Jessica Belizario
Today marks the ten-year anniversary of my marriage. The sun was bright and perfect for berry picking. Where some people ducked from the sun, I embraced it— “kissed by the sun” my husband would always say. The sun was at its highest around midday. The majority of the village was safe from its warm rays—resting, cooking, stitching clothes, anything that would keep them in their huts and in the shades, but I enjoyed the way the rays of the sun danced and warmed my skin.
Midday was my favorite time of day. The village was always empty, and I was free to walk about uninterrupted. Nature had been speaking to me since I was a little girl. The winds would blow and whisper which berries I should pick, or which crops were ready for harvest. I’d walk around the empty roads of my village all day today if I could. In the middle of the village stood a massive white oak tree. It was so big that it touched the skies, and when it rained, you need only sit beneath its leaves for shelter.
It smelled sweet, almost sugary—like vanilla—and it could be smelled from every inch of the village. It is the anchor to our home. We gather around the base of the tree for burials, unions, and council meetings and each time I was mesmerized by its grandeur. The neighboring tribes called us The White Oak tribe when we settled in the area. The chief said it was fitting, I agreed.
The village of The White Oak tribe was surrounded by a winding river that could be heard from its center thanks to the quiet the midday sun provided. The river curved almost entirely around the village, except at the road that leads in and out of the village. I sat at the base of the tree and listened as powerful waves crashed into the rocks and riverbanks as I let my mind drift away with the winds.
I remembered the first time I met my husband and how eager I was to marry. I was eighteen years old, and my Gods, was he the most beautiful creature to bless the earth. He was taller than all the other men in his village, stronger too. His skin was dark and covered with his ancestral markings and the battle scars that demonstrated both his bravery and his viciousness.
Kai had two large arrows painted on his back, each facing in the opposite direction, and red painted stripes down all four of his limbs. He had healed cuts on the left side of his chest, right thigh, left shoulder, left eye and a fresh one just above his right eyebrow.
Kai had a curiously soft face that masked the warrior behind his brown eyes. His voice echoed throughout the quarry as he towered over the son of the Pansai chief. The Pansai chief’s son was a lot smaller than my would-be husband. He wore his own tribal markings around his arms and thighs and his hair was cut low to his head.
Under the cover of the stars, a group of men from the enemy tribe crept their way into our village. They slaughtered the goats and hung them from the trees. They set flames to our huts and took no prisoners. The village I had grown up in, once green and full of life, was covered in red and drowned in the screams of my people.
This war had been brewing for years—since my father denied a union between myself and the Pansai chief’s son. It had been five moons since then, but the enemy tribe continued to egg us on, hovering around the borders making it impossible to leave without the threat of death. The chief’s son led every attack.
This, however, would not be a victorious story for the Pansai to add to their collection. I watched with contentment as Dene cowered on his knees in front of a giant. There was nothing that could stop the internal wound that he had caused that night, but hearing him whimper and beg for his life was something I quite enjoyed. With one swing of the giant’s axe Dene’s head came rolling to my feet.
“Are you alright?” the giant asked me.
He had a stiffness when he spoke to me. He wasn’t a man I had encountered before, and he bore no Pansai tribal markings. I heard no stories of a man as capable as he was.
I remained silent; I don’t know why. I was scared and intrigued, of course I was. The stench of death rolled off his beautifully darkened skin, and I knew that his scars told no lies—this was a dangerous man. I ignored every instinct I had to run and hide as far away as I could.
I could outrun him, I thought to myself. I knew I should, but it was as if I was stuck in quicksand, sinking deeper into the earth the closer he got to me. He reached out his bloodied hand, and I examined it, unsure if I should take it or not. On his wrist he wore an obsidian stone tied to a tightly fastened beaded bracelet. It was beautiful in its simplicity. The stone twirled in the chaos of our surroundings, around and around until I could hear only the secret whispers the stone offered.
“It’s enchanted. It will only come off if it’s my will,” he said as he followed my eyes to his bracelet, snapping me out of my trance.
He has the favor of a witch, I thought to myself. I used my own magic to tug at the strings of the bracelet, but it was of no use. Whoever cast this spell was far stronger than I was.
He reached down and took hold of my hand and lifted me to my feet. I didn’t struggle, there was no use in doing so. He could send me flying across the quarry if he wanted. But he didn’t. He helped me to my feet, but the strength that kept me standing was leaving me, and I felt my knees begin to buckle beneath me. He tightened his hold on me until the earth steadied. He took his eyes off me and started for the lake that sat under the waterfall.
