Little Match Girl

i

"Baba! She is doing that...thing again," Uliana whined, her volume raising rapidly until practically the whole village could hear her.

The teenager crossed her arms, "Little baby, afraid of fire."

She could hear the hand connect with her face before she felt it. Quickly, the stinging sensation spread across her face, the pain greeting her cheeks with its familiar embrace.

Her knees hit the soggy moss almost instantly, forcing herself into the kneeling position she knew to take.

"What have I told you about fire, Varinka?' Her babulya lectured, rubbing her hand almost as if she was offended that her granddaughter's face had been hit with it.

She rolled her eyes, still looking at the moss, "I know Baba, but if I have gift, why not use it? Why not use abilities that God has bestowed upon me?"

"God had not blessed you, Satan has cursed you. Demon child," Baba hissed.

She flinched, her eyes still staying trained to the ground. She could feel the familiar itch that signalled tears were on the way.

Her babulya softened, "Uliana, go inside. Varinka, come with me."

She got up, ignoring the nine year old's yells about how unfair it was, and followed Baba. They walked until the sun started setting and the path became unfamiliar.

She could hear the owls taunting, warning them of what was to become of them if they happened to wander off the path. Varinka knew about the wolves, but they didn't scare her.

When it became too dark to see, she summoned her powers creating a light.

Baba stared straight ahead but she could see the old woman's jaw stiffen and knew she was in trouble. Apparently, not that much trouble as Varinka had been chosen to go on a trip with her.

Journies were special, a rite of passage. Especially with Baba. She would only take her favorite grandchildren on a journey, Lukyan and Avenir had already gone but now it was Varinka's turn.

Baba had seemed angrier and angrier with the teenage girl but that didn't matter. All that mattered was she was chosen, and that made up for every slap and withering scowl. It made up for everything.

They stumbled upon a cottage. The koldun'ya was sitting outside of it, staring  at them. Her gaze stared into their soul and apparently didn't like what it saw.

She glared at Baba before turning towards Varinka. A simple head shake then she turned away, much before Varinka could try and analyze what the sorrowful look in the koldun'ya's eyes meant.

"Baba? Why are we here?" The fifteen year old questioned, putting out the fire in her hand as it was unnecessary.

Strings of lights illuminated the outside of the cottage. It would have been almost pretty if the young koldun'ya hadn't lived there. Her presence made it ugly, withering and rather creepy.

Baba sighed, "Arina is going to show you something, make you better child."

A name to the face. Interesting. No one had ever uttered a name for the koldun'ya.

"But she is koldun'ya. Mama said we must stay away from her," Varinka raised an eyebrow, confusion written plainly on her face.

Arina stiffened, arching her back as if she was a cat on alert. Her eyes glanced down and she appeared almost as if she was a child being scolded.

Varinka had known she was around the same age as her but never had the koldun'ya looked so young and human. They could have been mistaken for twins if Arina was not so grungy, for lack of a better word.

Baba placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "You are koldun'ya too. She will help our family."

Varinka's eyes widened at this news.

Her? Koldun'ya? But they were bad. They were always supposed to be kept in solitude so they didn't use their magic to kill babies and eat them up. It made no sense.

Yet it made perfect sense. The fire wasn't  gift because she was inherently magic. And she was going to be shown something that would seperate her from the devils and make sure she would not kill children.

She would be trained to be safe. Mama and Uliana would not fear her anymore. She could be normal.

"Money. Now," Arina spoke, not meeting the other koldun'ya's eyes.

Baba glared but flicked some coins onto the forest floor, "There. Now take her."

"More, otherwise I will not take her," Arina met the babulya's glare easily.

Baba crossed her arms, "No. Consider this favor for friends."

"Friends? Where? We are not friends, not after the village chased me as babe out into forest. Not after you all killed my mama. Be grateful, I even considered doing this act. More," Arina hissed, her eyes filled with the same fire that burst from Varinka's fingers.

More coins were tossed onto the dirt and then Baba spun away, walking off.

"You're fifteen?" Arina asked quietly, not meeting her eyes as she did so.

Varinka nodded, "You're koldun'ya?"

"Maybe. I am fifteen as well though, which makes this harder," She glanced up at Varinka.

"What?"

"I am sorry," Arina muttered.

And then Varinka's eyes saw no more.