That was the first thing she heard when she saw the child being born, bright eyes watching as the new baby was passed between hands when suddenly it was put aside in a wooden basket, many pairs of eyes staring at it in fright. They all spoke of killing the child, until a voice reminded them that perhaps that would be even worse. Hushed voices, voices she didn't understand, all aimed towards the new baby. Her tiny hands touched the frame of the door, feet arching and trying to help her see into the basket. What was this frightening baby? Wasn't he just a baby? She heard his cries, they sounded normal. He was still crying. He was just a baby, right? Why were they sta-
'Get out child! Shoo!'
- - - - - - - -
She had not seen the baby in years since the night she was frightened off. She heard rumors of a strange child within the Elder's house, a child who watched from the shadows when you entered. A child confined in a room no one was allowed within. Sometimes, when she walked by the house, she heard a strange, echoing laughter. It was terrifying, a noise of a mad man, yet it sounded lonely. She wanted to turn around and help, yet every single time she ran.
Then came the ritual.
The streets were dark, littered with candles and lanterns. She wanted to leave, however her parents shoved her inside, hushing her. Instead, she peeked at the window, eyes wide with shock as she saw every single house doing the same. Children plastered to the windows, parents stepping outside of their houses, standing infront of the doors. The sound of an instrument being played sent shivers down her spine, a strange melody ripping down the street and invading the houses. It was growing closer, a strange, jumping tune playing as three figures appeared out of the darkness.
It was the Elders, hands firmly holding a small child's arms. The child was hunched over, feet dragging as the Elders pulled him forward. Adults cried out, though not to protect the child. She could swear they were screaming to murder him.
'Burn him!'
The child was tossed like a sack onto the middle of the towns square, the small body rolling across the ground and colliding into a pot, limply laying there. He was left there as the people cried and screamed at the Elders, and they too simply stood in place. It was horrid, she decided, and without thinking threw her window open and crawled out despite her parents protests.
She darted, heading straight for the towns square and towards the long haired boy, tiny hands trembling as she heard the Elders scream at her to stop. She didn't. No one would approach once she reached the boy, frightened to touch the child now that her hands touched the boys shoulders. The boy was breathing, hands twitching and laying flat against the ground when her hands touched his back. The hands balled, pressing him up, pressing his body upright and facing her, long hair covering his face. She could swear she almost saw strange eyes, though his hair covered them before she could see.
Her hands reached out, sliding under his hair and touching soft, cold cheeks. She felt tears, fresh and spilling into her hands. She could feel his jaw tremble, his hands raising to touch hers. His entire body trembled, hands gripping hers tightly. One of her hands slipped away, moving towards his hair and beginning to lift.
The boy let out a piercing scream, echoing and sounding as if there were two voices in one, trembling at two different octaves. In seconds, before she could lift his hair, the boy was ripping himself away, hands releasing her as his terrible scream shivered and echoed throughout the entire town. Adults screeched in terror, some lunging to grab the girl from him. Some moving to grab him. The Elders leapt towards the boy, moving to grab, when suddenly everything went quiet, except for an eerie hollow and echoing laugh.
The boy vanished.
She was locked within her house as the bells chimed. As rain poured and the adults ran looking for the child she was left alone inside a barely lit house, the candles almost at their dying point. She was left to watch as the adults screamed in terror, as at times they pointed towards her house, accusing and screeching and slamming fists into one another. For hours she was left alone, until sleep overcame and she curled by the door, hands digging into the wood as she shivered against the cold.
Briefly, she remembered feeling something touch her cheek, something being whispered in a strange garbled fashion into her ear. Something that sounded strangely close to 'thank you' as the feeling of warmth overcame her. She awoke to being covered in a blanket, eyes locking on the sight of a puddle of water directly beside her. As if someone had been sitting beside her after leaving the rain. Tiny hands clutched the blanket tight to her form, bright eyes closing to block out the screams and accusations and fear that were beyond her door, focusing on the blanket only.
She never saw the boy again.
