"Hey, w-hy do you want t-o, to kill me?" I asked, just for the sake of speaking.

For a moment I thought he was really going to kill me, although he didn’t. Instead, the man threw his shirt at me after ripping the hem and then he tied my wrist and began leading me somewhere.

The man did not answer and continued to push me forward. My arms bound behind me feels off and the feeling of his wet clothes sticking to my skin feels unfamiliar.

It was big and long enough to cover up to the middle of my thigh.

"Hey, yo, nigga, mate, pal, pre?"

I was not expecting an answer either so I did not mind his silence.

"Where are you d-ragging me? I me-an, you're, oh, we're not lost right?"

I chatter, fully exercising my ability to speak, while thinking of another matter.

"B-ut you know- ow," I stumbled as my legs feel weak but manageable.

The man pulled the cloth wrapped around my wrist preventing my fall. I frowned, the pull feels intentional.

I kicked the dried wood, which nearly made me kiss the ground, away. After steadying my body I obediently marched forward, feeling the mud sticking to my bare feet.

"As I-I was saying, you know it's quite r-ude to strangle a sleeping person out of nowhere. You're lucky I'm not an impulsive p-erson 'cause if I am I would have slit your thr-oat as soon as I opened my eyes."

It took a while for me to recover that I have shifted into my human form. The glee I felt was indescribable.

After years of not being able to talk, I have this urge to speak as much as I can until my jaw breaks. At first, my words were slurred but as we went on my speech became smoother.

The words rolling out my tongue made me wonder if miracles can also happen to me. It feels weird.

"Deep d-own, you must be enjoy-ing my sweet voice. Ri-nging by your ear-s lulling you to sweet-sweet dr-eams," I fussed.

My words were cut off as we stood before a dilapidated cabin. Wearing a brown shirt with the hem torn, I tilted my head back at him.

Without saying a word, the man roughly dragged me with him. We passed by a fallen door and were welcomed with a somewhat familiar sight.

"Do you recognize him?"

I squinted my eyes and shook the sticky hair partially blocking my eyes.

The light rain slips from the holes on the roof, making the ground wet. The floor is made of dirt and with the leaking roof the ground turned was muddy. The walls are also full of varying sized holes giving the wet wind an easy entry.

My sight landed on a man lying on the ground. The man pale and unmoving, covered with a coarse cloth with only his face visible

I feel lightheaded. My stomach feels uncomfortable, something feels stuck at the back of my throat.

"T-that--"

Goosebumps rose from my exposed skin. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him as if I was compelled. A sharp ringing sound assaulted my ears.

"Wo-woo-"

My knees gave out and slumped directly on the wet floor. I want to cover my mouth but my hands are bound. I unconsciously bent over, turned my back and began vomiting.

'Why?'

What is happening to me? Why am I reacting this way?

Tears gathered at my eyes, threatening to fall any second. I stared directly at the ground as my wet hair covered my sight from the body.

My eyes widen as I recall what happened just before my eyes closed. All I heard is the word: 'Gift.' then I closed my eyes for a second, and when I opened it I was being strangled.

"When I came here, you were there, escaping holding a knife."

Hearing his voice made me flinch. It was then that I noticed the slight quivering of my limbs.

My excitement has long been washed away, the suspicious events that I've been ignoring made me uncomfortable.

"So you drag me out under the rain to strangle me first without asking what happened? Ha, you are crazy."

My hoarse shaky voice, squeezed forcefully out of my throat hurt, and my eyes stings. I spit out the bitter acid from my mouth.

"Pray tell, then. What is a stranger like you doing here?"

I clenched my trembling fingers as I began to recount what I remembered yesternight omitting my personal escapade in order to avoid even more suspiciousness.

"... The man was wielding a knife while the child had a bloody neck."

After recounting the events, I frowned as I remembered a particular point. I scan the vicinity whilst trying hard not to stare at the body, but I saw not a trace of the child.

“What happened to that child? Where is she?”

His face turned grim as a corner of his mouth lifted into a sneer.

"His name is Berny and he does not have a child, nice try. Now what is a stranger like you doing in somebody else's house?" he asked aggressively, making me snap my attention back at him.

