I Am Rosaline

The knock on the door was rather unexpected for this time of the evening. The young family sitting at the table looked at one another. Carl stood up and walked to the window and peered out to see who was at the door . He walked to the door to open it to a stranger standing on the doorstep. A rotund gentleman introduced himself as Harold Fredericks, the village scribe. He asked if he could have a few moments of their time.

“Please, do come in. We have just finished dinner, but we do have some hot biscuits and a pot of tea on the fire which you are welcome to share with us.” Carl held the door open and extended his hand in greeting. The scribe mumbled something inaudible to us, shook Carl’s hand and stepped through the doorway.

After the hot biscuits and tea had been placed before the scribe Carl asked, “Well, what is it we can do for you, sir?”

Everyone was sitting around the table and all eyes were on the scribe who started looking very uncomfortable. “I was wondering if it would be at all possible that just you and I could have this conversation?” he asked Carl.

“I have never seen the need to have discussions without my family present, sir. There is nothing I cannot say in front of my wife and children. So, I will ask you again, what it is we can do for you?” Carl said in his no-nonsense tone while his eyes never left the unexpected visitor’s face.

“Well, that is most unusual, but I will continue as to why I am here. You must understand that I am not here by choice. The other village council members elected me to visit you this evening.”

The scribe was visibly shaken and looked nervous. He picked up his cup of tea, his hand trembled so much that some tea spilled over the rim of the cup. He then removed a handkerchief from his top pocket and dabbed at the perspiration that had formed on his brow and upper lip.

“Ah, so you are here on council business? If it is about last week’s donation to the parish, I was unable to come into town so I will make a double donation this week. Is that why you are here, sir?” Carl knew full well, that the scribe was not here asking for last week’s donation and I could see that the whole family was gazing at the scribe with this same realization.

The family knew that there had been talk in town about their prosperity. There was always jealousy and grumblings, but they did not concern themselves too much about idle gossip.

“Well, no sir, not quite that. You see the council members have been getting a lot of complaints from the other villagers that there seems to be some sort of underhanded trading going on and we would really like to put a stop to it. I am sure you understand that all traders need to be treated equally.” The stranger slurped nervously at his cup of tea.

“Well, of course I agree with that. It just so happens that our crops are of a very good quality and we have a great variety too. We work very hard for what we sell so I hope that you are not suggesting that the complaints are founded and that there are underhanded or nefarious dealings going on from my farm?” Carl picked up his pipe and lit the tobacco and began puffing gently. Smoke rose in the air between the two men disguising Carl’s narrowed eyes and suspicion of Mr Fredericks.

The scribe went red in his face and stammered, “That is not what I am saying, sir. It is just that you know how people talk and there seems to be a rumour that your family may be adding something to the soil to make your crops grow larger than everyone else’s.”

“Adding what to the soil, exactly?” Carl, still puffing on his pipe, asked with the smallest hint of irritation in his voice.

“They, the villagers that is, have reported some of their animals have gone missing and two of the local drunks have disappeared and there seems to be some sort of suggestion that your family is in some way involved. Your wife and daughter are always getting books from the travelling salesman. Your daughter is also very beautiful and she has not yet been married off to a local lad. Sir, please understand that these are the concerns of the villagers and not mine. I was just chosen to come and talk to you and your family. You will need to answer these concerns before the villagers take matters into their own hands.” By now Harold was shaking visibly and the sweat was pouring down the sides of his face.

Carl rose from his chair and walked toward the fireplace where he picked up the poker to knock some logs about. I knew that this was a calming tactic. Anyone who knew Carl would know that he was quick to anger over ignorance. The change in his eye colour and the twitch in his jaw were also a giveaway.

“Mr Fredericks, what exactly are you saying? Missing animals and two missing local drunks! The fact that my wife and daughter read and that my daughter is not yet wed is of no concern to you or the rest of the village. If you are coming here to charge me with something, then please, I would appreciate it if you would be forthcoming and stop all of this beating around the bush.” Carl turned from the fireplace and his flashing gaze settled on Mr Fredericks.

The rest of the family looked toward Mr Fredericks as well and he looked from one family member to the next.

“They are accusing you and your family of witchcraft. The travelling salesman was questioned as to what your wife and daughter read and he stated that they requested books on herbs and medicine. Therefore they came to the conclusion that your family first started off with animals and then progressed to humans. Their mutilated bodies were crushed and worked into your soil, which has given you a far better crop than anyone else.” He made no effort now to hide his shaking hands and his eyes were so large they looked almost as though they would pop out of his head.

