WHO AM I TO JUDGE?

CHAPTER 38

It was in the middle of the night when I woke up from my sleep. I didn't know the reason why I suddenly wake myself up. Nature's call was not calling and I didn't feel uncomfortable. I had no nightmares, but waking up that night felt weird.

As I turned my vision towards them, they were sleeping peacefully. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't. I took my sweater and went outside to take fresh air from the night.

"Ah, the fresh cold air and silence." I said to myself.

Outside the house, the village was so dark. The only light shining was the moon from above. It was so quiet and cold. You can really feel the sadness, despair, and loneliness in the area.

"This place was packed with lots of people in the past. Especially this street." a familiar voice suddenly entered into the cold and lonely setting.

Up in the roof of the old post was the Occisor, she was sitting on top of the post.

"Sorry." I said.

"For what?." She asked.

"For what happened to your people." I replied.

"No need, your sorry will not bring the dead back."

"So you're Lorelei." I said.

"Yeah, how about you?." She asked.

"Peterenko but you can call me peter. The Japanese guy is Hiroshi and the woman you carried is Meldy."

"Come with me." She commanded.

"Where are we going?." I asked.

"Just follow."

The Occisor descended back to the ground and started walking towards the dark area on the street. She didn't tell me the exact destination so I was just behind her back following her lead.

"The entrance?." I asked her while looking at the creepy angel statues.

"Yes."

"Why here." I asked.

"You know, before Don Felipe massacred everyone in this town, I used to fear these statues," she explained.

"They are so creepy, when I was just a kid everytime my father and I enter the village, I always cry in fright."

"Same, the first time we entered this village, these statues gave me a creepy feel." I said.

"Based from the rumor that I heard years ago, sometimes the angels would cry blood during the night. Some say that these angels will walk on thier own on the streets."

"There was a witness named Kiko, an old fish vendor in the past. One late night when he returned home from the forest. He saw this angel." The occisor pointed towards a specific angel statue in the left part of the entrance.

"That angel?." I asked.

"Yeah, the old Kiko saw that angel walking on the streets with a distorted smile on its face. There was blood on his hand and feet and her white paint was filled with red liquid."

"Seriously?." I said to her.

"Yeah, after he saw that, he was spotted by the angel, and eventually the angel took his vision. The next morning, Old kiko was blind but he was able to share the experience that night."

"Okay."

"For you, do you actually believe that these angels are alive?." the occisor asked.

"Uhm, no because these statues are just pure marble and stones." I replied.

"Remember, I told you that before the massacre I used to fear these statues. But after the massacre, these statues became my friend. Believe or not, these statues can speak."

"Speak? as in through some riddles written in thier base?." I asked.

"No, they speak to me verbally." She replied.

That time I wasn't sure if the Occisor was actually having a mental illness due to the trauma, but listening to her saying that gave me a cold touch of fright in my system. That time, I knew I don't want to give her the awkward  feeling so I just went with the flow of conversation.

"So what did the angels said?." I asked.

"Life is something you owe from someone, and eventually time will come that the person you owe will take back the life that he gave you. you have the choice to give it back immediately or take someone's life first before yours. That's what they said to me." She replied.

"What? Then?."

"After that, they will just laugh at me, they all laugh at me with their eyes bleeding."

"Ok this is creeping me out." I said to myself in my mind.

But who am I to judge this woman? She was alone in this town. She was probably young when she experienced the pain of having people including her family die in front of her. She was alone here in this town, without any companion or guardian. She tried to survive by herself, and she tried to stay in this almost ghost town place without anyone's help. The trauma that she experienced may be the reason behind the hallucinations.

"By the way, I'm pretty sure that we were not the first guest to visit this town. What happened to the first visitors before us?." I asked.

"Killed." she replied.

"By you? But why?." I once again asked.

"Not me, the angels did."

"Seriously."

"Yeah, the angels will eliminate anyone with dark intentions imbedded into thier soul." she said to me.

"Uhm."

"I know you're not gonna believe me, and I think that you think I'm crazy."

"No, it's not like that okay, I was. Ju.s........."

"Take a look at the angels again." She suddenly interrupted.

I almost lost my soul from what I discovered from there on.

All the angel statues in the entrance that faced in the opposite direction earlier that night, were facing towards me with a distorted smile on their faces.