Daughter of the Forest: Diary of an Assassin

by Edite L S Warren

  Someone or something was standing by the mango tree, in the shadows. I shouted “Who is there?” but the shadow didn’t move initially. Then the figure started moving towards the light. I looked at it, trying to figure it out. Then I saw it clearly. It was Emilia again!

  She was a strange girl, I could not understand her. I knew she was going to be an evil witch like her grandmother. She was grandmother’s favorite and she was born for that purpose.

  One morning when I thought everything was calm and peaceful on the farm, my oldest son came running to tell me that there was a camping site on the other side of my farm. I could not believe that was allowed to happen. I had killed many men in my time and I would kill many more if I had to before I died.

  I looked at my son and I asked him to stay at home, to protect his mother and the others. I intended on going to pay these people a visit. I dismounted my horse quietly some way from the camp site, where I could see them building a bungalow with chopped wood and bushes. It looked like they were determined to settle there.

  I took my rifle and I waited for the best moment, when the camp leader came down to the river. I had learned how to wait. When he came near to me, still some distance from the camp, I shot him. Then I moved his body. I could see the big hole through his head. Not a great sight, but that never bothered me. I moved his body to a place where the others could see it easily, then got back on the horse and I rode home to my family.

  I told Maria what had happened, and I asked if she’d be prepared to say that I never left home that day, in case the police came around.

  The days passed, and the rumour that the leader of the land invaders was dead had circulated, so they moved in another direction. No police came, and nobody ever talked about it anymore.

  After the political season ended, life got back on track and the community decided to build a small village called Rio Crespo. They said there must be a hospital, school and roads, as people were still dying with malaria because of the difficulty to get in to the city. After the village was built, life would be much easier for the people, but for me, that was sign of more trouble, more people, more curiosity and more men after my daughters. Marina, the one who ran way, I never saw again. But Julia, Judith and Joana, one of the twins and my last one, the little devil Emilia, were all still at home.

  I had to be more protective as the boys were growing up around us. They enlisted for the Amazon Army, but I didn't want them to go, as it would be a disaster for the farm. The law dictated that every young man at the age of 18 had to do their military service, but on the day of the test, I made sure my two boys didn't go.

  I locked them up, even though they wanted to go. I had this room in the house which I used to punish them, and this was a suitable time to do that. They wanted to be soldiers, what a stupid thing to do.

  I needed the boys on the farm. I said to them I would let them out only after they changed their minds, which didn't take long. My boys were always weaker than the girls. When I locked the girls up, Marina, Julia they never asked to be released. My girls were much stronger.

  My nightmare continued however. One night before Christmas, everyone from Maria’s side of the family decided to come for a visit. We decided to put them on the lounge floor with some blankets as we didn’t have enough beds. During the night I had one of the most terrifying nightmares I’d ever had. In my dream my little girl was killing me. I watched her pulling out a pocket knife and then cutting off my fingers one by one and making me eat them, pushing them down on my throat. I was paralyzed with fear and I couldn’t move. After she’d done that, she slashed my throat.

  I woke up and I couldn’t go back to sleep, as my head was hurting. I got up and went to her room to check on her, she was sleeping soundly, no threat to me. I pulled her blanket down; she looked sweet like a little angel sleeping. But as I was standing there looking at her, she opened her eyes and started screaming. I tried to cover her mouth and told her to calm down, but she bit my finger. I slapped her so hard that I nearly broke her neck.

  Everybody got up that night, I could hear them whispering and see them looking at me, accusing me of hurting and abusing Emilia . She was the devil, I was certain, but nobody could see it, only I. She came to destroy me, she was the reincarnation of a spirit her grandmother had called from the other side to destroy me, I could feel it.

  Firmina had taught her witchcraft from early age, she knew what Emilia was.

  After that day I started paying more attention to her, and I did everything I could to prevent her from harming me when I was sleeping.

  I received a letter from my old boss saying that he needed to see me urgently. I had to travel over Manaus to visit him, that he had a job for me and it was really important. This was good news for me and I could not wait to get there as I hadn’t seen him for a very long time.

  My kids were all grow up and they were responsible for the farm now, so I could travel there quite easily and be there with my boss in a few days. Spending time with my old boss would not make much difference to the farm work and I could be away from my young daughter who continued to disturb me.

  As the years passed the state where my boss lived had become more developed over time and to go to Manaus entailed an entire day on a boat. Upon arrival my boss would be waiting for me to take to his farm.

  He was a very secretive man and this time he did not talk very much. The passing years had made him even more sinister and silent. He had another young man working for him now. He was just like me when I was in my teens, curious and enthusiastic.

  My boss told me what my mission was. He wanted to make his neighbor disappear as his cows were breaking on to his land but the neighbor was doing nothing to stop them. Joseph had sent a few men there to warn him but it hadn’t worked and my boss felt he’d been insulted by this man.

