Preface:
I used to take comfort in my local parish, but now I find myself running not only from the congregation that had once welcomed me as one of their flock; but the shepherd that had led us all in prayer to the Lord I love. Now I am being told that the God I have prayed to, feared, and worshiped wishes to burn me to the darkest depths of hell. I try to ignore the pain and forget the painful memories of being hunted as a witch.
'Keep your eyes ahead Marie, the woods are your only salvation'. I try to follow the advice of my Savior but it is difficult resisting the urge to turn my head towards the voices cursing my name and yelling for me to come back and face my punishment. Without the Town Doctor hiding me in the delivery room while he was helping a local woman, the men would have carried me off to the closest tree and hanged me. It seems men would not step into the delivery room even if a witch was in it. If it were not for his quick thinking of sneaking out the storm cellar I would merely be holding off my inevitable demise. At least now I have a chance.
I am mere feet away from the first tree when I am tackled to the ground. A potato sack is now covering my eyes with a small bit of rope tightened around my neck, perhaps as a warning of what's to come. I have been captured and every step I have taken to avoid it has all been for naught. As I had predicted I feel myself being dragged to the very tree that not even a minute ago had been a symbol of hope and freedom. I hear the noose being strung up and the whispers of people waiting to watch my execution. They are no longer the flock I have worshiped with, but the mob that will deliver me to the hands of my God. Soon all noise has stopped and I feel as though time has stood still, until I feel a hand at the top of my head.
With one flick of the wrist my vision is renewed only to see the hateful looks of every onlooker. I turn my head and see my shepherd, the pastor that has presided over this colony for the last two years. He looks into my eyes and all I see is evil intent. I feel as though I am looking into the eyes of Satan himself. "You have been tried and found to be guilty of the crime of witchcraft. You have committed many acts in the Satan's name, by doing his deeds and carrying his evil spawn. As it is said in the scriptures, 'Thou shall not suffer a witch to live'. In the name of the Lord I banish you to death. Do you wish to repent your sins ask for forgiveness."
He then leans in, closer to my ear and whispers to me as the snake surely did to Eve in her darkest hour, "If you had not tempted me so or refused my advances and courting as aggressively as you had, perhaps you would not be carrying Satan's spawn in your womb. For surely the creature growing in you is not mine. If only you had not been a whore." I realized then that no matter what I did at this point, it would not help me to survive in this world. I turned to the man that I had trusted. The man that had destroyed my trust and faith in men after taking what is most precious to all women, my purity and innocence. In an act of anger I spit in his eye, putting all of my anger into it as I could.
He was shocked, but overcame it a moment later. "You have refused to repent your sins and will be punished by spending the rest of your eternal life burning in hell." As he said this I was raised onto a stool, the noose being wrapped around my neck. As my executioner was tying my hands together I looked out into the crowd and found the Doctor who had risked everything to save me. His eyes were filled with guilt, sadness and absolute defeat. He knew that it would be impossible to save me, and I would not wish for him to risk himself to save someone who is beyond such help.
Soon I was once again blinded to everything, except for the inside of the sack that was once again pulled over my head. I closed my eyes and attempted to shut out the world around me and began to pray for my eternal salvation, as I already accepted the end of my life on earth. Suddenly it seemed as though the world around me had begun to slow down. I felt a presence around me, a feeling of being engulfed by a warm sensation. Then the wind began to pick up. For some reason I had begun to think I might have the ability to live a long life on earth with love and acceptance. As I was growing accustomed to the feeling I could feel the stool under my feet be pushed out from under me. As I prepared for the tugging at my throat I was shocked when instead of hanging I feel to the ground. The ropes around my neck had been torn, as the ones on my wrist were. I removed the potato sack and was happy to see the stunned faces of the mob around me. I began thanking God for saving me and giving me such a miracle, but then a circle of fire began to surround me, blocking me from towns' people. I found that I was able to escape to the woods through an opening in the fire and I took it.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, while still being restricted by the dress that surrounded them. I ran as though the Devil himself were chasing me. I had looked behind me to see if I had been followed but when I turned back around I tripped on a stray branch. I pushed myself off the ground and instinctually covered by growing stomach with my hands, hoping that my baby would survive my fall. I looked up from where I was and saw a woman standing before me.
Her appearance had me reeling, as I had never seen anyone that looked like her before. With her darker complection, her black hair lying in braids on her back, and her overall strange attire I was surprised at how comfortable I was around her. She stared at me for a moment, and then began to walk towards a light that was showing through the trees. I had begun to think I had died in the fire and this was an angel leading me to my fate, whether it be heaven or hell. I followed my instincts and walked towards the same light that the woman had disappeared into. Slowly the light had grown and eventually I found myself in the middle of a clearing. It made me believe that I had been saved and gone to heaven. I fell to my knees in relief and praised God for his loving and forgiving nature. I heard a noise in front of me looking up and again meeting the eyes of a stranger, who not only held the same traits as the woman before but had another attribute that had me shaking in fear.
It was a man tall in stature with large frame. When he first looked at me he seemed lost and confused as to why he was there. But as our eyes had met his expression changed to one of unconditional love. The only time I had seen an expression similar to this was on the faces of mother's who first gazed upon their newborn children. The same warm feeling entered my body, and as much as I wanted to embrace the feeling, my fear of men took over and I started to scoot way from the man that had begun to fall closer to the ground in an attempt to be closer to me. His eyes flashed with anger and the next thing I knew I was swept up in his arms, being carried as a child would by its mother. I tried to escape his hold on me but he only held me closer. "Stop! We are going home". I know longer felt the desire to fight him, and soon fell asleep to the warmth of his body and the sound of his heartbeat.