~E V E~
I hardly could sleep all through the night as I toiled around the bed. It was hard. All of a sudden, I felt emotions for a girl I had met just because I saw the Inyoka tattoo on her wrist, and I was worried that maybe I had killed her.
Calm down, Eve, You haven’t done anything; what are you even saying? It couldn’t have been me; the Inyoka only visited because... why would it visit me exactly if I hadn’t used my powers before then? I need to invoke the spirit before it comes, and I didn’t, nor was I in danger for it to protect me, so why would it visit me?
Or have I seen something wrong? No, the tattoo marking was definitely on her wrist; it was clear as day.
So what could have caused this because of the way Rachel pleaded?
My forehead furrowed as my eyes squinted, thinking deep into this; it was also a personal issue for me.
All through the night, the rays of sunlight blasted through my curtain and attacked my eyes. I thought only of the possibilities that the Inyoka had been made active. I don’t know what it means, but it was a huge problem.
I shrieked as I looked towards the door, “Eva! Eva! Eva!” Raghul banged repeatedly as if there were an urgent crisis right now.
“ugh…” I groaned as I fell back on the bed, covering my face with my pillow. “Can you stop making a fuss over there and just come in?” I yelled out and threw myself over to face the ceiling board with my arms spread apart.
“Eva, we have got bad news.” Raghul broke out, and I got up instantly as only one thought came to mind: “Are the police here?” I wasn’t afraid of them, just that I really needed to stay out of trouble for now.
“No,” Raghul answered. He paused and asked, “Did you do anything again? Eva,”
I shrugged before answering, “No,” rolling my eyes with an hiss. What does he take me for? Just because I screwed up yesterday doesn’t mean I do this all the time. Twenty-first century Raghul needs to cool off. The generations before him will kiss the floor I walk on and won’t even question my character. Where does he even get such boldness from?
“All right, I trust you because we do not have the time for any of that. Take a look at this,” Raghul said, handing over the papers in his hand to me. “I found this in the mail,” he added. I looked at the papers in front of him and then back at him.
“Raghul? I am not paying you so that I can do your job,” I say.
He took it back and grumbled out loudly, “You aren’t paying me anything; this is like a blood covenant signed by my great and a lot more great father, of which now I have the burden to carry on, which I didn’t ask for; I should be at a law firm as we speak.”
I folded my hands and snickered, “Doing what at a law firm? Running errands, I saw your results from school, and they didn’t look that good. I will shave my hair if they even put you on to be their messenger to run errands for them. You are fine here, Raghul, and I also think I should at least pay you.”
“That won’t be possible now because we are out of funds,” Raghul declared as he narrated everything that was written in those papers; he knew all of that and still wanted to make me read, “It will be a miracle if we even have a roof over our heads by next week.”
I scoffed, unable to believe the crap he was telling. “The government is stupid then, or aren’t they aware that my father handed over all of his possessions to me?”
“Yes to you, but you died as well,” Raghul responded.
“I have lived in this house the moment my father brought me here; generations of Raghul have done so as well, and now that I am five hundred years old, if the government wanted to cause me any trouble, they would have done that before now,” I said, brushing it off again. “Or what do they plan on doing with an old house like this?”
“While I was downstairs, I looked in, and it seems your father was an important figure in the past who helped the army. The government is only realizing this now and is surprised to see that his property is still very much standing and plans on changing it into a landmark," Raghul explained, and I rolled my eyes.
I never knew of my father’s job as he never stayed at one place for long, but I did know he was such a great father. But what must I do now if I can’t confirm if this is true or not?
“They know people are living here, and so they are offering to pay us to leave the property or they claim it by force,” Raghul said.
“In what world can they claim the property by force? It is not even possible; we are safe, Raghul, and I am not selling,” I said, laughing in the mix because this was ridiculous.
Raghul frowned at my lack of interest in this: “In a world where the only name to this property is written as Gareth Samuel Allistair and his daughter, by the way, Elizabeth Allistair, we have no choice but to sell; we need the money; we are broke.”
“Have you gone mad, Raghul? Have you forgotten what is beneath this house?” I asked furiously, not being able to control my rage. This is the worst Raghul I have had in all generations.
