Mr. Anonymous

"I wish I knew how to quit you." —BrokeBack Mountain, Annie Proulx

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The talk the people had went heated for another round. Rose was not a gossip monger but she had heard something which she cannot let go. Since young, she had been a curious person who would always be interested in things that piqued her curiosity and would never be able to let go of the burning curiosity until she had the answer.

In time her curiosity was piqued, Eleanor who was in the center of the conversation noticed her and waved her hand to call Rose from afar. "Rose! Here you are dear. You cooped yourself for so long inside your house that I begin to wonder if you will become a tale and only once in a week would I see you."

Rose smiled in response to the woman's words, not taking it as noisy or intrusive. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Eleanor. I overheard your conversation from earlier. Was it about werewolf?"

"Yes! Yes!" Mrs. Eleanor turned excited now that the topic of the discussion was brought back again. Being true to her nickname as the gossiper of Clovelly, she was happy to have many people listen to her especially when those like Rose who rarely care about gossips invest to her story. "Where was I?"

"About the shadow which Mr. Ulyss saw," the other man whose head was covered with straw hats replied.

"Yes, and so the witness Mr. Ulyss who lives not far from where Mr. Hearst's body was found claimed that he saw it was a wolf, however, unlike any other large and feral wolf. The particular beast who attacked Mr. Hearst was far larger than the normal wolf— so large and tall that he claimed its head could reach the ceiling of his house when it was standing with both legs. What makes Mr. Ulyss sure it was a werewolf were the fact that the eyes the creature had was bright gold and its white fur was coated with blood."

It was similar to what Rose heard from her mother. But a werewolf? That's not possible, they were only creatures said in tales, thought Rose in her mind.

Other than her, the rest of the peers had a disbelief look. One woman who stood beside the man earlier was particularly incredulous of what she heard, "Impossible! There is no werewolves in this world. They are things brought from stories."

Rose shared the same thought as the woman but she tend to voice her answer in her heart rather than keeping it aloud as it was something she often did.

Mrs. Eleanor appeared upset that the woman had dismissed her words as if it was lies. "Mr. Ulyss was sure of what he had seen. Trust, for what I say is true. You don't know the condition of Mr. Hearst body and how it was when they found him. It was clear that he yelled for help while being eaten alive by the werewolves. His body had been ripped apart so terribly that the only part of his body which can be recovered was only his head."

Over Mrs. Eleanor's words, Rose shivered. Having read books all days, she was one girl with wild imagination. Listening to Mrs. Eleanor's vivacious talk, she felt her neck latched by something cold as she imagined Mr. Hearts body in front of her. She shook her head and heard the rest of the people who mostly disagree with what Mrs. Eleanor had to say for they believe werewolves weren't true as much as Rose did. It never made sense to her how a human can shift into wolf and the otherwise.

"I don't think it is a far fetched story," came the voice from one of the women who was the oldest amongst them. Rose looked at her, identifying the woman to be Mrs. Violet. She curiously heard the woman's words, "Not far from this land it is said that after the wide Sea on the South of our kingdom there lies a land called Astalcor. There, I heard werewolves reside and other beings that one might never seen before."

Rose known about the land Astalcor but never heard anything of the land. She the gave thought about the wolves. When she thought that werewolves were amongst roaming in this land to kill, her body shuddered.

She remembered when she was young. There was a time when curiosity got the best of her and she stumbled upon the scene of a woman whose body was found dead. Half of her stomach had been eaten and when she later found out it was said to be an attack of a hungry wolf. Since then, Rose had a fear of wolf.

When she thought about a wolf that could both speak and think, the fear caught her by her fingertips and she shake her head, hoping that it wasn't true as some things are better to keep as tales such as the night creatures like werewolves and the likes.

Not wanting to think about the wolves again and frighten herself, Rose slipped away from the crowd, away from Mrs. Elanor, trying to make her way from the place.

She hadn't been able to make a far walk when someone had spotted her, "Rose!" called someone from behind that caused Rose to turn her face and greet the woman who was older than her by years. In the woman's hands was a baby of a month old. "Oh dear, here you are. I have been wondering when you will come out of your house. What have you come out for?"

