Bewitching Their Hearts

Chapter One

Sang's POV

For months now the tension in Salem has been at an all-time high. I've watched as friends turned into enemies, families torn apart, and lives destroyed. People are seeing witches in every dark corner and back alley, I find myself hesitant to leave my house for fear I will fall victim to this hysteria as well. Although being home doesn't make me feel much safer. For as long as I can remember, my mother has had a fear of leaving the house. She is always telling me how men cannot be trusted, they are in league with Satan and if I were to go outside I would be raped and murdered. My mother believes that the tavern and brothel on the outskirt of town had led men down a path of sin and straight into the arms of Satan. I don't believe her though; I can't believe that every man could turn from Our Lord.

"Sang!" My mother's shrill voice pierces through my thoughts.

Sighing to myself I hurry down the stairs to her room. She has been sleeping all afternoon so I'm not sure how her mood is.

Stepping into the dark and musty room, I see her sitting up in bed. Her dark hair is greasy and tangled with knots, her face pale and gaunt, and her nightshirt hanging off her frail body. Looking up, I see her glaring at me.

"Where were you today?" she demanded.

"Upstairs in my room," I reply staring at the floor.

"Have you finished your chores?" "Yes mother, I cleaned the house and dinner is ready. It is staying warm on the hearth" I tell her.

"Good" she says, "now go to your room, I don't want to see you for the rest of the night."

Quickly I back out of the room and make my way upstairs. Luckily, today had been one of her good days and I was able to escape punishment. My mother has always been a very strict and religious woman but when I was 8 she seemed to get worse. Father brought a doctor home to see mother after one of her screaming fits. Mother refused any treatment from the doctor; she believed God would heal her. Unfortunately, she believed that in punishing me she would be healed. Father was a traveling merchant and was gone most of the time which ment Marie and I were given the responsibility of taking care of mother.

Stepping into my room I look around at the barren space. A small bed, a desk, and a bureau are all that I have. Peering out the window I look towards the center of town where the witch jails are. A shudder runs through me as I think about all those poor people kept in there. Each cell is open to the outside so that everyone who walks by can see who is in there. Even now there is a small crowd gathering in front of the cells yelling insults and throwing rotten food at the people inside.

It saddens me to think how far we have fallen in this town simply by the words of 4 girls. All it took were those girls to send Salem into frenzy. A few months ago Jade, Danielle, Kaylie, and Mercy started screaming that they were being tormented by spirits. Whenever they got near someone they would start screaming and fall to the ground shaking. Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong and eventually they attributed it to witchcraft. With Salem being a Puritan town and extremely religious, you can imagine how everyone reacted to that. Suddenly everyone was depending those four girls to save our town.

I am not sure if I completely believe them however. I grew up with those girls; I know how they really are. They love being the center of attention and bullying those they see as weak or below them. I have been on the receiving end of their bullying and have seen how manipulative they can be. They are able to wrap any male around their finger and still seem sweet and innocent in front of the rest of the town. While I am sure that their souls are as black as night and the perfect place for Satan to take up residency, I don't believe that is what is truly happening here. I have noticed them often huddled together whispering to each other while watching certain people in town. Coincidentally, those same people are later accused and arrested. Many of the people arrested have had bad run-ins with these girls at least once before and yet no one finds this questionable.

Looking around my sparse bedroom, I decide I can't spend another minute in it. Luckily my bedroom window looks out over an overhang which helps me climb out and lie down on the roof under the stars. Over the years of living here, I have become very good at sneaking out so my mother won't know I'm gone and many times I have fallen asleep out on the roof. Looking up at the stars I can't help but think that maybe tomorrow will bring some hope of a better future for us here.