59 THE CURSE

There they reached in a spot crowded by people.They couldn't easily go in as people were gathering.They were speaking in a low voice Anne couldn't hear.Dew started to murmur,"Did he....killed him? No William".Anne was left behind in the middle of the crowd by Dew while he went near him.Anne tried pushing and was able to discover the reason why there was the crowd. A middle aged man dripped in blood was lying there on the ground, dead. William had the sword in his hands, held tight, red with blood.She was breathing heavily.He shouted,"How dare he steal the maps from the royal carriage? Did you people forget my anger?You deserve to rot in hell." As soon as he finished saying, a woman held by the soldiers cried, "My husband was innocent.He didn't do it.He can never do it." Dew signalled the soldiers to release her.She ran to her dead husband and laid her hands on his face, tears never stopped running, she was starring at his dead pale face.She spoke,"Dear,what did you do to meet such an end? I told you not to go out in the late night. Only if you have listened you would have been saved, you wouldn't be dead. What will happen to the family? What will happen to our daughter.You will never be able to see her marriage, her kids. We'll never be able to hold hands together after this parting." William said as a way of mocking,"Just marry another man and let him see your daughter's marriage." Dew hit on his waist telling him to shut up.

She finally got up and gave a blank stare to William. She said,"You, a heartless animal can never understand what pain is when we loose our beloved. It is not a superficial wound or a scar. It doesn't bleed. It has no specific part it is not only in the heart but in the whole body. It makes even breathing impossible. How can I forget, that my husband, lying dead here, just before sometime bought me a ring as a token of love.He promised me of taking care of me while I'm pregnant with my second child. But now I can't even believe that he is dead and would never return to his beloved(beating her hands on her chest) again to speak those sweet words, how can I forget the touch of his warm hands on my face, his stare at me for no reason,his smile.He was innocent". At the next moment itself, her. eyes turned red and she spoke in a louder and firm tone,"All your wrong doings will come back to you one day.You will die without being able to bear the pain of separation from your love.You will not be able to protect her, cherish her.Your love will be snatched from you. God will give us justice.Just wait for that day." The lady saying so ran to her house and bought a bottle.People started saying that it was poison.She drank the whole bottle and threw the bottle near William's feet. Within seconds she fell down on the floor. The people were making sounds saying various things.The guards tried to disperse the crowd. Anne stood there shocked by the scenes of horror.After sometime she saw a young girl about four years came running towards the house.The girl saw her dead mother lying on the ground.The girl was unaware of the fact that she was dead.She went near her and tried shaking her saying,"Mother, I am hungry ,give me something to eat. Didn't you say you are preparing some sweets let's go in and have some.You shouldn't lie here it's cold outside. Or else father will be worried again with your health." Seeing no response she ran up to her father.She tried to wake him up as well. But before Anne could hear anything, she became unconscious and fell down.The scene was so tragic that broke her heart and reminded of her mother.