The night sky was covered in gray smoke as the village continued to burn. The smell was strong and caused my eyes to water. I could only bury my face in this man’s side and hold my breath. The screams of my people grew quieter as we reached the lake and the horses scattered deep into the forest.
I stood there, unsure of what to do. I could flee, but my village had been destroyed in the night, and I didn’t know where to go. I could cook and pick berries in the forest, but I wasn’t sure I could survive on vegetation alone. I had no idea how to hunt, and I feared I’d take my own life before successfully taking down prey. Plus, there were far more dangerous things that lurked in the thicket, things far more dangerous than this man who had saved me.
The son of the chief would not return to his village; the Pansai were sure to investigate. They will come and find his head severed from his body and they will want vengeance.
“Take my hand,” he said softly as he reached back toward me.
And I did. He was strong and has proved himself capable of protecting me. I was alone and weak—I would never see my family again. My mother would never brush my hair as I made beaded bracelets for my younger sister. My older brother would never become chief or have kids of his own. I had no one in this world who loved me and would mourn with me.
If I stayed here, the Pansai would find me and kill me, or worse, force a union the chief can no longer forbid. I had to go with him.
“Your name?” he asked as he walked me deeper into the lake, not bothering to remove his deer hide pants and stopping only when he was submerged at the waist.
“Liseli.”
“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” he said as he freed his dark wavy hair from the braid that sat at the base of his skull. Before I could thank him, he submerged his entire body beneath the luminescent water and disappeared inside the lake. I hadn’t realized I followed him all the way into the water until he reemerged directly in front of me.
The blood and grime that covered his body was drifting away in the now murky waters surrounding his body. His body appeared to have been molded by the Gods.
“I am Kai,” he said, his perfect body a complete contradiction to the devastation that was my village at his back. “Come with me, I will keep you safe.”
That day my village burned alongside those who would harm me. To this very day, I often wonder what would have happened if my father, the Chief, had allowed the union between our two tribes. Kai saved me that day, though sometimes I think I would much rather have burned with my family.
But that was not my path. The Pansai attacked my village while we slept, and I was lucky enough to have found a new one. We settled a month’s distance away from my village, where my family was killed. Over the years, Kai found strong and loyal allies to join our tribe. We were small in numbers, but we were united and well protected.
Our small village was surrounded by giant trees that touched the skies. Our territory has grown over the years as well, the closest neighboring tribe, the Munsee tribe, took two weeks to reach. We were isolated and safe.
Kai said the Botanico tribe were good and kind people, though he never let me see for myself. Five years after we settled here, I asked Kai to travel with him to the Botanico village. They had no witch, so I wanted to help heal their sick, tend to their garden; simply be someone to talk to. But Kai refused me.
He said it was too dangerous and he all but locked me in my hut. Since then, I have begged Kai to let me leave the parameters of the village twenty-eight times—yes, I’ve kept count—but I have never left the village. Yesterday, I attempted to leave but the moment I stepped out, Kai was there to drag me back in. For a moment he reminded me of the first day we met—a ferociousness warrior.
It was at that moment that I realized my home was no longer a home—it was really my prison.
~~~
I returned home from picking berries in the village to find Kai rocking in his chair in front of our hut. He held a big bouquet of lavender in his right hand, and he greeted me with a huge smile.
“Are you ready to talk about it?” Kai asked, running his hands down one of my braids.
I walked into our hut and placed the berries on the table Kai made when we first found this place. I grabbed a clay vase and Kai placed the lavender flowers in it. He was out hunting, but not a single hair was out of his braid. He walked toward me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. Kai was not great with his words, so he rarely ever apologized for his behaviors.
“What are you hiding?” I asked calmly.
“Hiding? What is there for me to hide, my moon?” Kai loosened his perfect braid and began running his fingers through his hair.
“Why won’t you let me come with you on your travels?” I asked, walking away from where he stood. Kai was kind to me even when he’s angry at the world. He loved me even when I didn’t find reasons to love myself. Kai would set fire to the rains while he placed flowers at my feet. He loved me.
I loved him.
