not deserve this.
Through the fire and smoke, my eyes scanned the crowd, and I saw a lone figure; she was partially hidden behind the small shed that they had locked us in earlier. I squinted, and through the thick smoke, I saw a girl dressed in a white dress with long blonde hair; her hair was so light that I can almost see a halo surrounding her. Adra… She met my gaze, and then, she quickly moved behind the shed until I could no longer see her. I knew she was not hiding from the crowd. She was hiding from us because she knew that Elizabeth and I could see her. She was an angel, and until today, I thought we were friends. Like the rest of them, however, she had also turned her back on us.
“Adra,” I whispered, “please help us.”
Even though I whispered, I knew she could hear me. Angels have good hearing, and Adra was strong. She was also very fast. She could save us in a heartbeat, but she remained hidden. Why?
“Adra,” I called out again. This time, I said it louder. I waited, but again, she ignored me. I was running out of time.
My eyes filled with tears, from the smoke and from despair, but my tears did not mean anything to anyone - not even to an angel. The smoke completely surrounded me now. It swirled like a dark fist that closed around my throat, choking me, killing me. I started coughing uncontrollably. My lungs felt as if it, too, was burning.
The bottom of my dress caught on fire. I felt the heat on my skin. It was everywhere: on my legs, my arms, my face...
I looked towards the shed, and my eyes hurt from the smoke. Adra was peeking out from behind the shed. With anguish all over her pretty face, she chose not to help us.
“Help,” I screamed.
I gasped, and I took a breath of air, but only smoke rushed in. Behind me, I heard Elizabeth coughing more rapidly. For a while, all I heard were Elizabeth’s coughs. I didn’t hear mine, and the sounds Elizabeth made drowned the crackling of the fire, the burning, the crowd’s murmurs.
“Elizabeth,” I called out, but it came out as a hoarse dry whisper. “I love you.” I hope she heard me. If I died today, I didn’t want to leave this earth with hate in my heart. Then, I thought about the angel who owned my heart, Luke, and I prayed that he would endure losing me this way. He always said that wherever I was, he would find me. He promised that he would always find me. Always… I will hold him to that promise and hope that someday we can be together again.
I was dying, and there was nothing I could do. I screamed just as I heard Elizabeth scream. I felt my skin melting, and our hands became fused together. The pain became intolerable. I screamed louder this time, calling my Guardian’s name. It was my Guardian’s duty to protect me… to save me… to guard me… but my angel did not come.
“Help us,” I screamed over and over again. My angel, please help us.
Despite the hopelessness I felt, I still waited for my Guardian to save me. I waited. Through the smoke, the fire, the pain, and the hatred all around us, and until I died, I waited.
CHAP
TER 24
I woke up with a gasp, my eyes snapping open. I sat on the bed, my hand automatically going to my chest. I felt my heart beating. It was pounding hard and strong. My chest almost hurt from it, but I welcomed it. It’s good to be alive.
I took a deep breath, and I almost choked. My lungs immediately rejected the air. My body still felt the heat of the fire on my skin, and I quickly threw the covers away. I didn’t see any flames, but I patted my body to make sure that I was okay – that I wasn’t burning. I’m alive, and I am not… burning.
I forced myself to stay calm, taking slow, even breaths, until my heart slowed to a slow and steady pace.
I reached for the lamp on my nightstand and turned it on. Suddenly, like a puzzle, the pieces all seemed to fit together. As scary as it was, I accepted it. My nightmares had always been real, and Luke had always known.
I rubbed my forehead. It was the past. It was over, but the memories still burned in my mind. Those two poor girls; they were us, Emma and I, and we were murdered. There was no other word for it. Tears started falling down my face, and I couldn’t stop the sobs that came out of my mouth. I mourned them. I mourned us because I was Gwendolyn; I was certain of it, just as I was certain that Emma was Elizabeth. How do I know this? The feelings I have for her are the same. Our memories of the fire are the same, and we both remembered it in dreams.
We were so young when we died; Gwendolyn was sixteen and Elizabeth was only fourteen. But how are we still here?
I certainly don’t know why, but somehow, our spirits found each other, and we made it back here together. Maybe this is our second chance at life. To make a difference? To change the world? Or maybe to just live again – the way we were supposed to the first time around.
I wiped the tears from my eyes. It didn’t really matter how or why. All that mattered was that I was here now. It’s funny how life works. I could say that now and really understand what it means. Emma and I were burned at the stake almost a thousand years ago, but we are the ones alive now. Maybe they were right. Maybe we were witches, after all.
I got out of bed slowly. Adra betrayed us. There was no doubt about that. Almost a thousand years ago, when Adra’s wings were still white, she made a choice to let us die. Maybe that was why she was a demon now. The thought gave me some sort of peace and a feeling of justice, but I still felt betrayed. Years ago, I thought that Adra and I were friends. I guess I was wrong.
I walked towards my bedroom window. I lifted the edge of the curtain and peeked out. It was dawn. I looked down and saw Luke kneeling on the ground, palms together against his heart. His head was bowed in prayer. I let the curtain drop from my fingers. I’ll give him more time to pray; I realized that it was something angels needed to do. I’ve seen him do this many times before.
Luke remembers me. He knows that I am Gwendolyn. I was his Gwen… In the last thousand years, Luke had been blaming himself because he thought that it was his fault that Gwendolyn died – that I died. I have to correct him on that because it wasn’t true.
Besides, I am here now. That’s all that matters.
CHAPTER 25
When I snuck out and went to the backyard, the sky was a bluish grey, and it was getting brighter by the second. We didn’t have a lot of time to talk.
