Cursed Children of the Night

1.3: Ligaya

Sorina -Bunica Lacramioara’s granddaughter- had promised to talk to Ligaya before she returned back to the destroyed community. Neither of them knew how long Ligaya would take, but she was making her way back.

Ligaya had to get back before that small community had been added to The Sorrows.

‘He’s dead?’ Sorina asked appearing at her side, her baby in her arms. The baby looked at her with wide eyes, her hand in her mouth and her other hand gripping Sorina’s hair.

“He is,” Ligaya said, “I snapped his neck.”

‘That’s it?’

“He ended up suffering frostbite.”

Several children’s spirits were running around her and Sorina get closer to the scene of the crime. The children were laughing among themselves, slipping through trees and anything that would have stopped a living person.

Children were strong, Ligaya knew this better than most. It was just, unlike her, these children wouldn’t grow up with the trauma or heal from it, but Sorina and Bunica Lacramioara’s relatives would never grow any older.

Never know joys and pains that life offered.

For starters, Sorina’s baby, a unnamed baby girl. She would need a name before being able to move on, along with some of the other children. If she could recall some of the reports she read about their people, any child underneath the age of five wouldn’t be named until their fifth birthday or when they passed away.

To prevent any early attachments and heart break when the child passed away.

‘That’s good to know,’ Sorina said.

“Happy to be of service,” Ligaya said.

‘It’s good to know that he can’t do this to anyone else from our family,’ Sorina said bouncing her baby in her arms, ‘Uncle Ionut hadn’t been that far behind us, he should be here in a few hours or days.’

“Tityrus’ is with his family in the afterlife,” Ligaya slowly said, wondering if that thought had crossed Sorina’s mind.

‘He can’t harm my family any more, what happens to his soul after he dies is of little importance,’ Sorina said, ‘plus, Bunica Lacramioara is going to have words with him once she sees him.’

“I have only spoken to the woman once, but I can see her doing that,” Ligaya admitted.

‘She’s the only person who can make me feel any pity for that murderous monsters, that child killer,’ Sorina said.

“I don’t know. His brother and sister-in-law really did give him a peace of their mind before he left,” Ligaya admitted coughing into her hands and walking into the clearing at the front of the cave.

‘Please tell me you talked his ear off,’ Bunica Lacramioara said.

“I did,” Ligaya said, “his own shadow chased him around.”

‘Good,’ Bunica Lacramioara said before moving on, now, she would have to ask other spirits what they would need to move on, the children would be the hardest.

Did they even know they were dead?

‘I do remember that horrid creature,’ Sorina said.

‘Have you told her?’ another woman’s spirit asked.

‘I haven’t told her, Adelina,’ Sorina said.

“Tell me what?” Ligaya asked looking between them, the two women looked to be sisters, she didn’t know what their hair, skin or eye colour was.

She was holding an unnamed boy in her arms.

He looked to be under the age of five.

“Oh,” she said looking between the babies, “I already know about your tradition of not naming your children until they’re five.”

‘How?’ Adelina asked.

“An old neighbour of mine,” Ligaya said, “I was the only one who would listen to her stories, even after her death I never forgot them and started to do research of any documents I could find… once I started going to the Academy.”

‘And do you know what happens when they die before that?’ Adelina asked holding her child closer.

“They are given a name so their spirit may move on,” Ligaya said, she didn’t know what this had to do with her.

‘Well ask her,’ Adelina said.

‘Why don’t you ask her?’ Sorina asked Adelina.

‘Aunt Sorina? Is she going to name the babies?’ a small boy asked, he looked to be nine years old. He looked from her to Ligaya, ‘are you going to name them? Only the living can.’

“Only the living?” Ligaya asked kneeling to his height. “May I have your name young man?”

‘You first,’ he said.

“Well, how rude of me,” Ligaya asked, “I’m Ligaya.”

‘I’m Luca!’ he said, ‘I was born while we were in Clausia, can you name my baby sister?’

‘We have six children under the age of two,’ Adelina said.

Sorina sighed.

‘Could you name them?’ Adelina asked.

“It would be my honour to do so,” Ligaya said nodding looking at the babies in Adelina and Sorina’s arm.

“My baby?” Adelina asked.

Ligaya nodded.

“Andrei,” Ligaya said, “means strong and manly.”

Adelina and Andrei nodded, both of them disappearing. Moving on now, leaving Sorina and her daughter behind.

‘This is my baby sister,’ Luca said holding the hand of a small baby girl, she didn’t notice that he had left from her side.

“Sinziana, Sinziana and Luca,” Ligaya said, “Sinziana is a flower, in small patches in Nildisi.”

Sinziana and Luca smiled before moving on, along with a woman and men behind them.

‘Could you?’ a woman asked pulling along two boys.

“Alin and Ion, Alin meaning bright Alin meaning bright and beautiful, and Ion meaning Forest,” Ligaya said.

‘My daughter please,’ a woman asked, a small girl walking with her.

“Madalina meaning magnificent,” Ligaya said.

“My daughter?” Sorina asked.

“Yes and then they’ll more one more thing left to do,” Ligaya said nodding her head, looking at the baby girl.

‘One more thing?’ Sorina asked.

“I’m going to give you guys a proper funeral,” Ligaya said, “I know you use cremation instead of burying your dead.”

‘Baby?’ Sorina asked, ‘then the bodies.’

“Viorica,” Ligaya said, “means Violet, the flower Violet anyway.”

‘Viorica, you go ahead without Mummy,’ Sorina said, ‘I’ll see you in a few days, okay, baby?’

Viorica giggled before moving on.

‘I’ll help you with naming the bodies,’ Sorina said, ‘then I’ll move on and reunite with my family.’