Don't tell me bye bye (mystery/ thriller)

Chapter 16

I gulp and stare at Namjoon, the word he's just uttered hanging on the wind until a huge grin breaks free of his face and I smack him on the shoulder.

"Ha-ha," I groan.
He puts his hands up, and chortles. "I swear! That's the story; a little of Seoul's history."
"Really?" I look back at the party, relaxing a little when I'm reminded of how close we are to everyone else.

"Honestly. Everyone who grew up in Seoul knows the stories. Apparently, two witches lived here, like, four hundred years ago, on the outskirts of town; Ruth and her daughter Elizabeth."

"Right?" I hate that he's got my attention, but I gawk at him, willing him to continue.

"So, Elizabeth, the daughter, fell in love with the son of the richest family in town. They kept their affair secret for as long as they could, but she got pregnant and her growing belly gave the game away, so her mum realised what was going on."

"She warned her daughter to end things with the boy, um..." Namjoon's eyes search the darkness, until he clicks his fingers and looks back at me. "William! The guy's name was William. Let's call him Will. Anyway, Ruth didn't want Lizzy to see Will again. But obviously, like anyone madly in love, she ignored her mum and they carried on meeting in secret."

"Or they thought they were. Will's Mum knew all about their affair, and the baby. She saw Lizzy in town one day, and dragged her down to the river, yelling for everyone to follow them so they could prove she was a witch. They stripped her naked, tied her hands and feet and slung her into the river, plunging her into the water to see if she would sink or float. She kept sinking so they kept dunking her over and over, until the shock of what was happening killed her. Her mother arrived just as the group started cheering. She was overcome with grief, and not wanting to be without her daughter, she picked up a boulder and jumped into the river, disappearing Beneath the surface."

My skin is covered in goose bumps. "That's awful."

He raises his eyebrows. "That's not the awful part. After everyone had gone, Will's mother jumped into the water, and pulled Lizzy's dead body onto the river bank. She pulled out a knife..."

"Namjoon, I'm not sure I want to hear this."

"Come on, it's not really true; it's just a story. Don't you want to know what happens?" I nod weakly and he goes on. "She pulled out a knife and plunged it into Lizzy, cutting a wide slit across her belly, a slit wide enough to pull out a...."

"Oh my God. Her baby? She cut out Lizzy's baby? Was it still alive?"

Namjoon nods, and I'm glad to see he's gone a little pale.

"Yeah, it was still alive. A baby girl. Will's Mum took the baby and gave it to the parish priest and his wife and told them to hide it. She was the main Benefactor for the church, this church, and they were in her debt, so had no choice but to do what she said. They kept the baby in the vicarage and then as she grew up they built tunnels underground so she could run about without anyone seeing her, all over Seoul, and people used to say that sometimes they could hear a little girl laughing, but could never work out where it was coming from."

"Why did Will's Mum want the baby?"

Namjoon shrugs his shoulders. "Power? Control? Because she was nuts? Who knows? Anyway, even though everyone saw what happened to Lizzy and Ruth, there were rumours that Ruth had been spotted creeping around the town at night, as if she were looking for something." "The girl?"

Namjoon nods. "The girl. Then, one night, the church caught fire. A few of the men grabbed buckets of water and ran up the hill. When they got up here, there was a figure standing in front of the church."