Chapter 3
It was more of a howl than a cry.
The pace of their run stopped by itself when Lily heard the dog’s scream.
“Come on, Lily!”
After standing still for a while, Rosha again pulled Lily’s hand and continued to run. Lily’s knees, which she had injured due to continuous fall, were full of bruises and scratches. If Polly died, the monster would soon chase after them. So they had to hurry.
“Lily, hurry up…… Ah!”
Rosha turned back to see Lily, who was still young and couldn’t keep up, and could not see the big stone in front of her. As a result, they both rolled down the hill. Rosha’s braided hair had loosen itself by this point. Normally, she would whine about it and asked her brother to redo it, but now the situation was different. In a situation of life and death, her hairstyle was not important and didn’t matter at this moment.
“Lily! Are you alright?”
“Oh, uh. I’m fine!”
Lily got up energetically, approached Rosha and offered her hand. However, she did not want to rely on the strength of her little sister. Rosha tried to get up by pushing herself off supporting the floor without the support of Lily’s hand.
“Ugh…..”
“Unnie…?”
However, there was a problem with one of her legs. When Rosha applied some strength on her feet and tried to get up, sharp stabbing pain shot up her leg. It seemed like she had sprained her ankle. Still, after trying hard, she succeeded in standing up while her collar was damp with perspiration covering her face and neck. But there was another problem, walking.
“Unnie, are you okay ?!”
The foot with a dislocated ankle collapsed without being able to bear even one step. It was impossible as it was. Rather than running away with her little sister, now they would be in danger because of her. She was afraid. She didn’t want to be left alone. She wanted Lily to be by her side.
“What is it? Are you hurt, Unnie? I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”
Little Lily bent her knees and curved her back ready to carry Rosha. But how could she when she was so small? It was impossible. Suddenly, Rosha recalled her parent’s words that she was an older sister, and she should be responsible, take care, and protect her little sister. Rosha hated it. She hated her parents who forced her to think that the love she deserved was stolen, and she hated Lily. There were times she wished Lily wasn’t born. However, at this moment, from her little sister’s existence to the words of her parents, all of them were missed dearly.
“Lily, I’m sorry.…….”
“Unnie, why is that… ?”
“When you asked to play with me, I always went out and left you alone. I never give up my dolls….”
Perhaps because of Rosha’s sad confession, Lily suddenly burst into tears.
“Oh no! I’m more sorry… I wanted to play with your things and lost them ….Come with me…. I don’t want to go alone.!”
Lily seemed to have already noticed what Rosha was going to say. Rosha wanted to become a good sister to Lily if she survived, but she couldn’t accept Lily’s request now.
“I can’t go with you…….”
“Oh no! Come with me! We can go together!”
“First, you go down to the village. Then, search for a grown up and ask them for help.”
“I can pick you up! l am very strong! Let’s go together, Unnie!”
“Don’t be stubborn!”
Eventually, Rosha was forced to get mad at Lily.
“If you’re next to me, I can’t do anything.”
“But…….”
“Don’t think you can run away from me. Go down to the village and bring someone to help me. Got it?”
“Unnie…”
“Go now!”
As Rosha shouted, Lily eventually went away with a tearful face, her eyes full of reluctance.
“I will definitely bring someone to help!”
Lily left Rosha in a hurry and went down the hill. Rosha could not take her eyes off Lily who was running further away from her.
‘Lily, I’m sorry. I lied. By the time you bring someone, I’ll probably…No, I have to live.’ The moment she was about to weaken her heart, Rosha tried to strengthen herself. ‘I will survive. For Lily, at least for Lily.’
Suddenly, Rosha looked back as if she sensed something from behind. On the top of the hill, there was Ramia looking down at her. In Ramia’s hand, Polly’s severed head was held. It was hard for Rosha to suppress her sorrow because she could see the dead Polly clearly from where she was. Then, she turned to Lily’s direction, fortunately, Lily had reached the village’s entrance. Rosha felt a little relieved to think that Lily would be able to get some help from the villagers. She just had to hold on until then.