  Joseph was getting tired and old, and the new guy was so full of himself. I didn’t like him one bit and things started getting really bad when Joseph asked me to take his new boy with me to teach him how to do the job properly.

  Of course I had to say yes as I couldn’t say no to Joseph. We got on our horses and rode to the boundary of the two farms. I saw the fence that was still broken and some cows that had entered inside of my boss’ property.

  We fixed the fence, but we kept the stray cows, as Joseph had suggested allowing a little time to see how his neighbor reacted. It didn’t take long. Later that night the dogs started barking and going crazy about something outside. I looked out the window and I saw the shadows of several men hiding behind the bushes. The moon was high in the sky and from the second floor we could see all around the house I signaled to my boss to tell him to hide, so we could sort it out.

  I saw one of the shadows moving, so I shot at it. There was a few seconds of silence before they started shooting at us. It was like a war zone! Bullets were flying over our heads and getting stuck in the walls. I had never been involved in something like this before and it felt strangely exciting.

  The new guy wanted to show off and he ran outside, completely ignoring my orders. I tried to stop him, but he didn’t pay any attention. He jumped through the window to the outside and before he got to a safe place, a bullet hit him in his chest and he fell to the ground.

  We carried on shooting, me and two other men. On the other side one of the men went down and two others then jumped on their horses and disappeared into the countryside. My boss appeared after it had calmed down and I had to tell him about the young lad.

  I never expected that it would be so hard on Joseph. Tears started running down on his face. He dropped to his knees, close to the lad’s body. I never thought I would see him like that. I didn't expect the death of one of his men would have such an effect on him. Once, a long time ago I was his favorite, but he never showed so much compassion to me or even his brother. Perhaps it was because he was getting old and more emotional.

  I looked on as he held the young man’s body tight to himself, the anger in his eyes plain for all
to see. He told me he wanted the man who had killed the boy alive, and he wanted him for himself.

  I was lost in the diary’s contents, as Lorin continued to read, but I desperately needed to use the toilet. “Stop! I need a wee,” I said, staring at the black book in Lorin’s hands with disgust, as I slipped off the bed. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back now.”

  “Hurry back, I’m getting tired of reading this damn thing,” Lorin replied, sinking down onto the pillow.

  CHAPTER 30

  The Devil’s Breath

  I CREPT BACK into the room, the candle flickering as I crawled back onto the bed.

  “Are you ready now?” Lorin asked.

  I nodded. “Let’s get it over and done with, so we can put the horrible diary away for ever,” I said.

  “Okay, here goes,” Lorin whispered, as he continued reading;

  Later when we were having a private conversation Joseph confessed to me that the young man was his only son. He was a result of a relationship between my boss and his maid, Juraci, who’d died few years back from malaria.

  Juraci told my boss that the boy was his son just before she died. Joseph had only one daughter as his wife could not have more children, and for him that young man was the most precious gift in the world, but now he was gone too.

  I understood after that the reason for the tears and anger. I had lost my son, and the hole in my heart was still hurting, so for me it was easy to understand. It meant that this job would be one special job for me, and I would do it to the best of my ability, employing all my skill.

  My boss slept well that night, whilst his men worked hard to clean up the mess outside. The following day some of the people who worked at Joseph’s big house were helping to prepare a decent funeral for the young man.

  I’d lost the count of how many bodies were buried on Joseph’s farm, how many lives he had taken. I had helped him with that, but I never saw myself as a serial killer or psychopath. I was just getting paid to assassinate. I was a hit man, I knew nothing else.

  Sometimes I enjoyed killing bad people, and if I was killing for a good reason. The money was a big part for me too. The money and the pleasure I took from my job, let’s put it like that.

  Two days later my boss called every-man on the farm for a meeting in his lounge. When I walked in, I immediately saw the darkness in his eyes. I’d never seen a man so full of anger and revenge in all my life.

  Joseph was a small man. He always wore a flat hat and had a fine moustache. He was sitting there with a Japanese adaga in his hand, saying he was going to use that knife, which was a present from his great grandfather. It had never been used before, but his plan was to get the man who killed his son and use the adage all over his body. We had a plan to get this man, but we needed time and patience. Everybody was anxious and wanted a blood bath. I knew with my experience that would not be possible. I told my boss to give me some time to put my plan into practice, but not to worry as he was definitely going to get his revenge.

  I told my boss to I knew the man who killed his son. He was the one who loved to go and spend time drinking and having fun with prostitutes in the town. If I were to be waiting for him to come out of the whorehouse at night, he would be an easy target.

  He agreed to leave things in my hands and took his men off the job for now. That same night I went in to Manaus to get some equipment I needed for the job. I had a friend in town that could provide me with anything. I needed some chloroform, so on my way back I could hide on the bumpy road close to the whorehouse and wait for my man.

  The moon was out, it was beautiful full moon. I thought about Emilia who loved being outside in the moon light. My little devil. I didn’t know why she came into my mind this night; perhaps it was some kind of signal?