There was no doubt in my mind that I loved him—but a growing part of me was beginning to resent him for not letting me explore the world. Since finding this secluded piece of land, Kai has never let me leave our village. For ten years, I had been a prisoner to my husband, though he thought I was over-exaggerating that fact.
“There are dangers out there, my moon. The road is no place for a chief’s wife,” he said as he followed me out to the kitchen.
I began to dress the skinned rabbits he had brought home from his hunt. Kai was capable of much greater kills than this, but he knew I liked the tenderness of their flesh. He often hunted rabbits when he knew I was upset with him.
“Is the road not where you found your wife, Chief?”
“Yes. Remind me again of how I found you,” he said through a clenched jaw.
“Well, that was a long time ago. I am much stronger than I use to be.”
“You think you are, Liseli. But there are things that even I cannot protect you from,” he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I’m not some delicate zinnia sapling that will crumble with a strong breeze. I am Liseli, wife of the Great Wolf, Witch of the White Oak tribe. I am just as strong as you. When you travel next, I will travel with you.”
“You will not. You are to stay here and dare not step outside of this village. I have built you a home, you will honor me, and do as I am asking,” he said.
And it was decided.
Instances like this made me remember why I no longer loved Kai the way I used to. Here he was, towering before me because I no longer wanted to remain a caged hummingbird.
“This is you asking?”
Kai lifted his right hand and caught the single tear that rolled down my face. “This is me asking. Please, do not make me ask again.”
He released my face and left the hut just as I fell to my knees. Ten years, I have been locked in this house without friends, family or even children to accompany me in this servitude. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was suffocating and growing more resentful with each passing day. I was the strongest witch in the village, yet I was being held hostage by my own husband and Chief.
I could take this no more. I have loved Kai more than I could have ever loved another, but this way of living was destroying my being, taking my reason to live. I needed to leave this place.
As night fell, I began to gather the ingredients I needed to bind Kai and make a run for it. It tore me apart to have to resort to this, but I knew Kai would find me if I didn’t bind him. The Great Wolf was a master hunter. I have laid beside him almost every night for the past ten years. My scent was sure to be the easiest for him to pick out of the wind. I knelt in the grass near a small fire I had made in the nearby thicket of the woods. It was close enough to home that Kai wouldn’t notice my absence, but far enough away that I could complete my binding spell in peace.
I mixed in my hand a piece of Kai’s hair, dirt from the path he walked daily, willow’s bark to free him of any pain, eucalyptus to calm him, and lavender to remind him of me. This binding was not meant to hurt him, it only needed to free me. I have loved Kai as he has loved me, but I needed this escape.
I began to wonder how long it would take Kai to find me if my spell was successful. Kai would not just give up. I was cutting my palm before I realized I was, and into the mixture I added my own blood. With my blood, Kai will be bound by this spell until I no longer walked this earth.
Only once I am one with the earth can he be freed from this village. Once my potion was complete, I made my way to our house clutching the small opal vial between my trembling hands. I was nearly home when I heard the rustling of the bearberry bushes beside me. Kai emerged and stood before me in all his true glory.
His eyes glowed yellow against the pale of the moonlight and grey circles traced the shapes of his eyes. His hair was black with streaks of white, lightening with each passing spring. He trotted over to me and knelt at my feet. A soft whine escaped his sharp teeth and he waited patiently for me to respond. I placed a hand behind his right ear and only then did he sing the song of our people.
The song echoed throughout the village, growing louder and louder as more members of the pack joined in.
“Come inside, Great Wolf,” I said as he ended his song. I traced my hand below his left eye, where he was likely to have been scratched by whatever prey he was hunting. It had already begun healing, but there was a trace of blood that I wiped away with my thumb.
He closed his golden eyes and began his transformation back into a man as I walked to the door. I did not like to watch his transformation; the cracking of each bone was too much for me to bear. It wasn’t that I was made sick by the scene, rather I knew it hurt him and there was nothing I could do to ease that pain. This was who he was, the Great Wolf, protector of the tribe, captor of my being.
He was back on two legs when he stood at my back and placed a soft kiss at my neck.
“Is something wrong?” he asked me, as if every bone in his body hadn’t just broken and healed itself within thirty seconds.
“I do not like to watch your transformations.”
“I am aware,” he said with another kiss to the opposite side of my neck, “but this is what keeps us safe, what keeps you safe. I will change from man to wolf and back again for a thousand years if it meant you’d be safe,” he said.