“The human statues,” Raghul said as he came to realization.
“Exactly! I will figure out a way.” I said reassuringly, like I could handle it; I hardly knew what to do next. “For the money issue, how is it that our banks are empty? We had generational wealth in there.”
“No, you never had; you were broke the moment we stepped into the twenty first century, and since you never made any investment like I told you too, all of our money vanished with the numerous lawsuits from different people; we had close to six hundred people on your neck just last year alone, which was why I pleaded that you lay low for a while and you couldn’t listen,” Raghul said, not hiding his shadiness at all.
This was depressing.
“No need to worry then; I am expecting royalties soon,” I said to lighten up Raghul’s mood, but he just went on to complain further. “What Royalties? The publishing house is not only suing you but taking all of your books from their book outlets; we have hit our lowest, Miss Eva, and since I don’t work and you don’t pay me, I am broke,” Raghul expressed as he covered his face in frustration and sighed.
Everything was happening all at once; my downfall was happening right in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I just sat there and acted surprised that I got into this situation.
Something happened; there could have been a shift from last night. I can’t be the only one who is going to suffer all of these.
There was a knock coming from the main door, and I looked at Raghul bewildered. “Since when do we entertain visitors?”
Raghul raised his face from his palms and said, “I will go see who it is.”
“I will come with you; I need some coffee to get rid of this headache.” I massaged my creased forehead as I followed Raghul downstairs.
~E V E~Oh shit!“Why are the police here now?” Raghul asked as he rushed the stairs, seeing a few officers at our door through the transparent glass. He turned to me, plainly suggesting I had done something wrong from that accusing look on his face.I gave a shrug and said, “I don’t know.” Why does he think it is right to think I am always going to be at fault? “Hurry and go check it out,” I say as I hide behind the door. Raghul’s accusing eyes didn’t leave mine the more I acted suspicious.He opened the door and said, “Good morning, officers. To what shall we owe this pleasant visit?” I heard his sigh and a later groan as the police officer said, “We received information that this is the residence of the author, Miss Eve.”Raghul mumbled a silent, “Of course,” as he glared in my direction. “Yes,” he confided to the officer.“Is she around? We would like to bring her to the station to ask a couple of questions regarding a teen girl, Rachel, who died last night,” the officer said.“Th
1568—The beginning of the witch hunt“Push! Push!” The midwife barked at the pregnant woman, who has been in labor for several hours, suffering excruciating pain as she bleeds all over the sheets.“I can’t,” The pregnant woman cried, “Tear me open and take my baby out of me; I don’t think I can go on any longer.” She wept; her body was frail, and she could barely breathe, panting profusely as the other midwives held her down.It was transcendent—no one could understand the reason this woman has been in labor for close to a day and still there is no sign of the baby."Goodness, gracious woman, I need you to push!” The lead midwife shouted at her, paying no heed to the pregnant woman’s plight. “I am going to count, and you are going to push with all of your might at the call of three.”“Mhm…” The pregnant woman nodded as the other women in the mud house with them surrounded her, holding her and ready to aid her. The pregnant woman took deep breaths, preparing herself for her final push
~EVE POV~1573—the year of the witch hunt.“Burn the witch to the stake!” The crowd who had come to watch both my mother’s and my persecution yelled heartlessly. I saw the fright in my mother’s eyes as we were both separated from each other.“Close your eyes, my child; all of this will soon be over.” My mother consoled me, and I nodded, agreeing with each word she said, but I had no fear in me; I had already accepted the reality of it all.These cold-hearted humans have chased my mother since she had me and have never made her rest. I saw her tears each night as we moved from village to village; she never felt comfortable sleeping as she was worried I would be taken advantage of by her. I was always the target.The crowd cheered as a mighty man walked to the execution ground with a flare. He turned to my mother and smacked her in the face. “Wench!” he blatantly called her. He turned to the crowd of supporters and asked them, “What else should I do to her?”“Spit on her!” An old woman