  I got close to the house, and I could hear the party going on. I stopped and hid the horse in the bushes in the shade. I didn’t have to wait long; soon I heard his horse galloping towards me. I got in my position to bring the horse down but I had to stop and hide again because he was not alone. He had four men with him, which I hadn’t expected. I could not go home with empty hands; I had to get to him somehow, so I decided to wait outside in the dark, waiting until he went to bed with one of the girls.

  Luckily the back of the house proved to be easy to break in to. The music was loud and most of the people were drunk. I got inside and I hid in the master bedroom. The lady of the house didn’t take long to come in, she was old now. I remembered her from before; time had not been kind to her. She would have recognized me too from last time, when I was there without permission, having a great time. I decided to hide and grabbed her from behind. I covered her mouth with my hand and put my gun against her head. I asked her which bedroom the man I was looking for was in. She moved her head and looked at me, her eyes wide and scared. I asked her to not scream or it would be the end of her. She moved her head affirmatively. I pushed her away but continued pointing the gun at her. She told me he was in the bedroom on the left. Coincidentally it was the same bedroom I used before.

  I waited in her room until 3 A.M. by which time everybody was drunk and asleep. I went to his room with the master key the madam gave to me. When I walked in I could hear him snoring. He was cuddling a beautiful young lady. I took the chloroform from my pocket and poured some onto a tissue and then held the tissue over the girl’s nose. She did not move but she breathed it in. I did the same to him but I put a lot more on the tissue. I didn't want him to wake anytime soon. I then tied him up, and covered his head with a pillow case, but when I tried to move him out the bed, my problems started. He was a big guy and heavy as hell, so I left him there and went back to the old lady's bedroom. She was shocked to see me again. She pleaded with me not kill her, I told her to calm down I just needed her help.

  She went with me to where I’d left him, and with her grabbing his legs and I his shoulders, we managed to get him outside, where she helped me to put him on the back of the horse. I said thank you to her and gave her 30,000 cruzeiros, the money my boss had given me. He gave a lot money to me to do whatever I needed to do, to get that man, so it was only fair I gave some to her for helping me. I told her to close the place down and move somewhere else. She was too old for that life anyway. It actually made me realize that I was getting old too.

  I made my way back to St'Ana Farm, as the sun was nearly sun up and the man I captured was still sleeping on the back of my horse. I took him straight to the stable, as it was the best place to hide him, far away from the house.

  My boss knew immediately that I had done my job from just looking at me. He stood up and shook my hand. He asked me to go with him. He took me to his bedroom where he confessed that he could not bring himself to do the job himself, but he wanted to watch me doing it if I promised never tell anyone.

  My boss was clearly too old for the job, but for me it would be great since I had not done anything like this for several years and I was well out of practice. We both went to the stable; the man had been there all day, tied up and blind folded

  He shouted at us and called us pigs and said that his men would kill us and our families too. My boss just laughed and punched him so hard he fell over, still tied to the chair. Joseph found a comfortable position to sit down and watch me finish the man off. The first thing I did was to rip off his clothes, leaving him in his underpants. I thought this was the best way for him to die, with a bit of embarrassment.

  My boss told me he wanted no mercy, he wanted to see the man suffering to pay back what he done to his son. I thought about my young daughter again, the image of her cutting my fingers off and making me eat it them came to my mind. The nightmare I had was clear on my mind, so I knew exactly what to what I was going to do.

  My boss gave me his adaga and told me to use it slowly. I held the man's hand and I cut one of his fingers off. He screamed so loudly I had to put a potato in his mouth. I didn’t want the people on the farm knowing what we were doing.

  By the time I’d sliced the last of t
he man's fingers off, the blood was spurting everywhere. It was spraying on my clothes and all over his body. I looked at my boss, he was smiling, sitting with his hand under his chin seemingly enjoying the show. I removed the potato from the man's mouth and I put his own fingers down his throat and made him swallow them one by one.

  My boss laughed and told me my creativity was getting better with the age, but I knew that was not me. It had to be Emilia influencing me. I quickly had enough, and so I put an end to the man’s suffering quickly.

  The silence took over and I felt like a dark shadow was looking over me, and my heart was pumping fast. I stood there for a long time until the other men came over and cleaned up the mess. They then buried the body overnight, so the next day nobody would ever know what happened.

  My boss gave me 50,000 cruazeiros for the job and told me to go and look after my family and that I’d done a great job for him once again. I told him that it would be my last job, that I was feeling too old and tired of this life. He shook his head and gave me a big hug. He told me that I had done everything he’d asked for without questioning, and I been the best.

  I knew nobody ever left my boss. I knew it was a big risk, but I was too tired. I went back home, feeling relieved that I didn’t have to do any more of his jobs. I was just hoping I could retire without him killing me. I was fully aware of what had happened to all the others who had stopped working for him.