Chapter 10 Accusations
2099 Words
THIRD PERSON'S POV
It wasn't the first time that Orville had thought about dying. With his condition, it was easy to feel discouraged and disheartened.
But every time, he couldn't make the decision to end his life.
His older brothers have brought a new woman into their home, hoping for her to be the brother's bride. However, with the past experience they had with the other women, his hope was difficult to build. He was thinking that the new woman his brothers brought will be just like the others. Leaving them should the opportunity come.
If only he wasn't bedridden. If only he was strong. His brothers wouldn't be working too hard to provide for them. Sean wouldn't be so overworked taking care of him and as well as the household. At this point, Orville was filled with self-blame and thoughts of death.
He hadn't noticed when Sean left. He looked around and his eyes fell on the sewing basket that Sean had put on the bedside table. There was an awl in the basket. Seeing it, he seemed to see hope.
But it was just the hope to die. His need to die grew stronger each day.
He thought that lying in bed all day would be worse than death. It would be better to die early, reduce his suffering, and not burden his brothers any longer.
"Sean..." he called.
Orville called weakly but luckily Sean was outside the door and heard him after a few calls.
"I'm coming, Orville, what do you need?"
Orville pulled out a wallet from under his pillow and handed it to him, asking him to buy two eggs from the village.
Sean had the same wallet. It was a Christmas gift from their older brothers both containing 10 dollars.
Sean had already spent his own money, but since Orville was bedridden and had no use for money, he had been saving it.
Seeing Sean hesitate, Orville urged him. "Hurry up, I want to eat egg custard."
Only then did Sean take the wallet. "Alright, I'll go buy it now."
Sean didn't forget to lock the front door as he left, then he ran towards the village.
Once Sean was sent away, Orville wasn't afraid that anyone would enter the room. It was his perfect distraction. Every day, he had been thinking about ending his life. It was today that he finally got the courage to do it.
He bit his lip, propped himself up with both hands, and moved his body with difficulty.
He rolled off the bed and fell to the floor with a thug. Luckily, he was wrapped in a quilt, so the noise wasn't loud.
Orville rested for a while on the floor, breathing hard, preparing himself for what he is about to do. He then struggled to crawl towards the cupboard. His legs were weak, and he could only rely on his hands for support.
Upon reaching the cupboard, he rested again. Finally, he reached the sewing basket on top, but he knocked it over, scattering its contents everywhere.
But this didn't matter, as long as he could get the awl.
Orville crawled to where the awl had fallen. With shaking hands, he grabbed it. He stared at it for a few more seconds, staring at the ti. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if it pierced his flesh--
He shook away the thought. He shouldn't be thinking about it. Thinking means reconsidering. He didn't want to reconsider. He's made up his mind.
Without the knowledge of his brothers, he has made the decision. He rested on his back, the cold floor seeping into the thick quilt and into his skin. Tears brimmed his eyes. He should at least leave one last message to his brothers but that would take too much time. He doesn't have the luxury of time. Sean could return any moment and his plans would be jeopardized.
With one last look at the awl, he took a deep breath. He muttered an apology to his brothers and let his whispers get carried away with the wind. With one last apology, he drove the weapon straight to his heart.
As the awl pierced his flesh, an intense pain washed over him. His life flashed in front of him and there was a brief moment when he regretted his decision of taking away his life.
But it was already too late. His life was seeping away from him. He waited and waited in the midst of intense pain until there was pain no more and darkness devoured him.
On the other side, the cornbread was ready, but Sean had not yet returned. Elma took a piece of wood out of the stove and put out the fire, leaving only a small flame burning inside.
Then she left the kitchen, went for a walk in the yard, arranged the firewood in the corner neatly, and swept the yard with a big broom. The chores were easy enough for her but for Sean, being a seven-year-old kid, these tasks must have been tedious.
After these tasks, she went to open the yard door, but it wouldn't budge. Seems that Sean locked the front door.
She peeked out through the gap in the door and saw Sean's small figure quickly running back along a path in the field.
A middle-aged woman met him on the road, and Sean stopped to talk to her.
Seeing that Sean had returned, Elma went back to the kitchen to wash her hands, put out the fire, picked up the cornbread, and served three bowls of porridge for her, Sean, and Orville. I was something she was proud of doing. She knows she shouldn't feel that way as she's going to leave, anyway, but she couldn't help but feel sympathy towards the children.
Thinking that it was little Sean who took care of her meals when she was sick, now that she had regained some strength, she decided to help Sean take care of Orville's meals, as a way to please the little guy, so he wouldn't guard her like a thief all day long. It was also one way to gain their trust.
Elma was sure that if she kept at it, she would eventually win Sean's heart.
With this in mind, Elma picked up the porridge and cornbread and went to Orville's room.