Rosha tried to crawl on the cold ground with her knees and hands. She wanted to get away but she could not walk. However, there was no place to hide in the open areas. While crawling away, Rosha looked back, terrified as there was nowhere to escape. Ramia was large and her movements were clearly visible in the distance. The body of a giant serpent glided down the hill in no time.
“Oh, ah ah!”
Regardless of the scratches on her knees and dirt on her palms, Rosha crawled desperately down the hill. But to Ramia, Rosha’s movements seemed to be as slow as an ant crawling.
[Young child……]
“Ah, evil!”
[Sweet blood.…]
Lamia, who came close to her, grabbed Rosha’s previously wounded ankle. Rosha screamed painfully. To avoid being dragged, she clawed her fingers into the grass and dirt, but she only managed to dirtied her nails.
“Let me go! Let go!”
Rosha held on to the ground and scratched Ramia’s scales with her fingernails. However, as Rosha’s resistance increased, Ramia rejoiced. The snake quickly coiled around Rosha’s body with its long, flexible body. The pressure was strong on Rosha’s body, she could not make a sound as the constriction was too tight, she was suffocated. When the pressure had released from her body, Rosha’s ribs were crushed, and her body twitched like she was having a seizure.
Rosha was helplessly heard the sound of her ribs breaking under her skin. Breathing was so difficult, that even weak breaths could barely come out of her mouth. Saliva flowed uninterrupted from her open lips. Rosha’s body was released only when she completely gave up her resistance. Ramia, who had loosened her grip, moved her upper body that was still wrapped around Rosha. Then it lifted Rosha’s body with its hands and buried its teeth on Rosha’s stomach, chewing on her flesh. Warm red blood soaked her still body as her mind gradually darkened.
‘Mother, father, Dane…Lily, please survive…’
Now, there was no monster Ramia, no ranch, no grass on the hills, nothing. Rosha was just lying in the dark. But, starting from the end of the darkness, a pure white light permeated. It was so dazzling that it was hard to see, but Rosha was able to look at the light without closing her eyes. Then the light got brighter and brighter. There was an ambiguous voice that started talking to her.
“Who are you..?”
“Do you want to live?”
No face was visible, and gender was indistinguishable by the voice. However, Rosha felt that, for the first time, there it was divine energy coming from the light. She looked at it without even blinking. She realized that this was an opportunity. Just as Dane shouted at her to run away with all his might, Rosha reached out to the light with all that she had.
“I want to live! Please save me..… !”
After she spoke, sparkles which resembled white fluffy snow fell from the white light. She felt ticklish when it faintly brushed against her cheeks. At the moment, Rosha finally realized that it was white wings that had touched her body.
“Are you an angel? Or are you God?”
“I am your father and mother, salvation and disaster, light and darkness. If you are saved by me, you must become a light and face the darkness. Will you hold my hand?”
God warned her that there was a high huge price to pay if she wanted to live. But could there be anything else that is more costly than death? Rosha reached out her fingers and held on to the hand of God just before she was awakened. With her hand inside God’s grip, the same light that flowed through the fingertips of God seeped into Rosha’s fingers and penetrated her body. At that moment, a new sensation of pain coursed through her veins.
“Ahhh! It hurts! It’s hot. Father, mother! Help me!”
The pain spread throughout Rosha’s body. Her brown hair and eyes gradually transformed itself, becoming brighter like the light. A color that no ordinary human could ever have.
****
When the pain was all over, Rosha woke up on a hill stained with her blood. It was hazy. She could not think of anything. However, even in the midst of that, Rosha’s eyes found Ramia. Unfocused pupils turned to the village down the hill. What happened afterward left her like a hazy afterimage. It came to her mind without emotion, as if she was looking at other people’s memories. Still, she remembered all the important things. The moment when she met the villagers who were annihilated by Ramia, all of the village’s children were eaten up….. And Ramia’s head exploded by God’s hand gestures.
****