The Witch Woman's Prophecy

21 | Soni's Home |

Farlan reached up to Soni's headscarf and tugged at it. 'Take this off!' He demanded. 'I want to see you properly.'

This was the moment I'd been longing for. I was finally about to see her face. When she had been occupied with other matters, I'd spent a lot of time gazing at her wondering what she looked like beneath her scarf. Her dark eyebrows told me that her hair must also be dark. Her large brown eyes drew me in whenever she looked at me and I knew that she must be beautiful. I could not stop myself from smiling in anticipation.

Soni's shoulders drooped and she sighed softly. She closed her eyes, turned away from me and began to unwind her scarf, pulling out its tucks and folds. The deep blue fabric uncoiled from her straight, black hair which tumbled down her back almost to her waist. When she had removed the cloth completely she turned back to face me again with her eyes still closed.

I could not stifle a shocked gasp.

The right side of Soni's face was puckered and had the texture of wax that had melted and solidified. The scars went from below her right eye down across her cheek and pulled up the right corner of her mouth. The scarred skin was mottled white, pink and red, the skin on the left side of her face was brown and smooth. It was almost unkind that one side of her face had been left untouched, for it showed how she would have looked without whatever misfortune had befallen her, and she would have been as beautiful as I imagined.

So this was why she wore the scarf all the time. Revulsion, shock and pity filled me all at once and I gaped at her. This was the moment she opened her eyes and looked straight into mine. I blushed and looked down at the floor, my cheeks flaming. I knew what she had seen in my eyes and how it must have hurt her.

Then a further flush of shame burned my cheeks as I realised she would think me rude for not looking at her at all, so I glanced back up at her in time to catch her expression. Her mouth drooped as much as it was able. Her eyes were half closed and she wiped her sleeve across them. Her shoulders slumped as though a heavy weight had been placed on them.

Farlan carried on talking throughout. Unable to think of anything to say to break the silence between Soni and me, I was grateful that his happy chatter covered my awkwardness. Soni sighed again and opened a door. 'Come this way, Thamet,' she said in a voice so low that it was barely louder than a whisper.

She showed to a bedroom.

'This will be your room while you stay here. Please change out of your robe and wash before joining the family.' She indicated some clean clothes that were folded up on the bed.

'Put your clothes in the corner. Umae will collect them and wash them for you later. Farlan will wait outside and show you to the family room.' She left and closed the door softly behind her.

I was grateful to take off the clothes I had worn ever since I left the farm, wash away the grime and sweat of travelling and then put on the clean robe laid out for me. I felt so content to be wearing something soft and fresh smelling that I sighed in ecstasy and stretched out my arms to free the tension in my shoulders. As I settled the robe more comfortably the fastening of my necklace caught on the fabric, came open and dropped to the floor with a clang. I picked it up and as I twisted the fastening back into place, I wondered whether it really had belonged to my birth father and what he had been like. I hung it back around my neck where its warm solid weight against my chest was comforting.

'Papa and Momma want to meet you,' Farlan said with a bright smile when I came out of my room. He seized my hand and pulled me along corridors and through an open door which led into a bright room with wide doors that opened onto a garden. A middle-aged couple rose to greet me with hand over heart bows. Both were dressed in rich robes that gleamed in the sunlight.