The Children Of Sins

LILIUM3

   The Woman looked as beautiful as ever. She was lying peacefully on the bed, her eyes closed. It had been ten years, but she showed no sign of waking up. The village called her a witch. Nobody wanted to sell them any food or medicine. The Man never really left her side in all those years. Both the Man and the child would have starved to death if not for their neighbour. She secretly gave them food she bought from the market. Vanrick found company in the books she lent him since she never allowed him to leave the house.

One day, the kind old lady was executed. In a letter to Vanrick, she wrote that all her 749 books were now his. She also left some money. There was no more food. The money couldn't buy them anything. The Man talked to the slumbering Woman all day and every day. He washed her and sang her songs. He stroked her hair and kissed her. He did everything for the Woman but nothing for Vanrick. He never put food on the table. It had been this way for ten long years and it was not going to change. They were going to die.

Death, similarly to life, did not have much of an impact on Vanrick. He hated the Woman, but he loved the Man. He did not want the Man to die. Venturing into the Forest, Vanrick collected leaves and fruits that looked edible. Sometimes, they tasted terrible, but it was better than nothing. When desperate, he would steal bread from the market, not without suffering a couple of bruises.

Soon, he learned to set traps in the river and caught small fishes. Vanrick never had the courage to take a life and cut through its meat, but he did it for the Man.

The blood on his hands, as red as the pendant that hung around his neck, was nothing compared to his desire to keep the Man alive.