“Did it ever occur to the villagers that we are growing herbs and learning how, by the use of these books, to treat illnesses and injuries? We live far from any medical assistance and therefore required these books for study purposes. As far as our crops are concerned, has anyone ever come to ask me what is done to the soil before any seeds get planted? Mr Fredericks I am insulted that you come into my home and accuse my family of witchcraft merely because we have better crops than anyone else. My family and I work very hard for what we have and I will not have any man questioning our integrity and honesty. Do you see anything in my home that looks remotely like that of someone who is involved with what you call witchcraft? Have we not contributed fairly to the community in which we live? You can go back to your council and tell them what you have seen and heard and I will expect an apology to follow after that.” Carl walked towards the door and opened it and looked back at Mr Fredericks making it quite clear that the conversation was over.

“Sir, I cannot promise that the council will accept what I have to say, but I will do my best. You know that once a rumour has been started it spreads like wildfire and you will find it very difficult to sell your wares in the village. I think it would be best if you and your family move away from here before things get out of hand. Please, I did not want to do this, but most people have already judged you and your family. There are the odd few who will not believe such things of you, but they are not many. I still think that you and your family should move.” Mr Fredericks was standing by the door and his eyes kept darting into the dark beyond the doorway.

As Mr Fredericks made the last suggestion Carl, with speed and agility, grabbed the little fat worm by the collar, stared into his eyes and whispered so forcefully Mr Fredericks legs buckled, “GET. OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE. AND. OFF. MY. PROPERTY!”

I stood watching this scene with a heavy feeling in my chest and when a very wobbly Mr Fredericks, the fat little toad, started sweating up a storm again I moved out of the house to stand next to the window. I heard the voices before I was able to see them and I moved off further into the shadows beside a large tree.

With the door open I could see Carl silhouetted in the doorway and then I saw Mr Fredericks be unceremoniously tossed out. By then the voices had died down and the torches were doused. Why were they waiting or what were they waiting for? I edged closer to where the villagers were crouched down behind some dense foliage. I could make out the shapes of the villagers and saw that they had brought along sticks, clubs and axes. What did they think was going to happen? That the family inside the house were going to turn into dragons with wings? How crazy was this? A normal family working hard and doing their best at surviving was singled out as what, occultic worshippers? If anything, I do remember that Pagans worshipped Mother Earth and had their own Goddesses. It was still unnerving to have this knowledge and not know where it came from. I sighed and quietly stayed where I was near the big tree. I had to find answers and the only way was to move closer to the persecutors crouched like a bunch of cowards behind bushes.

“She said that she saw them all sitting in a circle and they were chanting and she said she could have sworn that she saw a ram’s head in the middle of the circle. That is what she said and I believe her!” A man in his mid thirties was gesticulating with the club in his hands.

Oh, my God! That was it! I was right! Their forward thinking had drawn attention to them and the unreasonable jealousy of the less hardworking. In this area there were no highly educated people. The family wasn’t aristocracy and had no business knowing how to read or write, let alone be as successful as they were with farming. It was difficult to conceive that something as simple as that would lead to their downfall. I had to get closer so that I could hear more of what was being said.

There was a murmur from the group of villagers and an elderly woman stepped forward “What was your sister doing out here so late at night? This place is far from your own home and your sister has not been living with you for all that long, so how does she know her way around these forests and woodlands?”

Oh, thank goodness! Someone had some brains and was asking the right questions.

“I told you! Erica was looking for her dog that had wandered off and she did say that she got a bit lost. We were very lucky that she managed to find her way back home unharmed and might I remind you that her dog has never been found! As to how long my sister has been living with me is none of your business. Just because she is my father’s bastard child does not mean that she has no place in my home.” The man with the club stepped up close to the old lady and spoke into her face with an angry hiss.

Unrelenting, the elderly lady replied, “If you can extend that kind of courtesy to a bastard child no one ever knew of until a few months ago, then surely we can extend that exact same courtesy to the Courtney family that you are so eager to persecute!”

My heart skipped a beat and I looked closely at the elderly lady. She looked familiar. I moved a little closer to the group and the elderly lady turned slightly to look directly at me. I stopped dead in my tracks. Surely she couldn’t see me? I gazed into her old eyes and became convinced that I knew her.

“If you like them so much, why don’t you join them? Or are you defending them because you are one of them? You must decide now, old woman, because I will not stand by and lose money because evil witches are doing only God knows what in their home and putting unholy things into their soil. How do we know that their vegetables are not poisoning us?” The man with the club made the sign of the crucifix and then angrily pushed the elderly lady closer to the little house with encouraging murmurs and nodding of heads from the rest of the group.

Just then Mr Fredericks came walking towards the group as the door to the little house closed.

The man with the club forgot about the elderly lady and turned his attention to Mr Fredericks. “Well, what did he say?¨ There was a moment’s silence as Mr Fredericks stood with a blank expression on his face, just staring at the man before him. ¨Come on now, Mr Fredericks, you can tell us what happened. Did you see anything incriminating in their house? You can tell us. We need to find a solution to our problem.”