"Orville, it's Elma. Can I come in?" Elma asked from the doorway.
She waited for several seconds for Orville's answer but there was no response.
"Orville?" she called again. "Can I come in?"
When she still haven't heard a response, she decided to go in herself. With her feet, she gently kicked the door open.
But then she instantly froze on the spot.
Bile rose up to her throat and a scream came out of her mouth right when she dropped the tray of food she was holding.
"Orville!" she screamed.
Panic rose inside her but her eyes were focused on the thin figure lying lifeless on the ground. A piece of sharp object was on his chest. The quilt he had wrapped himself with was soaked with blood and it pooled the floor too. Nausea threatened to come out but she gathered herself together.
"Orville, what happened?" Elma instinctively checked Orville's wound. However, just as she knelt down beside him, Sean returned and saw the whole thing.
"Orville--" The eggs he was holding dropped to the ground.
Sean's eyes were wide as he looked at his lifeless brother.
"Orville..." he said absent-mindedly.
"Sean, look at me. Sean!" Elma didn't want Sean to see Orville like this. She didn't want a seven-year-old kid to see such gruesome sight.
Sean was not looking at her but only at his brother so Elma stood in front of Sean and protected him from the sight. It was then that Sean looked at her and the shock on his face was replaced with wrath.
"You killed Orville!" Sean roared at Elma like a wounded beast.
"What? No! No, I didn't do this--"
Elma wasn't able to continue what she was about to say when suddenly the old woman Sean was talking to earlier came in the house.
"Oh my... What happened?" The woman asked and then her eyes went to Orville's body.
Her lips trembled at the sight and fear was visible in her eyes when she looked at Elma before she ran away from the house.
She didn't care about the old woman. She cared more about Sean.
"Sean, listen to me. I did not do this--"
"You killed him!"
"I didn't! Why would I kill him?"
But Sean, being the kid that he is, is hard to convince. Especially since he has already decided to believe what he wanted to believe.
It didn't take long before news of Elma's alleged murder spread throughout the human village of Port Villa at the foot of the mountain.
The villagers, led by the village chief, decided to go to the Cecil household to have a look. The Cecil brothers often interacted with the villagers to gather information and maintain fair trade in the human marketplace. They were quite known in the village.
The middle-aged woman who ran out earlier chatted casually with Sean and got a rough idea of Elma's identity.
"We should call the police." The village chief saw that everyone basically agreed, so he nodded and said, "Let's call the police!"
"Chief, shouldn't we wait for the twins to come back before doing anything?"
"Right, it wouldn't be appropriate to do anything without them here." At this point, two young men who were usually close with the Cecil twins stepped forward and said.
The chief thought for a moment, then said, "Let's not waste time. We'll go to the Cecil household and tie up that stranger women. You guys go and look for the Cecil brothers on the road out of the village. I saw him leaving the village early this morning with some stuff, probably for the market."
A large group of people arrived at the Cecil's household. The front door was wide open. Elma heard the noise and had already come out of the house.
"What are you trying to do?" Seeing the crowd's aggressive attitude, Elma guessed that the middle-aged woman must have spread the news of her killing someone, which is why the village chief had come with people. She understood. After all, it was a murder. How could a village not be concerned?
How could she explain to them that she is not the one who killed Orville? That is was likely that he took his own life? Would they believe a woman they don't know?
"You killed Orville. I think you already know what we are trying to do," said a woman named Iris. Iris is about the same age as Elma. Looking at her, they seem to really care about the Cecil family. Elma couldn't help but wonder if they truly care for the Cecil brothers.
The villagers echoed Iris, and one by one they scolded Elma. This kind of woman was simply a disgrace to the village. But Elma is desperate to prove she is not the one who killed Orville.
"I didn't kill anyone. I did not kill Orville--"
"Go grab her!" The village chief gestured to several robust women to capture Elma. Elma's face darkened, and her heart sank.
Her gaze swept over the crowd. "I'll say it again, I didn't kill anyone!"
That middle-aged woman, Myrna, jumped out and said. "I saw it with my own eyes, is it fake? You heartless cheap woman, even when you're about to die, you're still denying it!"
The village chief reprimanded, "Hurry and tie her up. Isn't this causing a scene?"
With all the accusations, Elma couldn't find a chance to prove her innocence and everyone from the village believed she killed Orville. Deep down, Elma was trying to call out her wolf. Practically begging it to come out. She doesn't want to kill these people because she knows they're going to be powerless against her. She just needed her wolf to take over so she could run away from this place.
At this point, the village women had already thrown Elma to the ground and were about to tie her up. Elma, who had just barely survived a serious illness, was currently powerless. No matter how much she tries to struggle, she couldn't get away from them.
Elma's heart turned cold. She barely had time to settle into her new life, and now she was supposed just to give it up.
- Writer
