A beautiful and smart wife.
She knew how to cook a tasty meal for the tired husband who came back from work late. Working as much as possible, she tried her best to keep her husband stress-free as much as possible.
Often you can find her standing outside the house, tiptoeing as she looks for her late husband who went outside to work in the deep woods. Worried a bit, expectant a bit more.
A responsible mother.
Loved by her two children, she had always put her children first, taking care of them in all the ways possible. From their health, learning ability and small steps towards taking care of their body, she had taught them all she could teach them. Many times, she went out of her way to learn new things that may or may not benefit her children in the future.
She was loved by her husband, her family, her neighbours and perhaps everyone she knew. As cheerful as she could be, she was a flower that would brighten the darkest of nights. Putting a smile on everyone's face, she was always there when those close to her were in despair.
And as things were moving well…
One night, as she laughed with her mother and father who came to visit their daughter with a few more of the family, the beautiful night seemed to have become a dozen times more merry than before.
But fate…
Fate was like a cruel sword that was aimed at the very heart of this merry girl.
On the same night, a few bandits, humans who were far worse than the demons in folklore, appeared, aiming to raid the settlement in this far-off place. Aiming to plunder the little that this place had to offer…
Perhaps it was planned? Or perhaps it was just a bad coincidence?
Just yesterday, the head guardian, the elder and the priest had left the settlement for an urgent call to the city cathedral. And the only ones left to protect the settlement were three guards who had just stepped up to the position a few weeks ago.
And the bandits looted, oh they killed. They did to poor and kind girls what they did with all those girls whom they had come across before.
As if it were fun, they killed her parents in front of her eyes, as if they got pleasure, they tortured her husband in front of her eyes until he bled to death. And when they were satisfied with the broken and anguished girl, they soon went to her two children.
"Let's sell them to the slave traders. They should fetch some fine coins." One spoke with an ugly smile.
"Can I at least have the girl? She is totally my type." Another eyed the young girl.
"Oh, you. Just be fast." And they laughed.
And this broke the poor girl. The thought of what her children might go through, the thought of the hell her precious children might face… it broke her down…
"Espera Litero moan uabr okla byea…" and she chanted words she had once learnt from a merchant in her times of travel. Words that she once thought only the crazies would be brave enough to try…
They say it was a spell from ancient times, something that the young girl was curious about, but never went beyond the limits of curiosity.
"…ISPERA DI MEA LINA HOUASA…" and then chanted loudly as her eyes turned black, her face turned ashen. Her brown hair slowly turned black, while the clothes on her body began rotting into an ugly black.
Where did she learn the chant? Nobody knew.
Who was that merchant who provided her the path to this chant? Nobody knew.
What did they mean? Nobody knew.
"KILL HER!" The bandit leader shouted as he saw the changes in the woman. He knew what was in store for him if he let the woman continue… But it was too late…
The kind woman was no more.
All there was a Weeping Widow, a woman who had lost herself to darkness.
A mother who wanted to protect her children.
With her newfound powers at the cost of her humanity, the witch killed the bandits in ways far more cruel than they did. They begged her, not to let them go, but to kill them. The torture was too much to bear, for their skins bled until they didn't have any blood left… and yet they were alive, suffocating, hoping to die… hoping for this hell to end for them.
But it was too late for that.
Death would be mercy.
"Ispera." She mumbled as the dead, those that were her family but gone, rose back on their feet. They slowly walked towards her, stopping around her in a circle before getting on their knees.
The woman then heard voices, and people from outside were entering the settlement. They were the Guardian, the Priest and the Elder along with a few more of the travellers who were with them.
A slight tingle of sadness echoed in her heart before it vanished too.
The Witch knew it was too late for her to return to the real world. She cannot be one of them anymore. She cannot laugh with them anymore, and neither can she cry with them.
And thus, with a sad smile on her face, she walked up to her children who looked at her with a confused expression.
"Mother?" Lila asked, a bit scared, a bit worried.
"Lila. Averie. Momma loves you. Live a beautiful life." She spoke before patting her children's heads as they soon lost consciousness and fell on the ground.
Then along with the zombies, she soon walked outside the settlement, deep into the forest where she found her new home.