Grieving death

At dusk, when every animal in the forest went to sleep, and the villagers stopped their daily works and went back to their home, Tracious was walking. He walked past the chief's house, which was the biggest house in the village. Behind the chief's house, there were terraced houses, which were meant for the army. The guards, who would fight for the village.

He walked past the school, which was just a few blocks away from the chief's house. It wouldn't take long for the guards to run to the school if needed.

"There goes that outsider", one of the villagers said after seeing Tracious.

"Was he not the one who took one of our women and impregnated her?", the other villager asked.

"Yes, and she ended up dying. I swear the child is cursed. Have you seen his head?"

"I have never seen it"

"His head is big. It is not normal"

As they were talking, Tracious heard all of it. But he did not mind it. He could not. For what could an outsider do in a place, where he doesn't have a voice? Who would grant an outsider the power to influence, if the majority doesn't?

Tracious walked and walked. From the corner of the village to another. Because he simply didn't have anything else to do. But at the back of the village, the opposite direction of where the village's gate was, there was a scarp. He went there and sat there and looked at the village from above.

At that moment, loneliness took his heart, as he started to grieve. For there was no one with him. No one he could talk to. He was alone.

Six years ago he was a lonely traveler from a faraway country. While in the forest, he ran into a group of soldiers from another country. They had a fight, where he won. But he got wounded. Not having anywhere to go, he wandered in the forest for three days. He was thirsty. He was hungry. He was wounded. And the sun shining bright didn't help either. As the heat touched his skin, he started to lose the strength to keep himself up. He started to shake as he walked and lost weight as the days passed.

While in his weakest, he found big wooden walls.

"It must be a village", he thought.

He leaned to the wall and followed where it led until he found the gate of the village.

"Knock knock", he knocked faintly.

"Who is there?", asked the voice from the other side of the door.

Tracious gathered all his strength and opened his mouth. While almost dying, he said:

"Please let me in! I'm a traveler with no place to go. I am wounded and hungry as I haven't eaten anything for at least a week. Please give mercy on mine soul and let me in!"

The voice answered:

"Get out! We do not need any strangers in our village. We have been under attack many times and each time many of us have died. How do we know that you are not from our enemy? How do we know that you are not going to attack the moment we open this door?

But Tracious didn't answer those questions, as he was near to collapse.

"Who is there?", a woman asked the guards.

"There is a stranger trying to get it", a guard said.

"Why is he trying to get in? Doesn't he have a place to go?"

"That is what he told us"

"Open the door then. We must help this man"

"But he might be dangerous!"

"If he decides to attack, let it be on me. You shall cut every piece of my body parts so that it equals the number of people he would kill"

"Fine then! Let it be on you then!"

The guards opened the gate and behind there was a man lying on the ground. The man had a black curly and a white shirt made out of tunic.

"There is blood coming out of his stomach. If this wound isn't new, it is a wonder that he has survived this long", the woman said.

"The man is dead. Let us carry his corpse to somewhere else and let him rot there", a guard said.

"Do not speak such things! We must bring him to the chief", the woman said.

The guards carried the man to the chief and the woman followed them, as she had already promised that the man would be her responsibility. The guards explained everything to the chief, who healed the man. They gave the man water and a tiny piece of meat.

A moment later, Tracious found himself on a bed. He stood up and walked to a door. He then opened it and in front of him stood a woman. The woman had long brown hair that was in braids. She wore a shirt and skirt made out of leather.

"Oh, you're awake", the woman said.

"Are you the one who saved me?", Tracious asked.

"Well, the chief healed you. Are you still hungry? Do you need water?"

"No, I do not. Thank you, as I now have the strength to even move"

Hearing this, the woman smiled and asked:

"Do you have a place to go? Or are you just a mere traveler with no home?"

"I do not, actually. I am just going where ever my path leads me"

"You should stay here!"

"No, I should not. I have already bothered you enough"

"No! Stay!"

Tracious stayed.

As time flew by, Tracious became like any other villager. He hunted during the day and when the evening came, he returned to the woman whom he lived with. He spent time with her and ate with her. He lived in the village like it was his home. He has accepted the village. But the village hasn't accepted him.

"Why is that man still living with you?", a woman asked.

"Why not? He has no other places to go. Whose fault would it be, if I weren't to give him a home and he had died in the forest?"

"His fault, obviously! A man should take care of his own life. He is not a baby!"

"Do you not have empathy? That man does not have a home to stay, so of course I am gonna give him home"

"Empathy? Yes, I do have empathy. Empathy for you! He is an outsider, Laila! I swear the reason he was so unlucky to not have a home is that he is cursed by the spirits! You will die if he does not leave your home now!

"Oh stop that nonsense"

"Laila", another woman said, "I know that you have promised to keep the man as your own but you do know that you do not have to keep that promise if he is no longer here, right?"

"Quiet, both of you! I am keeping the man at my house for my own will. Not for a promise nor anything like that!"

It was clear to Laila that the village had not accepted Tracious. And for not too long, it became clear to Tracious too. As for this, the affection Tracious had for Laila grew, for only both of them were alone in the village. There was no one that would be on their side. No one, that would show them empathy. For Tracious, there was only him and Laila.

"I know he is in love with me", Laila said in her mind, "But I do not love him. Should I just accept him and play along or should I reject him and leave him alone. If I shall reject him, how would I be any different than the others? He has no one else. No one else but me! Oh, spirits! Give me guidance!"

Laila cried in her sorrow as she did not know what to do. There was the village, which was not on her side. And the man, whom she just wanted to be friends with. For Laila, there was only her. Only she knew about her own sorrow.

As Laila and Tracious lived with each other day by day, the affection on Tracious' side grew stronger. But on Laila's side, it grew weaker. They hugged. They kissed. But only Tracious felt love.

Then came the day, when Laila was meant to give birth. She felt pain in her stomach. She felt pain in her heart, as she knew the baby wasn't what she wanted. No matter how hard she pushed, the baby didn't come out. The other women, who were assisting her, decided it would be better to cut the belly, for the baby's head was too big. They took a knife and cut her open and took the baby out of her. In agony, Laila screamed, as blood was leaking out of her.

"You have to help her!", Tracious said to the village's chief.

"There is nothing I am gonna do! That woman decided her own destiny", the chief answered.

Trying and trying, Tracious tried to get help from the chief. But in vain. Disappointed, Tracious returned home to Laila. But when he got there, she was already dead. There was a wound on her belly and blood on the floor.

Tracious asked the other women:

"What happened?", and the women explained how the baby was too big to come out.

Tears in his eyes, he started crying. He hugged her dead corpse and cried. But no matter how much he cried, not a single tear could bring Laila back to life.

"I hate this village", Tracious said in his head, "I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"