“What is there to be safe from?” I asked as I stepped through the doorway.
“Monsters,” he said sinisterly. “What is that in your hands? It smells funny.”
I instantly froze. Of course, I was aware of his keen sense of smell, but I had hoped the smell wouldn’t pique his interest yet. I tucked the vial into the pocket of my skirt and filled a cup of water from the canteen.
“It’s a potion, to help with your transformations.” I said convincingly.
He was quiet for a moment as I poured the potion into his drink. “Help, how?” he asked me. He walked over to a pile of folded clothes and pulled on his deer hide pants. He picked up the paired shirt, but he did not pull it on.
“Well, it will stop the transformation from hurting you. It will also make the transformation faster and keep you calm in the process.”
Kai walked around the room aimlessly. I knew he was uncomfortable with the idea of using magic on himself, but there wasn’t much he would deny me, the one exception being my freedom. Kai would always allow me to practice my magic on him. He knew I wouldn’t hurt him, but he was always anxious, nonetheless. I asked him why he was anxious about magic once, he said it was because it made him vulnerable.
The Great Wolf was feared by many, and rightfully so. But he would have to drop all his defenses so that I could practice; he was afraid that our enemies, whoever they might be, would use that time to their advantage and attack. He would never tell me who he was always on the lookout for. I had been working on a separate potion made of daffodils, honey, and the blood of the Great Wolf. It would ensure that, once consumed, truth could only come forth and the act of deceit would cause the host physical pain.
I mixed my finger into a second vial I had hidden in my dress and watched as Kai’s dried blood blended into the honey and daffodil concoction. He was still pacing near the front door when I combined both potions into a single cup. Tonight, I would have all the answers that he has deprived me of for the past ten years.
I walked over to him, and his gaze instantly dropped to my hands. I kept my breathing even and spoke with clear intentions. I didn’t want to seem nervous and raise his suspicions on what was in the cup. This needed to seem like any other time we’ve practiced in the past. I looked up at him and I took my time remembering how perfect his face seemed.
The scratch below his eye was now completely healed, only a faint shadow remained. He hadn’t braided his hair back up, so his dark waves flowed loosely around his perfect face. Kai looked at me the same way he has done every day since I’ve known him—with love.
“Are you ready?” I asked him.
“I am. So, you say, this will stop the pain?”
“That is the hope,” I replied as he took the cup from between my hands. Without any further questions on his part, he drank the entire cup, leaving not a single drop.
I placed my right hand on his bare chest and began my spell.
“With these words, you are bound.”
Kai inhaled deeply and I began again, “With these words, you are bound.”
He released a shaky breath and placed both of his hands on top of mine. I felt the beat of a thousand stallions beneath my hand, and he began to perspire. The chair in the corner of the room began to rock more and more with each passing second as the earth trembled beneath our feet.
“Liseli,” he called out, tightening his grip on my hands. But it was already done.
“Kai, The Great Wolf, with these words, you are bound.” And then it was over. The earth stopped its trembling, and I watched as Kai’s breath evened out.
“Is it done?” he asked.
“Yes. How do you feel?”
“Odd.”
A small chuckle escaped me, “Odd? In what way?”
“No different from any other time. I do not enjoy your spells.” His face had instantly changed, but he did not continue this line of thought.
“When can I leave the village?” I asked softly.
“Soon, my moon.” Before he could continue, he fell to his knees doubled over with pain. I watched as the man I loved cried out in pain. I have always known he had no intentions of freeing me from this paradisical prison, this just confirmed it. Still, the revelation hurt all the same.
“What… is… happening…” he managed in between groans.
“Speak only truths, Kai, and pain will not come to you. Should you speak lies… well, even the Great Wolf must succumb to pain sometime,” I said as tears filled my eyes.
“What have you done?”
“I am seeking truth. Truth! Why won’t you let me leave?” I demanded.
“Because it is not safe for you out there.”
Truth.
“Why not?”
“There are evils I cannot protect you from.” His breath was still hastened, though I couldn’t be sure if he was still in pain or if he was afraid of where this conversation was headed.
“Explain.”
“I can’t explain it. Please, just trust me.”
Lie.
I waited for his agonizing scream to stop before I walked over to where he laid out of breath and curled up into a ball. Kai was lying to me, yet I hated to see him in pain. I carried a cold wet cloth with me and placed it on his head. He was grateful, but he was also afraid.
