Two Loves of a Gypsy

5. What Awaits

It quickly became awkward after we shared our names. I looked away towards the town and he looked back towards the garden. The breeze died down and the chimes stopped playing their tune. It was too quiet. I didn’t like it.

“I’ll be off now” I said in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Wait” he paused, “where are you going?”

I rolled my eyes, “back to town.”

“oh.” I felt like punching him a second time but this time from the other direction and then he could have two matching bruises. His cheek was already turning purple but he didn’t seem to notice it anymore. In fact he looked puzzled and seemed to be thinking. Man, this must be taking him a lot of effort.

“Would you like a ride back?” he asked. I almost jumped out of my skin. Me, ride with someone I just met. This guy wasn’t only stupid but a total absolute jerk!

“No. I would not like a ride back I can walk. I do have two legs”

He frowned, “Don’t you want to ride on a horse? Woman like you always do.” I swung my arm this time slapping him hard right on top of the bruise. I pulled away in pain. He began nursing his cheek as he cursed.

“What the hell makes you think I want to hop on a bloody horse with you” I had reached my limit of being civil and stormed off. I didn’t stop when he called after me nor when I heard him stumbling after me.

“Moron” I muttered under my breath. I walked for twenty minutes before I stopped. I went through the flowers I had collected. They were all hanging their heads sadly. I tossed them all and got new ones. 

Standing out on the outskirts of town, where a few straw houses sat in shambles, a small sign sat at an odd angle. It was old, weathered and broken sign. The wood was covered in green mould and fungus. The metal braces had rusted with years of rain. The wood of the sign had holes in it. The beautiful stem once would have had flowers and leafs of metal but they had be left to break off. In cursive script it read:

Ellvise

It looked as if the town had just forgotten the past. What happen in the past? It was almost as if someone had taken over the place and left the old to fade away and die. It got me thinking as I walked through the crowded town. The dull cobblestone made the paths for streets and alleys. The wood and stone two story houses were pushed up against each other. The roofs were clumsy and at different heights. Each house roof had a different hang over size. Roofs which were high reached across as if trying to reach something that was just at their fingertips. Some of the lower roofs seemed to have no roof at all. Some of the rooftops were slanted and other rooftops were flat.

The streets were unusually quiet and I self-conscious and I wandered. Some kids ran past me in a hurry. I looked down at my basket of flowers they still seemed fresh. I decided to follow the boys before returning to the inn. I followed them down twisted roads until I got to a massive crowd. There was a wooden platform with a pole in the middle. Whispers ran throughout the crowd.

“Please! I’m innocent! I haven’t done anything wrong!” I heard a woman cry a plea. From the distance I stood I could not see her face clearly but the woman had a long splatter of dark blonde hair. She was dressed in white and tied up. They tied her to the pole. Shivers crawled up and down my spine.

“In this woman’s possession this was found” I watched as an instrument was chucked up onto the wooden stage.

“The law states that dancing, singing or any forms of performance not in pray for the lord almighty is an act of witchcraft.” I let out a shock gasp. Some people turned round to see who had made the noise. I pretended to be looking too until they looked back around. Did that mean… no the most people ever do is chuck them in jail… or at least that’s what my parents said!? I looked on frantically as they lit the stage with fire. The woman was engulfed by the flames.