5 Tale #5: Last Adventure

There was a story going on in this town. It was about a cursed barn. The story goes like this:

There was a family of 3 living happily in the barn: a father, a mother and a daughter. One day, a young lady come by to their land and bewitched the father. It is so easy that in a blink of an eye, the father left his family to live with the young lady. The father lived happily with the young lady as the mother wept in despair, questioning herself if she is not enough. The daughter – although just 14 years old – managed the farm until harvest season. The daughter – together with her mother who's slowly recovering from heartbreak – harvests the crops with delight. Even if without the father, they will try their best to survive and live happily. In the middle of their harvest, they saw the father running out of the forest covered with scratch and bruises, blood gushing from his right arm and breathing heavily, his voice sounded like he's in a panic. Both the mother and daughter looked at him confused, however, the father didn't gave them time to ask him as he grabbed them both and hurried them inside the barn. The mother, seeing the father's look, immediately tended to his wounds while the daughter hugged and cried in his father's arm. They hugged each other quite a long time. The daughter was the first one to break, she looked at her father and asked:

"Father, I'm confused. Why did you leave us? Why are you covered in wounds? What happened to you?" his father, catching his breath and trying to forget the pain, tried to tell them what really happened but doesn't know where to start. He controlled his breathing and gathered his thoughts.

"Oh, my dear daughter, I'm sorry for what I've done, especially to you my precious wife. I'm sorry for breaking your heart. I'm really sorry for hurting both of you. Oh, how I love you both so much!" he hugged them again as he started to explain to them. "When I first saw that lady, I already knew that she's a wicked one. A witch who takes pleasure in destroying families. I know because she also bewitched my father before, but unlike me, he fell to the trap and our family remained broken. I swore that when I had a family, I will never let any woman or witch to bewitch me or break my family. So, as a precaution, I requested protection from the church, one that will protect me and our family and one that will also end that witches evil doings. However, the protection requires to be activated in a specific time. The protection was bestowed in this barn, so we must stay inside. She can never go inside, we are safe here."

They all huddled closer as they heard someone pounding on the door. "It's the witch!" the mother said. "Do not worry, we are safe here. However, we need to figure out how to end that witches' life. The church gave me this relic: a cross drenched with holy water, they said that I need to stab this to the witch to defeat her, but how?" the fathers' breathing quickened as he loss more blood. The mother and the daughter tried their best to stop the bleeding but failed. They just cried in the fathers' arms.

"Father, give me the relic, I will face her and end her. I will save our family." The daughter demanded as she build up courage inside her. She's ready to take on the witch no matter the risk. But her parents immediately stopped her. Her mother begged her to not do it, saying that there's some other way to stop the witch without anyone of them getting hurt or dying. The father nodded and persuaded his daughter. The daughter gave in and tried to think another way.

Suddenly, they heard a voice from outside the barn. "Wife! Daughter! Oh, my precious darlings get out of there! That is an impostor! I'm the real one! Please! Please get out of there! Before she kills you!" It sounded like the father, but, they're with him inside the barn. "Don't listen to her! She's trying to trap you inside the barn and kill you!" Shouted the voice again. Before any thought entered the mother and daughters' mind, to whoever is inside with them interrupted, "The witch used her last resort. She's trying to trick you into thinking that I am a fake. Quick, we must think of a way to stab her the relic to end our suffering." He said in a hurried breathing, he's losing more and more blood.

The mother thought of a plan: They'll make the witch enter using the mini door of the barn. Upon entering, the witch will see the father lying in the middle of the barn playing dead as the daughter hid behind the mini door. The mother will distract the witch by throwing some haystack from the second floor, while the witch is distracted, the daughter will creep behind the witch and stab her the relic. They executed the mother's plan, as soon as the person outside the barn entered, he saw the body lying on the floor, it's not the body of the father but the body of the mother completely twisted and blood is still flowing from her. Behind the door, the fake father – the witch – came out holding a dagger in the daughters' neck. The witch looked haggard and old, but still have the strength to grip the daughter tightly to the point where the daughter is having a hard time to breathe. The witch cackled,

"Hihihihi! Oh, how easy it is to trick your family!" the witch shook her head in fun. "Means they really love you that much. Owww... how touching. But you won't see them alive again! Hahahaha!"

"No, please don't hurt her, please just take me. You already took my wife, spare my daughter, not my lovely daughter." Pleaded the father to the witch. But his plea fell on deaf ears. The witch laughed some more and teasingly glided the knife in the daughters' neck as the daughter cried and cried as she asked her father to help her. The father, knowing that the relic is real grabbed it behind his back and waited an opportunity to stab the witch. The daughter, gaining strength – wretched free from the witch giving the father opportunity to stab the witch.

"Run my dear daughter! Hide!" shouted the father as his daughter run and searched a place to hide. The daughter waited in her hiding place, she can hear struggles and cries of pain. It lasted longer that she expected. She waited and waited, praying for her father to win. She already lost her mother, not her father too. She won't be able to bear the pain if she lost him too.

In the middle of her prayer, she heard her father call her, "My daughter, my lovely daughter come out now, the witch is dead. We're safe now my dear. Come on." Her father pleaded. However, remembering that the witch can imitate others, thought of a way to confirm if he is the real one. "Are you holding the relic?" she asked. As her father said yes, she peaked from her hiding place. Confirming that he is holding the relic, she got out and cautiously walked to her father and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, my dear daughter, how foolish of you to be tricked a second time. Hihihihihi!" Cackled the witch as she transformed from her father to her old haggard self. The daughter tried to contract free from the witch's grip but failed, the witch stabbed her through the heart, killing her. Once the witch confirmed that all of them are dead, she gathered their hearts and performed the ritual for her youth to comeback. As the ritual ended, she left the barn, the bodies lying close to each other. Her youth back again and appearance brand new as she walked back to the forest to go to the next town, to trick another man and kill another family.

This story was passed in many, many generations. From one tongue to another. Many info are added and replaced but remained: the witch will perform her ritual and will be requiring ingredients every 13 years. The last said sighting was 1907.

Eliazar read the last lines of the newspaper articles as he entered the said barn where the family died. He heard the door close and a witch's cackle.