I was about to move even closer, when the elderly woman moved herself into my path and said loudly, “I will not be a part of this nonsense. This is an innocent family and you are all placing this family’s life on the words of a young woman, your sister Erica, whom has only recently joined the village.” She stood with her hands on her hips in a defiant gesture and looked the man with the club straight in the eye.

“Like I said before, old woman, feel free to join them. My sister is an honest and upstanding woman. Erica has done nothing wrong. All she has done is forward information to me without even knowing this family. Erica just happened to mention that this family seems to be prospering much more than anyone else. If anything, she opened my eyes to what is going on here.”

The crowd began pushing forward towards the little house. The villagers started lighting their torches once more as they moved forward.

I felt rooted to the spot. They were taking the law into their own hands and judging and prosecuting this family without just cause.

I couldn’t bring myself to stand and watch the scene unfold before me. I looked for the old lady and saw her quite far off to the one side of the house. She had her hands pressed to her mouth and was staring in my direction. It looked as though she was trying to say something. I walked towards her and was almost convinced she could see me. I was a few feet away from her when I heard glass breaking. I spun around to see that someone had thrown a torch through the little window next to the door. I gasped and looked back at the old woman. She was still standing with her hands covering her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks. How could this be happening?

I looked back at the house. I was amazed at how quickly the fire spread and the fact that not a single sound came from the house. I turned to see the old lady moving off into the forest. She had taken her hands away from her mouth and was backing off into the darker recesses of the surrounding forest.

The crowd standing in front of the little burning house had become silent. There wasn’t even a murmur from the man with the club. It appeared as though a realization was setting in as to what they had done. A couple moved off back along the path they had followed.

I moved away to follow the old lady, but when I looked for her, she was nowhere to be seen. I ran towards where she had been standing and heard a rustle in the brush. The sound was drowned out by noise as the roof of the little house came crashing down.

I was torn between following the old lady and staying to see if there was anything I could do once the rest of the crowd had dispersed.

It felt as if there was a large rubber band around my chest pressing my rib cage inwards. I decided to follow the old lady because the rest of the crowd was not moving off fast enough. Two men had gone to the shed and a woman had already started dragging the milking cow out of its enclosure.

As I ran around a large red oak tree I saw the old lady. She was carrying something, or someone. It had to be someone from the house because there was smoke billowing around her. I was almost right next to her when I saw that she was carrying one of the boys. His hair was singed and his face was black with soot. He didn’t seem to be breathing. She rushed silently along a small pathway that was illuminated by the moon and stars and I was amazed at her strength and athleticism. The child she was carrying was missing a shoe, and the arm I saw hanging had been burnt as well as his clothing. How on earth did she get him out of the burning house?

I heard a loud crashing noise behind me and I knew that the house had fallen in completely. I wondered if the villagers had seen the blocks that the family were making so that they could build a new house for themselves. I was appalled and enraged at these villagers who destroyed this family for no reason whatsoever. The stories from an unreliable bastard sister that the man with the club hadn’t known about before? What was her name again? Erica?

Then it hit me like a powerful shock to my stomach. Erica! Erro! They must be one and the same! I pushed these thoughts aside. The old lady had reached a road that was obviously used frequently. She put the little boy down and edged closer to the side of the road. She looked up and down the road a few times, obviously to make sure that no one was approaching. I took a closer look at the little boy. His little face had clearly been burnt and almost all of his blonde hair had been singed. His clothing was hanging from his little body in tatters and that was when I noticed a small movement in his chest. I moved closer and lay my hand on his chest. I could feel a heartbeat. He moved his head and his swollen eyes opened. He looked directly at me and tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse from inhaling smoke. As I moved closer to him I heard the old lady return. I stepped back and looked at her. She looked down at the young boy and then looked me in the eyes and said “Take solace in the fact that one boy survived.”

I was shocked by what she said. I had heard these words before and that is when I started to cry. I sat down on the ground and put my head in my hands and cried. I cried for the stupidity of it all - for the loss of young lives and their hopes and dreams. I sobbed so hard I thought that I would stop breathing. My body was shaking and I literally howled out the pain that I was feeling. I felt like such a failure. I felt that in some way I could have done something to save this family, my family. I wanted to find this Erro and drive a stake through her gut! How could she do this to me? How could she do this to my young family? I did not think for a minute that it was going to be this hard and this painful.

Erro’s weakness was her ego! Her lies and manipulation were her swords and she wielded them like a true professional.

I had made up my mind. Feed her ego and then crush her beneath the heel of my boot! I will play her game and I will beat her at it too!

I had to prepare myself for what was to come.