"Mrs. Hummings," greeted Rose with a smile, "My mother asked me to send this letter to the mailman."

"Oh right, letter," Mrs. Hummings said after taking a look at Rose's hands.

"Actually, I have been thinking of asking you something. You are now eighteen, aren't you Rose and so is your sister who is nineteen."

Rose waited for the woman's words, wondering what it was, and nodded, "Yes, that's right."

"Do you remember, my nephew Nolan?" Mrs. Hummings sprung up all of a sudden and Rose blinked her eyes, finally understanding what the woman was going for. "He is twenty-one years old now, just three years older than you and two years older than Josie. Remember the time when you two talked last winter when he visited my house? It appears that you made a lasting memory in him and he hoped to meet you again."

Rose has noticed that since her eighteen birthdays, many neighbors try to match her with their relatives or sometimes with their own son. The thought of marriage was something Rosè tended to shy away from and not because she doesn't like the man, but she thought it wasn't the time yet, she was still young.

Rose offered the woman a smile to accompany her words, "I do remember him, he was a very enthusiastic person," and her green eyes watched Mrs. Hummings clapping her hand in amazement but then Rose said politely, "However, I am still thinking of delaying the thought of finding suitor."

Mrs. Hummings pulled a light frown, but the woman wasn't angry. Instead, she was curious, "Delaying? Like your older sister you mean? Have you two perhaps found a man you fancy?"

That was the case for Josie but not her, "It's not about that, Mrs. Hummings. My parents are old. I know how most women who marry to other men are expected to leave their family's house. I wish to stay a bit longer with my parents and spend some time with them before spending time on my future."

Mrs. Hummings nodded with a hint of disappointment, "That can't be helped then. I understand your point of view. When I married my husband I needed to leave my family too. It's a shame but I hope if there is a chance in the future, will you meet Nolan again?"

Rose smiled and returned with politeness, "If there is a chance, Mrs. Hummings. I will."  After delivering the letter and finishing the errand her mother sent, Rose went back with a hum between her lips. By chance, she retraces the street where she had been involved with the man of black hair whom Rose likes to call him as anonymous as she didn't receive his name.

Curiosity once again managed to win over her. Rose made her way to one of the vendors who had their shop made near the spot which she remembered to be close to the place where she and the anonymous man had met.

"Good afternoon, sir," greeted Rose politely.

"Welcome!" The vendor greeted, "What kind of meat skewer would you like, miss?"

Rose shook her head, "Actually I am here to ask if whether you have heard about an incident around here." She wondered if that anonymous man managed to escape alive. Seeing how he was alone, the possibility was small and perhaps because she was worried that her mind kept on lingering on that day.

Surely it is because she is worried, convinced Rose.

"Incident? Not that I am aware of...ah!" The vendor clapped his hand when he remembered something. "Yes, yes! Now that I remember truly there is one incident happened near my shop right around a week ago. If I am not mistaken it was about four bodies being found around here. I heard those people were hooligans who often cause ruckus. Perhaps they were killed by people who cannot stand them any longer. Although there is one odd thing that I heard."

"Odd thing?" Rose questioned the man who nodded in reply.

"The four bodies that were found appeared to be torn in pieces. Not by weapon but ripped apart which made it very strange," answered the vendor who frowned in confusion.

"Amongst those four people do you might know whether one of them had black hair and looked around early on his twenties?" Rose tried to pull as much information she could so she would be at peace and not have her mind lingering on the man.

The vendor shook his head, "We know only a little about things such as that, miss. As you know most of death cases fall under the rule of High Authorities. We rarely know anything about them."

"I see," Rose whispered, disappointed. Now that she remembered last time High Authorities members appeared on Clovelly for Mr. Hearst's case. She wondered if that man was truly alright. It made her uneasy to not know his current condition. They had met briefly but Rose truly hope sincerely from the bottom of her heart for the man to be alright.

Deciding to go back home, Rose made her way without noticing the man who turned his back upon noticing her blonde hair.