This morning, I approached Luke with sadness in my heart. By remembering my past, I understood Luke a little bit better now. I understood the sadness in his eyes when he looks at me, his frown, his grimness. My eyes burned with tears again, and I blinked them away quickly.
Like always, he was waiting for me. When I reached him, I didn’t give him time to speak. “When I first saw you, I felt that you meant something more to me. That we were supposed to be together somehow,” I said.
His head tilted to one side, and he was looking at me with a vulnerability that made me want to cry.
“I know,” I said softly, my voice cracking. “I just remembered.”
He looked down on the ground. He understood. He knew what I was talking about – that I finally remembered a different time and living a different life.
“Do I look anything like Gwendolyn?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
“How did you know that I was her?”
“I could tell,” he said, looking at my face. “You look very different, but your aura is the same. It’s a bright white that is quite unforgettable. From the first time I saw you, I knew that your body carries the same soul.”
“I always wondered why Emma and I both had nightmares about fire and smoke. Even though our parents denied it, we always thought that we suffered from some sort of trauma in our childhood.” I guess we kind of did, but the trauma was way, way back… more like a thousand years back.
His eyes widened. “Elizabeth is Emma?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m sure of it.” How did he not know that Emma was Elizabeth?
I asked a more important question, at least as it pertained to the well-being of my sister.
“Does Joshua know about Emma?” Back then, when Joshua was still an angel, he loved Emma with a passion. He would have done anything for her.
“No, I don’t think so,” Luke said, “and he doesn’t want to know.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that. Somehow, I believed that my sister had a right to know, but did I really want her having anything to do with a demon? The answer was an immediate ‘no.’ It didn’t seem fair, but then, when was life fair? We were burned at the stake for seeing angels. That didn’t seem fair at all.
“You’re not the Luke I remember,” I said. “I remember a Luke who laughed all of the time. You joked a lot. You were much happier back then.” He was so carefree and lived the life he wanted. Back then, Gwendolyn had never seen Luke frown.
“That Luke got you killed,” he said bitterly.
“No, don’t say that. You were the one thing in my life that was worth living for back then. That village was dreadful.” They made us work very hard, and I was always exhausted. There were a lot of bugs and very little food.
He was looking at me with guilt in his eyes. I wanted so badly to wipe out that guilt, but I didn’t know how.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said, willing him to believe me.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I should have been there. I should have been better. Faster… I should have protected you.”
Each of his ‘I shoulds’ was full of regret, and each one stabbed me in the heart. “I’m sorry you blame yourself,” I said. “Humans are ignorant sometimes… and cruel. Our history is full of tragedy and pain. There was no place you could have taken me where I would have been safe. Not at that time.”
He didn’t respond, but he looked at me as if I were lying. I was afraid that death, from an immortal’s point of view was more tragic - more painful. Humans have a hard time accepting death, too, but death was also something we were all prepared to do… someday.
Luke sighed. “I am pleased you finally remembered,” he said. “I didn’t know how to tell you because I didn’t want you to hate me.”
“I don’t hate you. I could never hate you,” I said honestly, but I did want to know his side of the story. I wanted to see things through his eyes.
“What happened?” I asked. Where were you?
He hesitated, but he knew I had the right to know. “When Joshua and I left you and Elizabeth that evening, all was well. There was a war between the humans in the north, and we were there to aid the injured. In the morning, Joshua got to your village first, and both of you were already gone. Dead. When I got there, it was all over. Joshua had already destroyed the entire village. Before he became a demon and before his wings had a chance to turn black, he had already killed everyone who aided in your demise.”
My eyes watered. An entire village demolished; my family – Gwendolyn’s family - gone. It didn’t matter that they died long ago. I remembered them. I loved them… and they died because of me, and Emma… and Joshua. I can’t forget Joshua’s pa
rt in all of this. This was the reason why Emma was better off not knowing about Joshua.
Luke went on, “I wasn’t sorry for their death. I was only sorry that they did not suffer as much as you did. Maybe if I got there first, they would have, because I wouldn’t have been so kind. If Joshua didn’t, then I would have… killed them. I wanted to kill them.”
I was shocked at his words. Luke was an angel, and he was as beautiful as his soul. He should be thinking only good thoughts, and his words of murder and destruction didn’t belong to him. Unlike Joshua, Luke was still an angel. There was no murder in his past, but if he had been there first…
I rubbed my eyes, forcing myself not to cry. I couldn’t even think about that, and I had to be strong for him.
“Joshua turned into a demon that morning,” Luke continued. “I found him kneeling in front of bones and ashes – yours and Elizabeth’s. We couldn’t tell them apart. All around you were dead bodies from Joshua’s rampage.”
I went to him and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight. My tears flowed freely now. I cried for all of us – for Elizabeth and Joshua, for me and Luke. This is where Luke’s sadness comes from – our tragic past.
“I fell on my knees right next to Joshua, and we stayed that way for a very long time … until the wind blew all of the ashes away. We buried the bones at the peak of Mount Everest. It was Joshua’s idea. He said Elizabeth would have liked to be buried there. There was snow, and you can look down at the clouds from there. I agreed with him at the time because I felt that I owed him for demolishing your town.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to comfort him.
He continued, “But through the years, I’ve been bitter. I realized that I should have been the one who killed them. I should have been the one who carried out your revenge, but I was too late even for that.”
I didn’t want this. I didn’t want his hatred to overwhelm him.
“I saw you praying earlier,” I said, reminding him of who he was and who I needed him to be - someone who still believed that there was a master plan… someone who no longer needed revenge.