“Why are you lying to me? Do you not trust me?”
“With my life.” he responded.
Truth.
“Then speak clearly and without deception. Please, my love.”
He groaned out again, but this time, I could tell his torment was emotional. He placed his hand on my face and began,
“I am sorry. You are my moon, my reason for being. I have loved you since the first moment I saw you.” Truth.
“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.
“The day my village burnt to the ground.”
“No. It was during the cold nights. I was traveling through your village with my brother, Ikal. We were in need of food and water and a place to rest. I saw you, filling your canteens with water and carrying them in and out of your home.”
“I don’t understand. I have memory of such an encounter, but you were not present,” I said.
“I was. You offered myself and my brother, Ikal, drinks from your own hands. Ikal gratefully refused you and went to find your village’s chief. I did not. I stayed and drank from your hands until I was swollen with water. Your spirit was calming, your smile was gentle.”
Truth.
“The boy I fed water from my hand was small. Much, much smaller than you. He was no Great Wolf. He came seeking sanctuary for crimes committed against a neighboring tribe. My father the chief, hung both he and his brother,” I said.
I could see the resemblance and the truth in Kai’s recounting of history. He had tripled in size, but his eyes remained the same. Lost now like they were when he drank from my hands. I took a step back and Kai’s hand fell from my face. He reached out for me again, but he hadn’t regained his strength from his last lie. He stood carefully, like he didn’t trust his own legs to carry the burden he was about to relieve.
“I watched you die. What did you do?” I asked, confused.
“I…” He tripped over his words as he tried to catch his breath.
I had hoped for his sake, truth followed, though I am not sure if I could even grasp what his truth meant.
“I met a witch on my travels, before arriving at your village. She needed help, just like Ikal and I did. She was hungry, but we had maybe a day’s worth of food left, and we did not know how far our journey would take us. Ikal had been injured in our escape of our village, and I wasn’t much of a hunter at that time.”
“The witch, she asked us to spare some food. Ikal refused her, but I did not. ‘We do not know when we will find food again, little brother. We must ration what we have to survive,’ he said to me, but I did not listen. I left a piece of pig wrapped in cloth on a rock before we resumed our travels. The next night, while Ikal slept, the witch found me again.
“The night was cold, and the moon was full when she offered me a blessing. She told me death would not find me easily. She said that with death, I shall be reborn. I asked this witch to bestow upon my brother this same blessing, but she had refused him the way he refused her.
“She left me this,” he said as he raised his right arm, showing me the obsidian bracelet that he never took off.
“It is charmed,” I said to him.
“Yes. The witch said immortality was against the laws of nature and could never truly be gifted. Death was inevitable, but it could be postponed. The witch said death will only find me if life was no longer something I chose. The bracelet will only awaken when I am dead.”
I have never seen Kai look so lost, not since the day I first saw him as a boy. I remembered him now, and I was angry with myself that I hadn’t realized it was him sooner. My father acted out the sentence for another village, killing Ikal and awakening The White Wolf…
“What happened next?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
“I awoke in a pile of burning woods your father set with the limp body of my only brother, but I wasn’t myself. The burning smell of Ikal’s flesh clung to my nose, I can smell it now, even today. When I cried out, it wasn’t the screams of man that echoed through the forests. I could not hold what remained of Ikal’s body, so I lied on his chest and prayed to the Gods to ease my suffering.” Kai had begun to rock back and forth. He had tried to rise from the ground, but the pain my spell caused him was too much for him to bear. He continued,
“Then I remembered the witch. I sought her out and instead of her showing me how to end my suffering, she taught me how to control my new form. I trained for six full moons, turning from man to beast and back again. When I was done and ready to make your father pay for murdering my brother, I started again for your village. I had reached there just as a small group of men were getting ready to attack your village. I did not stop them. I helped them, or more accurately, they helped me. I gave the order to set the fires, a distraction to get the chief to come out of his home.”
Kai hesitated—he might’ve even considered lying to me—but he was still running his hands over his shoulders in an attempt to massage the pain from his body.
“I found him easily enough, I didn’t even need to transform into a wolf. I watched the life drain from his eyes as my hands tightened around his neck. I wanted him to die as I had and burn like Ikal did. So, I threw his lifeless body into the fire and watched him burn,” he said with his eyes glued to the floor.