~EVE~I was brought into a room, which I would quite say was to investigate given the dimly lit overhead light that was shown above our heads as shadows covered the wall. Inside it, there was a tinted glass window that, if not for these contacts, I would see the humans who were in it; their scent was more than enough.I tapped my glove covered fingers on the iron table that separated us, waiting for both of them to at least speak. Obviously, they were trying to build tension, but I was unfazed as I stared back at them.Mark cleared his throat to throw off the silence as he began by opening a case file on his desk. “You won’t mind that we go ahead without your lawyer since he isn’t here yet?” he asked, seeking my permission.He clearly sounded like he would anyway, even if I declined. I wanted to give a snappy response, but Raghul warned that I should try and remain calm; he has been the one bearing all of my consequences. At least I should try and remain silent.I nodded in response t
~EVE~Zachariah and Mark both ran out of the room as I followed, despite Zachariah demanding that I stay put. Whatever the reason that had them bothered, surely it was something big, and indeed it was.“Are you done? Should we leave?” Raghul swiftly asked the moment I approached him.“Not yet,” I say before moving away from there and heading to the table where Mark, Zachariah, and a lady were sitting. I don’t quite get who she is; opposite her were two girls, but I didn’t care.There were worried looks written on all of their faces as the lady who was seated asked, “What are we going to do now? This is serious.”I inched closer to see what exactly was displayed on the table. If humans mattered to me so much, then I would have gasped. I felt something, at least for the deceased, seeing all that was on the table.“Are you saying Rachel had a boyfriend who was doing all of these to her?” Zachariah asked in a calm tone as the grils who were seated nodded. My eyes went to the name tags of
~EVE~The girls were taken away to discuss it more with Zachariah and Mark. I had no access whatsoever to eavesdrop on their conversation, even though I did have the means to but hardly didn’t want to, as my selflessness, willingness, sincerity, and heart of heart gave up quickly in wanting to help out Rachel.I spent that week for myself; the peace and tranquility I received from not being in any human’s business and them not being in mine was wholesome.The police had found no leads yet concerning the whereabouts of Rachel’s boyfriend when I knew where he was. None of my business.Or for that moment, I thought.My glass windows in my house suddenly began to crack one after the other. I looked around me and could sense an uneasy feeling that I wasn’t alone.“Raghul,” I called like the scaredy cat that I was, as I am powerless, it seems. “Raghul,” I called again as a heavy wind passed me and I felt a sharp object slash against my laps, making a tear on my nightwear. The cut had weaken
ÈVEMy body slammed against the wall of the farmhouse that I ran into as Zachariah held both my hands ever so tightly. I felt intoxicated, like I had no control over myself. “How many times have you been warned to stay out of trouble?” Zachariah asked.“And how many times do you keep coming after me? Others would have chosen to chase me, but you chose to do it yourself,” I asked back while laughing, adding, “You like me, don’t you?” I playfully tapped on his nose as my body twisted under his hold.For all of the times I have wished for my body to go out of power because of how hard it was to control the Inyoka spirit in me, this was not the right time.My body was out of control as I watched them, begging her to stop.“There is no denying that fact,” Zachariah admitted. “I like my women feisty, I guess.”Let me out! Let me out! Don’t give in; Acantha didn’t, Elizabeth didn’t, all of my other alumni didn't, and Eve, you shall not! You are a goddess; don’t heed a man much lesser than yo
~EVE~I viewed the short card Daniel had slipped into my pocket, saying that it might help me find help. He was clearly joking because what does a seer have to do with an Inyoka tattoo? Seers who can only see the immortal realm when blessed with such power are now everywhere filled with so much fake.I had nothing to do, so I was going to go anyway.My front door was knocked as I looked at it. I sensed an ominous spirit, but I might be wrong this time as I was still recovering. The knock became heavier and heavier as I got up to go check it out.“I will do it,” Raghul offered as he got out of the shower and came to help out. “Go put on some clothes; I will handle it,” I assured as the knock again got much heavier. I swear I will kill whoever is at the door.As I opened the door, there was absolutely no one. I looked down to see a basket with a baby inside.My body froze, as this was obviously something I couldn’t handle.Thankfully, Raghul ran down again as he heard my scream, which w