Bride of the Darkness

Origin

The girl took a long breath and started recounting her tale ''My father David Gibson was a merchant in Salem until some nine years ago. He started his life with the humble services of a Farm boy in the wealthy Household of Nathaniel Porter who in a way ruled the economy of the little town. Mr. Porter had a quick eye that discerned the sweet and devoted nature of my father very soon and thus a farm boy was raised to be a Bailiff in just an span of a few years. My mother Anne as an only child, borne extremely late in the marriage, was beautiful and willful enough to propose a groom of her own choice to his father. As Mr. porter knew that he had but a few year to live, accepted her choice and further helped my father to make a name in the line of grain traders of Salem. 

The community of Salem in those days was divided into two classes, Farmers and Traders. While the farmers were extremely conservative and adhered to the Puritan style of living and worship. Traders were more liberal and discarded many old notions held by Puritans as an obstruction to the progress of the individuals. This often sparked battles between the two groups. In the year 1946 an conflict over the independence of Salem town church dragged my father and our family into the center stage. It ultimately lead to us and some others being branded as ''abandoned by God'', shunned from all the New England Colonies and forced to live in the wilderness among the Indians and Foreigners.

Me, my father, mother,brother and four other men with their families reached this part in the late winter. All of this land belonged to the Wampanaog Indians then who now live on the outskirt of the forest. My father decided to buy land from these Indians and thus start trading with the Indian and Dutch settlers who live not far from this place. He had some working knowledge of Dutch and it helped him immensely. Since he was among the first white men who cohabited with Indian in this region on the earth of Mayflower, the oldest Settler colony in New World, Indians were still on friendly terms with him. This friendship also helped my father to become a middlemen in many of the dealings between Dutch and the Indians.

For more then five years, there was peace and prosperity in this wilderness for us. We thrashed good crops from this rich and virgin soil and stay contented among our small group of men women and children. In sickness or in health we never let go of the Lord and were as faithful a servant to him as we were among the community.

But the shadows of mourning were not far behind. It was the summers four years ago when the black death knocked on our doors. While the Indian drank from the same river and breath the same air were immune to it, we who thought ourselves as the bearer of the Lord's light were doomed to parish one by one. And if the deaths were not enough, our crop too started to rot. There was no grains but only the black soot. Few animals that we still had turned crazy and died by thrashing their brains on our walls. Many of us who lived started to believe that god had really abandoned us. Fingers would have raised gladly at each other had not each household lost some or the other member. We ourselves lost the little Jacob who had just turned ten.

How can i express the agony, the helplessness of people who were alone and forgotten in this land by all. It was the land of their dreams and hopes for which they had even forsaken their dear motherlands, their England. In the end i myself buried my father and mother in earth. I hate to think that i have survived them, but even the death denied me his blissful arms. I say blissful, for it would have  joined me with my beloved one in the Lord's kingdom.''

After the woeful tale, both remained silent, hardly daring to turn their eyes to each other. Finally Amos spoke ''I have no words to console you, my heart is saddened. But it is difficult to imagine this earth so full of blossoms and fragrance where i see the grains on cobs ripe and pods ready to burst, a scene of death and doom.''

''I understand your confusion, sire. But the nature has its strange ways. When their were people who were dying in want of nutrition, the mother earth turned its lap dry of even a few kernels to chew. But as the living turned into dead, when the still living souls drowned in stupor arisen out of starvation, too feeble to turn themselves to even to shake their fingers, the flowers bloomed and the plants raised their heads from the untouched earth. As if the blood of my people has fertilized the soil and their ashes turned an impure land into pure.'' She looked full into his eyes and he saw the tears rising to wash up the long standing grief.

''Pardon me asking this now, but i too will like to know your name Sire and not only name but all about that lead you to fight the good Indians and kill many of them. They have always been so kind to me.''

He then told her briefly about himself. His name, religion, family and his life in his homeland and here at New Amsterdam and it all amazed her. For it was all new for her. It's true her father had dealing with Dutch and they lived not far from a huge colony of theirs, yet it was all a wonder for her, who never stepped out of the boundary of his household. When he started telling her about the fight with Indians, she stopped him and asked his leave for some time since she was indisposed to talk more about dead men.

As the day passed, Amos walked all over around the land and soon discovered the few huts not far from Sabrina's house which hosted the rest of the doomed families. As he entered the hut on his return, his mind whirled on the dangers that lurked all around a young and extremely fair girl living all alone in this dark Jungle.