What is this bastard lying for?

I ignored his words and insisted.

“She needs immediate help. We need to find her.”

Instead of answering immediately, the man sighed, as if his patience was wearing thin.

“Okay. So how old do you think she is?”

Despite feeling that something is wrong, I pondered seriously and recalled the child’s appearance.

“I don’t know maybe about three years old?”

The man looks unimpressed. His gaze turning sharper and his voice sterner as he spoke thru gritted teeth.

“After the purging there are only about a handful of children in the village. The youngest is seven each one of them is raised precious in their own home.”

The more I listen to him, the more my head hurts. Is he spouting nonsense now?

“There is no precedent of children wandering alone either. Each and everyone of them is given utmost protection. Berny does not have a child in their family.”

I looked at him incredulously but I chose not to speak rashly.

Then what I thought as domestic violence could be a case of more sinister circumstances?

If what he’s saying is true then whose child is she? Is she safe? And who killed that person?

And what about purging?

After reaching a messy conclusion, I decided to chase those thought away and worm myself out of the situation at hand first.

"I have no idea what happened here but I swear to the goddess what I saw here is a man and a child. And she could be in grave danger as we speak."

“Let’s say you are saying the truth,” The man sounded unconvinced, as he continued to voice his suspicion, "I never heard of someone entering the village yesterday, today or the other day."

Finding the situation more absurd as the time passed made my frustrations grow but I couldn’t help it. Even my words sound ridiculous to my ears.

"I got lost. I am just passing by."

Looking back, it has been a long time since I've been treated with suspicion. It still feels very unpleasant yet I don't have a choice but to answer truthfully even with my nerves on edge.

I wanted to clear his suspicion once and for all, but things are not going as I wanted. The only consolation I have is gaining my human form.

"There are patrols on the border and there is no report of unauthorized individuals seeking shelter."

“I came from the forest and got lost.” I reiterated firmly whilst pressing my eyes tightly close.

The urge to taunt him until he starts questioning his life gnaws at the back of my head, I tried to hold back but it was futile.

The man overlapped with that of my past, my temple throbbed. A sharp ringing sounds beside my ears.

"... And yet death happens under your nose."

My chin was suddenly grasped. The pain, made my eyes snap open. His big looming figure exudes a threatening stance.

I straighten my back bit by bit while still kneeling on the ground. My hands clenched tight.

“Never made fun of the dead. No matter how upset you may be.”

His words left me momentarily frozen. I wanted to take back what I said but I already crossed the line.

His fierce eyes bore into mine as we exchanged glares. The frosty anger boiling in them pricked my stubbornness.

"If I killed him, I will never ever pin the blame on anyone. I'm not such a coward. And I'm never a credit grabber either, bastard."

I uttered through gritted teeth while glaring daggers at his fierce hazel eyes.

He didn't speak even when my throat felt sore from my speech, the man remained mute and motionless.

Perhaps he felt the sincerity in my words, the hand on my chin loosened.

Without a second thought, I put strength onto my knees and push my body upward. The man stumbles backward making me grin.

The cloth wrap around my wrist was thrown onto the ground as we rolled into the dirt trying to take each other down.

I twist my body and slammed my head to his nose making him stunned for a moment. Not wasting the chance, I quickly maneuvered and seize his arms.

“Ha, has no one ever told you not to argue with women?”

I pant as I hold the blade firmly close to his throat, the tip lightly cutting his skin drawing a drop of blood. My full weight was pushing on the man as I sat atop him.

"Come to think of it, you’re just as suspicious. To suddenly appear and attack me from nowhere then leading me here."

If not for the genuine anger and mourning from his face I would have never hesitated to plunge the knife on his neck. And if ever all that was an act then he must be a pro.

Seeing him lying with his chest pressed to the ground made me grin arrogantly. Though he looks composed, the rapid rise and fall of his chest mirrored mine.

"Does it feel nice to be bound?" I snickered, lowering my face to whisper in his ear as I tightened the cloth roughly around his wrist with my right hand.

...

Unedited