Far Away From Home

Part Ten

The woman stared at them.

Her white sari covered her arms, reaching the floor and showing the tips of her toes. Her long, dark hair contrasted heavily with her clothes, highlighting her beauty, and boy, is she a beautiful woman.

The kohl around her eyes, her ruby-red lips that seemed to be glistening under the lights that had suddenly come on when she opened the door, and her slightly broad but pointed nose gave her features that Renia wished she had.

She's prettier than Stephanie, she thought.

When no one said anything, she decided to speak.

“Please, can we stay here for the night? It's raining, and we don't have a place we can rest.”

The woman eyed her for a while before she settled her eyes on everyone without blinking. She must have seen what they looked like because she asked,
“Do you have any peace offerings?”

Jackson muttered something under his breath, and Tony said,
“I'm sorry, ma'am. We lost everything we had in the forest below. All we have are stones and our bags.”

“Wait, I have a sandwich,” Jackson said, getting out a peanut butter sandwich. 

Extremely useless, in Renia's opinion.

Why would he have that in his bag?

“Will this do?” he asked.

“No. But you can come in. Please leave your shoes and bags at the threshold while coming in. Be quiet, please. We are mourning.” she said.

Renia dropped her bags at the corner and came in after taking off her shoes. She didn't get a witchy vibe from her. She looks like a typical Indian who is accepting of everyone without asking where they came from.

Indians are the most unlikely people to suspect witchcraft or cannibalism. They are usually friendly and kind to visitors; for example, they are strangers. 
 
When she came in, she met three more people. It looked like a small family living in a castle, which was very strange. They wore white as well.

The father stared at them without saying anything. He held a colourful jar between his hands and sat with his legs folded on a mat on the floor.

The little kids, who would be between six and twelve years old, sat on a similar mat, staring at them. The female child had her hair tied up as well, but hers was in a ponytail.

The male child's hair seemed unbrushed, and the way he stared at her gave her goosebumps.

His eyes were wide, taking her in like she's some food that they hadn't had in years.

The female child punched his shoulder, and he broke eye contact with her.

“If you would wait until we are through with the ritual, we would be able to prepare a place for you to stay,” the woman said.

“No, no! ...” Jackson said, “We are totally fine. How about you direct us to our rooms first?”

“You would have to wait, then. This castle is not easy to navigate. We have to help you before you can find your way,” the woman said.

“That's fine. Thank you very much, ma'am.” Tony said.

“If you could stand at the mantle, we would soon be done.” She said.

“Thank you again.” Tony said.

As they stood at the mantle, Caleb watched everyone.

They seemed to be reciting something because their lips moved like they were saying something. But they didn't have beads, nor did they have anything of religious importance except the colourful jar the suspicious-looking man had.

He wondered what was inside it.

He turned towards Tony and watched as Tony stared at the clock above the mantle.

The sitting room has a soft yellow and black color at the corners, giving it a beautiful but soft feeling like you are safe. The couch and everything within were either yellow or black. 

He stared at everyone and wondered if they were thinking what he was thinking. The yellow outweighed the black, but he could tell that the family must either love the colours or they had to paint it at the last minute, and they had no other colour except yellow in mind. None of the family members look like witches, and they don't exude witchy vibes, but he's suspicious.

The nicest people are the worst.

He noticed that Steph stared at the family with a hint of fear and suspicion on her face. The others were relaxed, and they either just looked at the family or looked around the sitting room.

He remembered how Steph was behaving before they reached the castle.

Could it be that her power started manifesting because they were in an intense situation and they ignored it?

For once, he wanted to support her, listen to her, and tell her how amazing she is, but his pride wouldn't let him. 

He could be wrong after all anyway, he thought.

He turned his attention back to Tony and found Tony staring at him. He used his telepathy to speak with him.

“Do you believe them?” he asked.

“I'm thinking we should take advantage of the hospitality given to us. Who knows? They could turn out to be this lonely Indian family lost in the wilderness; they found the witches castle, killed her, and then lived there while rescuing poor weary travellers.” he replied.

“I think Steph's matured. She's been acting not herself ever since we reached the edge of that forest.” Caleb said.

“And you believe her?” Tony asked.

“She's not all that bad. She's a good person, and we know that. I think we should take our butts out of here. It seems so out of place to me,” he replied.

“Steph's always exaggerating. Anyway, you are just suspicious. That's all. You were never a Steph fan. You just don't believe anyone, that's why. Trust me, bro. These people are not really that bad.” Tony replied.

“I still think that we should get out of here. Steph's not one to stay this quiet. If not for anything, she would be playing friends right about now.” Caleb said.

“Everything that has happened is tiring. She will snap out of it; just wait. Are you worried about her?” he asked.

Caleb scoffed and said,
“No!”

“Then, why are you stressing about her? She's fine, in my opinion.” Tony said.

“Whatever.” Caleb said and looked away, hearing Tony's chuckle as he looked at the bereaved family.

The small boy was staring at him with wide, hungry eyes. He looked like a wolf about to devour his prey before he closed his eyes and turned away.
 
“We want to scatter his ashes. If you want, you can follow us,” the young daughter said as the family got up from their respective mats.

Steph was startled by the daughter. She has black hair like her mum and stares at Steph with beady eyes.

Slowly, Steph nodded.

She didn't want to do anything to aggravate these people. She couldn't feel the heart beating anymore, but when they were seated in one place, the heartbeat was loud and clear.

Her guess is that they are not a four loving Indian family. They might be one witch, split into four for distraction. 

Looking around, the family has the white clothes down to the teeth. But she wondered where the deceased person's picture was kept. They lived in the middle of nowhere, and no one will ever know if they killed someone or not. She wondered who performed the mukhagni (cremation ceremony).

As they were walking through the corridors, Steph noticed that she hadn't heard any rain beating the roof.

She knew that the castle was very big, but there should have been a sign that the rain had ceased, but she didn't alert the others.