There are voices outside. Torches pass by our windows.
“What has happened?” I pull the blanket tighter around me.
Leed’s voice is excited as he speaks. “Reverend Statton has discovered a witch.”
My stomach plummets. “How? Who?”
“I’ll tell you on the way. He’s requiring all of the townsfolk to attend the trial. Come, quickly. Grab your shawl. We venture to the western woods.”
I’ve barely wrapped my shoulders before Leed drags me out the door. Cold air burrows into my lungs. We follow a steady stream of our friends and neighbors, the trail of torches guiding our way. My anxiety heightens with every step.
“Leed,” I whisper. “Who is it? Who’s the witch?”Please don’t be her.
“Alesia. She told all manner of lies about Reverend Statton and attacked him with dark magic. The Lord showed him her true nature and protected him from her spell.”
“She attacked him? Alesiawouldn’t. Leed, she said things. Earlier today… I spoke with her after church. There are rumors about Reverend Statton.”
His grip on my hand tightens. “Doubting Reverend Statton means doubting the Lord himself. It is a sin even to consider such rumors.”
I’mtaken aback. Leed has heard the whispers too. Is it common knowledge amongst the townsfolk? Has Reverend Statton been acting despicably while everyone brushes the rumors off as nonsense?
There is already a crowd when we arrive at the hanging tree. I thought this place was a myth.The haunted woods and the hanging tree. A spooky bedtime story. The tree in question is more than twice the size of any other tree in the forest. Its branches are gnarled and black. I’m not even sure what kind of tree it is.
Standing on a barrel atop a hastily raised platform at the base of the trunk, is a heartbreaking sight. Alesia. She’s nearly unrecognizable. Her dark hair has been shorn so close to her head that thick, bloody gashes have been left behind on her scalp. The left side of her jaw is purple and jutting out at anangle. One eye is swollen completely shut. A crudely braided rope rests upon her thin neck.
Reverend Statton ascends the platform, torch in hand. The crowd cheers as he removes his cross, raising it to the sky. All I can think of when I see that cross are the markings on Alesia’s thighs.
“Residents of Sleepy Hollow. There has been a wolf in sheep’s clothing, lurking in our midst.” Reverend Statton’s voice commands everyone’s attention. “God has found us in need of testing. Our faith, your faith as my disciples, has been found lacking. He’s allowed a witch into our community, wicked and wanting. She’s come to condemn us, to spoil our soils and seal our fates so that we burn in the fires of hell for all eternity.”
Gasps of shock and several screams fill the cold night air. Leed’s fingers dig into my shoulder as he pulls me closer.
Reverend Statton lifts his hands. “Never fear. Follow my lead and I will deliver you to salvation. We will rid ourselves of the witch and any she may have corrupted.”
A commotion erupts from the crowd as Alesia’s brother, Jonathan, rushes the platform. “Alesia!” His voice cracks. “Free her. Please. She is innocent!” he cries out.
Reverend Statton’s face darkens. A hint of something yellow flicks across his gaze.What was that?
“You would side with a witch over your God?”
“My sister is no witch. This is all a coverup for your sins. I saw things. Alesia told me of your wicked?—”
“Gag him before he can spew any more lies,” Reverend Statton commands. The men around Jonathan are quick to subdue him, wrapping his hands in rope and his face with a cloth. “Now lock him up so that he may think on his sins. He needs time away from the witch. Distance will free him of her influence.” The same yellow glow flickers across Statton’s eyes.
Jonathan is dragged away, his muffled screams following him as he disappears from the forest.
“Let us delay this no further. She has already corrupted one soul. We must put her to death before she can infect any others.”
A hooded figure moves in behind Alesia, yanking hard and tightening the rope around her neck.
Alesia cries harder. She tries to speak. Her words are impossible to understand. Her mouth shifts to the right each time she attempts to open it. It dawns on me that she is unable to communicate due to the severity of her injuries.They broke her jaw.That’s why it’s purple and unnaturally set.
Still, she fights to be heard. No words come out. Her final moments are spent unable to express herself. Is she begging for help or forgiveness? We’ll never know. They’ve stolen her voice. Ensuring she can’t share Reverend Statton’s secrets. Not even in death.
I wish to look away, but my guilt compels me to watch. The crowd is silent in her final moments. Maybe my mind has become too numb to accept their cheers and praises. I don’t hear Reverend Statton’s words as he gives the order. I don’t hear the barrel as it’s kicked out from beneath her bare feet and sent tumbling off the platform.
All I hear is the sharp snap as Alesia’s body drops those precious few feet.
Her tears abruptly stop.
