NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Two days had passed since the day of the Hallow ball and everything returned to normal. But this didn’t stop the discussion of how grand the hallow ball was. It was the most thrilling and exciting event the villagers were opportune to attend.

Those that were unfortunately not invited were green with envy as they listened to the stories of the ball. Some people even added things that were not true to spice it up. One of the villagers claimed to have seen the king making all attention be on him which he basked in as people showered him with praises of how fortunate he was to have seen the king.

Perdita would always laugh whenever she heard the imaginary descriptions the villager gave each time he was asked to describe how the king looked. She knew and was sure the king did not attend the ball not knowing she had not only seen the king but had also danced with him.

Marco resumed work at the construction site while Perdita still baked and sold her buns in the market of Woodbridge. The villagers all went back to their various businesses.

It was in the morning of the third day since the hallow ball that Perdita and Marco were preparing for work when Mrs. Perkin suddenly barged into their house.

The heavens had graced the kingdom of Vamlone with thick flakes of snow that fell and made the weather cold. No villager wanted to step out of their homes because of the snow and cold, but this didn’t deter Mrs. Perkin from coming out from the comfortable warmth of her house to the house of Perdita and Marco all draped in her heavy coat and shawls.

The loud banging on the door startled the siblings and they wondered who it was.

”Who can that be this early morning?” Perdita asked aloud as she went to see who it was.

Unlocking the door, there she saw Mrs. Perkin standing with her hands on her waist ”Oh, Mrs. Perkin. It is you. Good mor...”

”Save your greetings, young woman!” Mrs. Perkin growled at Perdita.

Perdita took a step back in shock ”What is wrong, Mrs. Perkin?” She gently asked the furious woman. Only Mrs. Perkin and God knew why she was here early in the morning with such anger. At the back of her mind, she had an inkling of what this might be about which she dreaded the outcome of it.

”What is going on, sis?” Marco who heard the loud voice of Mrs. Perkin came out to see what was going on.

”I don’t know, Marco. I opened the door and she started shouting” Perdita explained still looking at Mrs. Perkin.

Mrs. Perkin stomped her feet in anger. She furiously looked at the siblings and demanded ”Where is my husband?”

Perdita’s heart skipped a beat with a loud dangerous thud. If Mrs. Perkin was a vampire, she could have heard the loud thumping of Perdita’s heart.

She knew. This was what she had thought this visit from Mrs. Perkin was all about. What she did not expect was Mrs. Perkin coming to their house demanding where her husband was. How did she know?

Perdita furrowed her eyebrows with a deep frown on her face. She challenged the woman.

”What are you talking about, Mrs. Perkin?”

This infuriated Mrs. Perkin more. She yelled ” Don’t you dare feign ignorance of what you did. How dare you?!”

Perdita stepped forward in furry ”Mrs. Perkin,” She called with arms crossed over her chest ”If you came here to yell and cause us unnecessary trouble, I’ll advise you to head back home and reflect on yourself”

”Calm down you two. Please” Marco intervened before things would escalate to where it would cause them trouble they won’t be able to avoid. It was still early to start shouting and yelling at each other. And very soon, if it was not handled cordially, they would have the villagers snooping in to know what was happening which will then turn and become another big problem.

He turned to Mrs. Perkin and spoke in a gentle voice ”Mrs. Perkin, I understand you’re angry, but it is not civil to come here and start making demands of what we don’t know of. Why don’t you come inside and let’s talk in a well-organized manner?”

Mrs. Perkin shook her head in denial ”No! I am not speaking in any civil way until you tell me where my husband is”

”Those are huge accusations, Mrs. Perkin. I can report you and get you arrested for coming here to harass us” Perdita warned in a hard angry voice.

Mrs. Perkin’s attention went back to Perdita. Her furious gaze peered at her ”I can’t believe you could do this to me. I thought you were helping me. What I didn’t know was that I was working along with the real culprit”

”I’ll still ask you to minimize those accusations you are laying on me and my brother. I won’t take it lightly with you if this continues to go on now. So this is how you choose to repay me after I helped you to get out of that cell?”

”To hell with your false help!” Mrs. Perkin barked. She almost tore her clothes in frustration and anger.

Perdita’s eyes blazed furiously at Mrs. Perkin. If watched closely, one will notice the red flakes that had started to appear in Perdita’s iris. She chastised in furry ”Then I should have let you rot away in that cell with the title of a whore plastered on your forehead”

”What did you just say?! You are the whore, you shameless woman. How dare you accuse me?!”

”Accuse you?” Perdita laughed in a mocking tone ”You dare say you were accused when all the evidence was pointed at you. That is why your husband left you and ran away because you’ve been whoring around and refused to birth him a child”

”You have gone too far, Perdita!” Mrs. Perkin roared and lashed out at Perdita. She raised her hand to slap Perdita on her face but before she could reach where she was, Marco caught her hand and held her back.

”Don’t you dare raise your hand on my sister. I told you to be civil. Why are you going all out on my sister? How dare you accuse us to be responsible for your missing husband?!” Marco barked and pushed Mrs. Perkin aside. She almost fell because of the snow that had covered and made the ground slippery.

They didn’t care if it was freezing outside or not as they continued attacking each other with angry words. And luckily for them, the villagers were all inside the warmth of their homes because of the snow and cold. No one was out except Mrs. Perkin, Perdita, and Marco who were glaring daggers at each other.

Perdita knew she shouldn’t have said those words to Mrs. Perkin. But she was so angry and at the time scared of what the outcome of this whole situation will result. She didn’t mean to use Mrs. Perkins’s barrenness to attack her. But the woman deserved it. She and her husband. Since her husband was the first to snoop his stupid big nose into their life, they will also have a taste of restlessness and trouble.

Perdita gritted her teeth to keep her anger at bay. She knew what Mrs. Perkin was saying was the truth which she was not ready to own up to. She still wondered how she got to know that they were the ones responsible for the departure of her husband.

Was there someone at the scene that day who must have witnessed what happened and then told Mrs. Perkin? No, she doubted that. If actually there was someone there that day, Sthena could have seen him. And also the person wouldn’t have waited so long to tell Mrs. Perkin about it. The question now was how did she know?

Was it Sthena? No, it couldn’t be him. If he told Mrs. Perkin about it, he would also implicate himself. Somehow Perdita felt that this was what Sthena’s letter meant though she still wondered what the real reason was for him to warn them of the incoming trouble.

Mrs. Perkin raised her hands as if in surrender ”Fine! Since you want to do it this way. I am going to the head warden’s office to report you both. I am sure with my evidence, you two will rot in that cell and die!”

Perdita and Marco glanced at each other in dread and confusion. They both chorused, ”What are you talking about? What evidence?”

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