I felt like I had been impaled by a spear. I have never known true war, but the longer I stood over Kai’s weakened body, the more I wanted tear him to pieces. I knew that I could take his life with ease—he’d let me, never once even considering defending himself against me. Kai tore his eyes from the ground and tried to speak, but he was choking. Kai placed his hands around his neck trying desperately to fill his lungs with air. He clawed at his neck, acceptance setting in as he realized it was me denying him breath.
My magic was strong, but my heart was not.
I released him and he fell back to the ground gasping for air. I gave him no time to catch his breath before I raised my hand and hit Kai across the face. He tried to stand again but he fell back down to his knees before I was sure it really happened. I hit him again and again until my arms could no longer hold themselves up. Kai’s breath had evened out—I was now the one who needed a moment to breathe.
“Tell me what happened next.” I demanded.
“No,” he said as he rose to his feet and took a step toward me with his hands up. He reached for my hand again, but I pulled away. He let out a deep sigh and began again,
“The other men had made easy work of the village. They killed almost everyone, and the fires spread and destroyed everything it touched. I felt no sympathy for the villagers. Not until I saw one of the men I entered your village with—Dene, his name was, a chief’s son—trying to hurt you. I took his life, then I saved you,” he said.
“Saved me? You murdered my father, my entire village, and locked me in another one! Why can’t I leave?” I demanded.
“I did not know what they would do,” he cried, tears rolling down his eyes.
“LIES!” I shouted. “Why can’t I leave?” I repeated.
“The witch must balance the scales. She said that her creation was not to impart destruction on the world, but to bring peace to it. Protect those who cannot protect themselves. I betrayed her and she has been searching for us ever since.”
“What do you mean ‘us’?”
“The witch cannot kill me; she has tried, and she has failed,” Kai said. He remained hunched over, clutching his stomach as sweat and tears mixed creating a poison meant to cause my heartbreak.
“My protection spells,” I said as realization dawned on me. “I have been keeping you safe all this time. Is that why you pursued me? Because you knew I could keep you safe!?”
“No! I did not know you were a witch until you showed me. I have lied to you about a lot of things but my love for you has never been one of them.”
Truth.
“The witch seeks you because she cannot kill me. But if she kills you…”
“Then you’d remove the obsidian bracelet, and your life would end all the same,” I spoke softly, nervously.
I have spent all these years thinking Kai was my savior, but he has proven to be the cause of my greatest grief. I felt disgusted with myself, sleeping with the man who took my father’s life—my village, too—loving him. I stumbled to the front door and Kai gathered all of his strength to step in front of me, blocking my exit. He had a wild look in his eyes, and I could tell, even now, that he would do anything to keep me from leaving.
“I cannot let you leave,” Kai said with a serious face.
There was no way I could physically overpower him with my hands, and I feared he would lock me in this house forever.
“Tell me, Great Wolf. Were you ever going to tell me the truth?”
“Yes.”
Lie.
He fell to the ground with a scream that made my blood curl. I watch as his breath caught in his chest, and he gasped for air. I could not offer him any aid no matter how much I wanted to. Tears restarted their descent down his face, and it was all I could do to not catch them as they fell. I have loved him and will continue to love him for as long as I live.
I crossed over his body and made my way back into the forest.
“Liseli,” he cried out in pain.
I swiftly passed the spot where I worked on the potions not even ten minutes ago. With each step closer to the edge of the village Kai’s voice grew fainter. I could feel my spells thinning out the faster I forced my legs to move. I had longed to hear the river splashing against the rocks. Instead, the night was full of my sobs and Kai’s betrayal.
“My moon!” Kai’s voice was barely a whisper now. I took the final stride into the world, free of Kai’s protection, free of my own protection, and I felt like I could breathe for the first time in years. A mixture of relief and grief filled me, and I fell to my knees. I would never see Kai again and even with all this new information I knew I would never be able to shake how madly in love I was with him.
I would miss how he loved me.
I was barely free from his influence, and I was already beginning to wish that I wasn’t. I wished we had more time together, but I needed to know the truth, and this was the consequence. Just as I was beginning to regain myself, a hysterical sound came from the bushes in front of me. Out of the shadows, a woman with red hair and red eyes emerged.
Jessica Belizario ‘24 has been writing for years, but she would like to write professionally. It is her dream to one day publish her work for a major publishing house, but before that she must master her craft.