Bean Pháidín ( /gGX17CsMFPk) is the song used in this chapter. I'm not fluent in Irish Gaelic so if the lyrics are wrong, I'll gladly fix them.
Comments and kudos are welcomed and encouraged as is criticism.
Their birth hadn't exactly been planned.
On October 1, 1989, their mother become inexplicably pregnant. Their mother didn't know that at the same time she had become pregnant, 42 other woman had children even though they hadn't been pregnant that morning.
Their mother had been approached by a rich man, offering to buy her baby from her but in the end, she refused. Her refusal was taken horribly by her family, who disowned her and her baby. The next seven years – after she got on her feet – were happy and silent, as they didn't cry or talk much as a baby or a child. And then it happened.
Their mother died one day.
Their mother's funeral hit them hard. The woman had given them everything they needed in life, even if she had to work multiple jobs. Since their mother's family had disowned her, they wanted nothing to do with them and so they were given to an orphanage.
The owners weren't the greatest people in the world; the woman was gone more than half the time, leaving the children in the care of her alcoholic and abusive husband. The man beat the kids anytime they misbehaved, and for the new kid, that was all the time. There was nothing they could do right according to the owners. And there was nothing they could do about the beatings.
Until they found out about their powers one rainy evening.
It had started when things went missing. First it was things people wouldn't miss, small shiny coins that fell out of pockets or purses. Next it was silverware that had been thrown out. The theft was only caught when one of the other kids had caught them and tried to tell, only to be thought of the thief. Normally the punishments weren't bad but this one was a beating that left the little boy bleeding and sobbing.
They were the one to find him in the closet late at night, curled up and crying from the pain. A rage they didn't know existed took over them as they helped the boy up into a bed and dressed his wounds. They wanted to make the horrible people pay for what they had done to him.
They made their way into the couple's bedroom, standing at the foot of the bed and watching the pair sleep comfortably. They had no idea what compelled them to sing; they didn't talk at all. "'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte."
The woman turned over but they continued their song, looking at the pair. "Rachainn go Gaillimh, go Gaillimh. 'Gus rachainn go Gaillimh le Páidín. Rachainn go Gaillimh, go Gaillimh. 'S thiocfainn abhaile sa mbád leis." They felt happier as the song went on, swaying a little and watching the pair with glassy eyes.
The woman settled back down, sighing in her sleep as they tilted their head, watching the pair even closer. "'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte." The man turned onto his back, seeming like he was going to wake up but settled back down.
"Rachainn go hAonach na Chlocháin. 'S isteach go Béal Átha na Báighe. Bhreathnóinn isteach trí na fuinneogaí. 'Súil 's go bhfeicfinn bean Pháidín." The man woke up slightly, sitting up to get a drink as they watched him carefully.
"'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte." The man finally noticed them, glaring at them.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the words caught in his throat, unable to speak. "Go mbristear do chosa, do chosa. Go mbristear do chosa, a bhean Pháidín. Go mbristear do chosa, do chosa. Go mbristear do chosa 's do chnámha." Both of them woke when they sang, their faces contorting in pain as they screamed silently.
Under the covers, their legs contorted into unnatural shapes as they smiled and rocked their head to a beat in their head. A few bones stuck out from the woman's legs, her face one of pure pain while the man writhed in the bed, silent crying out for help.
'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte." More bones broke on the pair, sticking out as they watched with a small smile on their face. They didn't know why they had started singing; they just knew that they wanted to hurt the pair as they had hurt every kid there.
"Chaith mé mo bhróga, mo bhróga. Chaith mé mo bhróga i ndiaidh Pháidín. Chaith mé mo bhróga, mo bhróga. Chaith mé na boinn is na sála." They sang, the pair eventually passing out from the pain that the once silent child had caused just by opening their mouth.
"'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise bean Pháidín. 'Sé an truaigh nach mise, nach mise. 'S an bhean atá aige a bheith caillte." They finished the song, the rest of their bones breaking with sickening cracks.
It took them a few seconds to snap out of the trance they had put themselves into, looking at the horror in front of them on the bed before standing and grabbing all the shiny things their tiny hands could carry. They stuffed a purse full of all the money they could carry, sneaking out through a window.
They were a few houses away when they heard the scream, a small grin coming to their face as they climbed over fences and made their way to the shipyard. It didn't take too much to sneak aboard a cargo ship; they were a tiny child and they could climb into the rafters easily.
They awoke from their dream to the doorbell ringing, watching their friend walk underneath their hammock to open the door.
"Hey you. What are you doing here?"