464: BLACK ROSE

After life?

  Her head hurt and her ears were ringing. She groaned as she stood up, slipping on grass.

Grass?

The air smelled of dew and earth. Just where on earth was she? Fully opening her eyes she saw a forest. She was in a forest. The last thing she could remember was being hit and dying.

She died. She knew she died.

Was this the afterlife? It couldn't be. The eerie silence brought more confusing thoughts. Was this the Limbo? It was morning, had Deji dragged her body and abandoned it in a forest? Her hands instinctively went up to her wounds...

They were gone, no blood, scarred tissue, nothing.

She was going crazy, she screamed and birds dispatched. Birds aren't in the afterlife she thought to herself. Regardless she couldn't stand here, she decided to go right. The path was like a hill and she descended careful not to trip or fall. It was a long walk without direction and by nightfall she arrived at a village. She was tired and thirsty.

The villagers were about their daily business in the market. Dressed in a hanbok styled apparel of sort. Not bothering to task herself with thoughts she stalked lazily through the market her head down.

  The scream of a boy jolted her out of her lazy gait.

"Gwemuri" he screamed. Monster?

  Where? She didn't wait to find out.

Hot on her heels she ran with villagers who scampered into their shelters for safety. She took refuge under the bridge hiding away from the lights as foot soldiers rallied the streets in search of the monster.

When the silence returned, she decided to find a more decent shelter to rest for the night. Ghost or not she didn't want to face off with any monster. Opening the door of a dark house she entered back, checking her surroundings to be sure. She released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. Turning around she set her gaze on a young who was whimpering as she cried. With arms stretched to comfort the girl a voice spoke in but a whisper.
   "Monster, don't hurt my daughter"

She looked up at a middle aged woman who watched her with fire and disgust in my eyes. Only then did it dawn on her that she was the one everyone was running from. Then again she couldn't really be shocked, they had probably never seen anyone like her or even close. Opening the door quietly to leave the impatient woman pushed her out throwing salt at her.

Great her hiding spot was gone,  she had to find somewhere else to hide, the streets were quiet and cold with the underlying whisper of the foot solders.  She needed a place to sleep.

Walking on for what seemed like forever found an abandoned house of some sort and took refuge on its porch as sleep whispered sweet nothing in her early. She was dead,  a monster and tired. Could her life get any worse?