Page 16 of Souls We Rip

“Tell me, peasant, with what hand does your father strike?”

I swallowed, leaving my mouth dry. My eyes roamed over my father’s face, who realised the imminent danger. I turned my head towards my mum and sister, whose pale faces told me I had made a horrendous mistake.

“Answer me, woman, or I will take both of you!” it roared as its scythe floated near my father’s body. The Goat Man tilted its head, eyeing me up and down.

Swallowing, I snapped my head again to my mum and Angelica. Gavril joined them, his hands holding my sister’s shoulders.

“With his right hand…” I whispered.

In the next moment, the scythe cut through my father’s right shoulder, his arm falling on the grass. His scream mixed with my mum’s and sister’s howls, making my head hurt.

Blood was dripping from my father’s shoulder, staining the fresh, burnt grass, colouring it in crimson. He fell to his knees. As much as I wanted to go to him, my feet would not budge. It was as though I was glued to the ground, unable to move or make a sound.

My father’s continuous screams pierced the meadow, shattering my heart. My hands stretched towards him, but they were pushed back with such force, I thought I might lose them.

“Hmm, he does look better than before, I might say,” the Goat Man’s whisper crawled on my body, making my knees buckle. “Come, peasant! I will not end you here. Your mother is already distressed.”

I was pushed by the air to move backwards, my eyes glued to my suffering father, sobs threatening to wreck my chest.

The Goat Man saddled up, twisting the reins of the horse. As I was pushed by the breeze, my body floated to the saddle. My long dress was shoved to my thighs, exposing the skin I was trying to hide every day.

I grabbed the saddle ends and gritted my teeth.

“Wave your family goodbye, peasant! An eternity of suffering awaits you,” the Goat man whispered, its force moving my face to my mum and sister.

Gavril was trying to take both out of there, but my mum pushed past him and ran to my father.

That was the last time I saw them as I was.

The horse neighed once and galloped across the meadow. My fingers turned white from the force of holding the harsh leather, my heart breaking with each breath.

My mum’s screams reached me, and my eyes closed in prayer. For my ending to be painless, for my mum and sister to find their peace, and for my father to change his heart.

“Those words have no power in my world, peasant,” The Goat Man shouted. Its voice was carried over the houses and people who watched us from their porches.

I dipped my chin to my chest. What happened to me felt like a picture movie, one that Teacher Alexandru showed me and some other youngsters from the village.

Everything was moving fast. Time was ageing my soul.

Ready to be ripped.

The Goat Man

I had to put her to sleep.

Her crying was annoying me. All those screams and wailing, and for what?

For a man who abused her and her family?

And when I heard her praying for him, I had to mask my amusement with a shout.

I rolled my eyes and urged my horse to move faster as dawn approached and the first step of my plan was complete.

But I had a way to reclaim the soul I lost today.

Even if I drenched the blood of the man who had wanted to marry the woman behind me, I just couldn’t stand his face, nor the way he looked at her, as if she were dirt on his already muddy boots.

The human’s head rested against my back, a faint floral scent drifting to my nostrils. I sniffed, not disgusted by it.