Shivam followed the moaning through the night. As he walked deep into the pines, far away from Josh's shack where the boy was still sleeping like a log, the sound of a female's crying grew sharper, a strange melancholic sound, telling of unimaginable agony. A person who could cry like this must be on the verge of losing her mind, Shivam thought.
Shivam walked on, but couldn't see anyone. The moon had been shrouded by thick black clouds, the air smelled of coming rain. There was no breeze, only sudden damp gusts scattered pine leaves on the ground. Shivam thought he saw black shapes moving behind some bushes. More wolves, maybe. He didn't care--he walked on, hypnotized by the crying and the moaning, a hapless figure trudging through a dark dream.
It started drizzling, but Shivam was not dettered. Fat rain drops slicked his hair and began to soak his clothes, yet he walked on. He felt an inexplicable urge of helping whoever was crying in this godforsaken place. The rain only sharpened his senses, if anything, and he thought he could see a dark figure seated below a tree. Yes, a woman...and...could it be? Was she wearing a Saree?
Shivam approached the woman with caution. He had no way of knowing whether she was dangerous or not. The possibility that she could be a demon or something like that floated through his mind, but he ignored it.
When Shivam finally reached the woman who was crying steadily in the rain, he was stunned into silence by her beauty. Her long, black hair had reached the ground and was sprawled on it. Her deep, sharp eyebrows curved gently above her electric blue eyes, which sparkled with magic. Her lips had the colour of roses, and as she was sobbing and breathing through her mouth, Shivam saw her tongue and perfectly shaped white teeth. Her nose might have made Cleopatra shy, her cheekbones and her jaw might have driven Greek Gods crazy. She appeared to be in her early twenties.
She was wearing a black saree on her slender figure, the aanchal of which was in danger of slipping away from her black blouse. The raindrops glistened on her shoulders and the exposed side of her waist. There was a queer sensation in Shivam's stomach as he looked at her.
She had stopped her crying, and was looking at Shivam with surprise. "Who are you?" She asked.
"I could ask you the same question," Shivam asked, managing to avert his gaze from her waist.
"Get away from here," the young woman said.
"But I mean no harm. Who are you? Why were you crying? I can help..." Shivam said. Oh really, Shivam? You meet a sexy lady in a forest in the middle of the night under a drizzle and you just act normal and want to help her? He thought self-critically.
"They killed everyone. Ravaged and killed. Everyone. My family. Friends. Everyone..." The woman said, and broke down completely. Her shrill crying pierced the night sky, as her entire being shook uncontrollably from her whimpering. Shivam sat down beside her, and after a few moments of indecision, put his right arm around her shoulders.
"It's okay...it's okay...that's enough now..." Shivam tried to control her. His stomach still felt queasy. Maybe it's me who should worry about getting under control, Shivam thought bitterly.
"It was them," the lady continued, "the Infernos. They attacked our home, our home that you people call the Witches' Haunt. We tried to ff..ff..fight them...bb..bbut..." She broke down in tears again.
Shivam remained silent, letting her cry. Witches' Haunt? God knew what was that?
Eventually, the lady got herself under some control, and continued: "Our magic didn't work at all on the Infernos. They killed us easily, those butchers. My sisters were killed in front of me...and I could do nothing. I ran, and somehow amidst all the chaos and confusion they didn't notice me running away...." The lady stopped talking and buried herself in her grief and silence. Shivam didn't know what to say. Everyone he met in 'Heart' seemed to have hurts in their tragic lives. What was wrong with this place?
"Blikrot," the lady muttered softly, as if in answer to the question in Shivam's mind. "I want to kill Blikrot," she said.
"Listen, you...what's your name?" Shivam asked.
"Tiyasha," she said.
"Okay, Tiyasha, my name is Shivam. You don't have to sit here in the rain. Come with me, we have a shack. A young boy is sleeping there. We can shelter ourselves there."
"Hmm, I have seen the boy. I stole his fish in the afternoon. What could I do? I was so hungry..." Tiyasha said.
"You could have befriended him instead," Shivam said.
"Not everyone is as brave as you, young man. A boy would just run away after seeing me. I'm a witch after all..." Tiyasha said. Shivam didn't ask her how would Josh have found out that she was a witch. Maybe he would get a weird answer like "all witches wear sarees" or something.
"It's okay, he won't be afraid of you if you come with me," Shivam said.
"Really?" Tiyasha asked hopefully.
"You aren't going anywhere, my lovely," a rasping voice said, and then four men, dressed like warriors, came into sight from behind the pines, accompanied by four gigantic greyhounds in leashes.
One of these men turned towards Tiyasha, his mouth drooling. "Look at you," he said. "You look much tastier than your sisters."
The Infernos had tracked Tiyasha down, after all.
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Author's Note
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Howdy!!
What do you think of the Witch in the Black Saree?
A Saree, as you probably know, is a traditional Indian apparel used by women. The "aanchal" is a part of the saree that covers the upper half of the body and is also thrown back over the left shoulder.
I hope my descriptions aren't too lousy. :P
But don't forget to tell me what you think of this chapter! Please vote if you enjoyed it :D