My Infatuation With Death

Chapter 7 : The Weeping Girl

Perspective : Acheri (Monster)

[This is a narration from a monster's point of view, she was human once, but being a monster for centuries, sometimes makes her forget her former identity, you would often see those in this narration, she is a true monster, only memories inside her are human]

"Oh dear you must be freezing, come over here".

He called me towards him.

(Why does he always do this, is he not aware of who I am?)

(Or is he just insane?).

No one, except this human does this.

(Why?)

Every time someone saw me, they would shoot arrows and strange orbs at me.

So, when he first approached, It was a new experience for me.

Besides, I didn't like humans because they were greedy and evil. They were even worse than monsters. They believed their actions and discrimination against others were justified by gods. But we monsters knew nothing about these gods.

Some of them are kind but those are easily corrupted. They would stick to hollow notions of self justification, to do unspeakable deeds.

And yet this one was different, I could sense warmness in him.

The kind of warmth that was alien to me.

He comes here everyday and offers me things that I don't really need, he would offer me food, blankets and meat.

But most of all he would play with me. I hadn't been able to speak, ever since I dawned this form and yet it seemed he understood me.

It's not that I was totally alien to the concept of "human". After all I was a human myself.

That's why I knew that this human's behaviour was dangerous.

Numerous other monsters had warned me countless times about him, but I couldn't help it. The delicious meal he always brought along was simply irresistible. His name was Patrick Cromwell, from what I gathered from his occasional companions. He happened to be the offspring of a wealthy noble. Perhaps he was so pampered that his father failed to teach him to steer clear of monsters.

We used to meet in a forest, nestled between the snowy mountains of Ustrax.

We used to meet once in every three days, but for some reason his visits had now, became more regular.

Whenever I saw him, a gentle warmth would envelope my chest, a feeling that I had forgotten long ago, now it had resurfaced along with my memories.

The memories of a past long buried inside me.

............................... Past .....................................

The memories take me back to a time when this desolate expanse of snowy tundra was still considered home by a handful of people, including myself.

However, as many centuries had passed after my death, I couldn't remember the name of my village.

It was a humble shanty village where the residents relied on hunting for their livelihood.

I used to live with my grandma and parents. My grandma took care of me while my parents went to their nearby church for daily prayers. My parents were very religious, so they spent most of their's time worshiping their god at the Church of the Silent Winds.

My Grandmother used to feed me and tell stories. I still remembered the scent and warmth of her body when she used to take care of me.

One day due to an Illness, my grandmother had already been suffering from, she passed away.

After my Grandmother's passing, I began to see the true nature of my parents.

Initially, things seemed ordinary as my parents occasionally forgot to feed me , but I thought it was manageable. However, as time passed, their obsession with getting closer to God grew stronger. They started involving me in various rituals that made my body hurt.

Once they embedded the back of my neck with a hook, which hurt like hell, then, I was left bleeding but it wasn't the end.

I could never forget those days,

They pierced my navel and ears, but unfortunately, their attempts were not as skillful as they believed. This resulted in a severe infection that caused me daily pain. They even made me walk on pins at one point. Each day brought a new form of torture.

And sometimes,

I had to go hungry for days.

Their road to enlightenment was taxing my very soul. I soon began to hate people.

My life became filled with dispair and suffering.

I told them to stop many times but they would just say,

"Through only suffering one could attain true enlightenment".

They would preach about their holy ideals to me, which became more crazier as the days went by.

My relief came one day in the form of their deaths, my parents with some of their insane rituals gone wrong, perished.

I was hungry, but a sense of relief grew on me, because there were no more tortures awaiting me.

For several days, I laid on the freezing floor of the stable where I used to sleep. I was incredibly hungry and suffocating, all the while eagerly waiting for it all to come to an end. As the weeks passed by, my body, unable to endure any longer, began to rot while I remained alive. The excruciating pain was indescribable as my hands grew stiff and I could feel my insides melting within my stomach. Finally, after enduring a seemingly endless and agonizing day , I found peace. The eternal darkness I had longed for, had finally been attained.

Centuries later, my eyes opened once again.

I was in a snowy dark forest, I assumed, I was finally in the afterlife, but little did I know there was no afterlife for me.

As the wind gently brushed against my face, caressing my hair, I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity.

It didn't take long for me to realise, that I was indeed near my home, only it seemed changed, perhaps by the toll of time.

My old village, now was completely secluded from the rest of the world. Covered by a snowy dark forest.

I traversed through the forest for what seemed like an eternity. The trees appeared to twist and contort, forming an intricate labyrinth that seemed impossible to navigate

While, passing by the entrance to my village, I came across a frozen pond. As I glanced at my reflection, an overwhelming wave of terror washed over me. To my surprise, my hands and nails appeared unnaturally elongated, resembling those of a creature. The reflection in my eyes seemed to resemble that of a feline, while my body appeared to be covered in scales resembling fish scales. I felt a deep sense of revulsion and quickly retreated, stumbling and falling onto the snowy ground.

(What ... the?)

(Is that me?)

Then out of nowhere I heard a voice, the voice of my parents, beckoning me, calling me towards them. Even though It was terrifying, I tracked the voice.

As I ventured towards my former village, I discovered a desolate sight. The only sound that pierced the silence was the hauntingly eerie whistle of the wind seeping through the worn-out homes once inhabited by a cult driven by the pursuit of Immortality. However, as I stood there, I couldn't shake the feeling of a malevolent presence surrounding me. It almost seemed as though it was urging me to leave and let it be.

So I left.

Ever since then, I don't know for how long it's been, I started to call this forest my home, and they started to call it my lair, averting wanderers and passersby from my village, through my singing.

[This forest is now known as the "Weeping Forest".]

I encountered various other monsters during my stay, yet they chose to keep their distance, leaving me feeling lonely. In an attempt to alleviate my loneliness, I would cautiously approach travelers, but their fear-driven reactions would quickly drive me away. Soon I stopped caring and just observed, untill this one found me In my forest and had mistaken me for a little girl.

(Doesn't he notice my scales and fangs, guess his skill of obliviousness far overpowers his sense of danger)

And soon he found out who or what I was.

But he still kept coming.

Not long after, I became attached to this human, his warmth reminded me of my time with my Grandmother.

..................................... Present. ..........................................

"Come here".

He was still calling me. I approached him.

He warmly embraced me, tenderly caressing my head. It felt comforting . He fed me milk and assured me,

"Don't fret, you won't have to remain here any longer. I'll bring you to my own home."

With a gentle touch of his finger to my nose, he remarked,

"It's warm, and you'll find all the food you want." Though he treated me as a pet, I had no qualms.

Then,

He carefully placed me into his bag,

he said,

"Now, stay quiet."

With a smile on his face which felt strangely reassuring.