ISADORA
"Sex outside of marriage is a sin," I heard the man beside me say. I looked up at him silently. I could see his face as he stared ahead.
Andres. The eldest son of the leader of our village. Strong. Handsome. And like other men; he was despicable. His masculinity was repulsive and painful to look at.
I kept my eyes on his face. When he looked down to see me, our eyes met, and I saw an emotion in his eyes that I couldn't read. Ever since we were children, he was hard to read—and even now, I still didn't know how to understand him as a person and not just as a leader.
I turned my gaze forward when I heard Maria's loud screams. The men were forcefully tying her to a thick, tall wooden post in the middle of the forest. She stood on a pile of straw.
"That woman is a whore," I heard voices behind me say.
"Is she really to blame?" I asked as Maria screamed and begged. Her pleas soon turned into loud cries.
The flames' glow dominated the dark surroundings. The smell of burning hair and flesh filled my nose. The fire engulfed the poor woman.
"She had sex." Andres.
"Why aren't you burned as well?" I asked, looking up at the fool beside me. Our eyes met again. "You enjoyed yourself while between Maria's thighs, hypocrite."
He smiled slightly. His eyes joined in his smile, mocking me.
"Sex outside of marriage is a sin, and Maria was a married woman." He looked ahead. The fire illuminated his gentle face. "It wouldn't be a sin if you married me, Ysa. I can lift you from your situation now that your sister is missing."
"She's not missing—"
He looked at me again. "Do you want to end up like Maria?" he asked. "Ysa, don't you understand that it's against our beliefs that Victoria went with a..." He leaned closer and whispered. "...with a man that old folk use to scare women? People see that legend as a devil."
But he was real.
The devil they spoke of was real.
I stayed silent. I watched Maria burn. Her screams were no longer heard in the deep night, and the dance of the flames seemed hypnotic to my eyes.
"Isadora," Andres called my full name. "Marry me."
"I'm going home," I replied and walked away. Away from these people—people with closed minds.
Sin or not, should women be killed just for... having sex? Should we be killed just because we can do what others cannot?
Is it our fault that our bodies are pleasing to the eye?
Maybe. Maybe it's a sin to be a... woman.
I walked quietly through the dark forest back to my home. They were all savoring the death of a person. As if they were morally superior just because they didn't have sex with others. Is sex more sinful than killing? I didn't know.
All I knew was...
I touched my wrist, covered by my sleeve. There was a mark there. The mark of a bite from a creature. His mark.
"Have you found her yet?"
I stopped and stared into the darkness. I felt cold and started to sweat.
That voice.
"A-At home," I replied softly. "You can follow me."
I didn't hear a response, so I continued walking. Until I reached my home. I quietly opened the door, and it creaked in the silent surroundings.
I felt him behind me. I silently walked down the long hallway, towards a door. I opened it and carefully stepped down the stairs.
"Who is it?!" a voice shrieked. "Who are you? Please, let me go, and no one will know—"
I lit a match, illuminating the dark surroundings, and before me was a bloodied young girl. She was about fifteen years old. A virgin. Clean. Innocent.
"The blood of a virgin is sweeter and more fragrant, he said," I whispered as the match went out. And then came her loud scream.
I stared into the darkness.
Where was my sister?
Until the surroundings gradually quieted down.
All I could hear was my heavy breathing. No, I heard footsteps. Approaching me. Coming closer to my spot. I smelled the captivating scent—like roses. Roses tainted with the stench of blood.
A god. They said he was a god.
"Can you accept me now?" I asked, still staring into the darkness.
"Yes, Isadora," a voice replied. Satisfied. Happy.
I almost jumped in shock when someone touched my left hand. He gently pulled me back up the stairs from where I had come earlier.
Before I knew it, I was once again standing before a large fire in the middle of the forest. The women I didn't know were there. But compared to the last time I saw them, when I first beheld their perfect appearance, their condition was different now.
Skin and bones. Their complexion was almost colorless. But there was no doubt on their faces. No... fear.
What had this creature done to them?
I stared into the fire as my remaining clothes slowly slipped off my body. Behind me, he was there. Touching, feeling. I felt like I was sinning. But... he said... he would take me to where Victoria was.
"Ah!" I cried out in shock as something sank into my neck. My eyes widened as I stared at the women joyfully dancing around the large fire. They were holding hands, ignoring what was happening to me.
He was biting my neck—I felt his mouth sucking my blood—
My God.
I struggled and managed to break free. I tried to run but fell to the ground and lay on my back to look at the creature behind me.
My God, what have I gotten myself into?
Was this what Victoria was thinking the night I should have stopped her more?
He was above me. His long hair cascaded on either side of me, and his eyes were darker than the last time I saw them.
"You killed my sister, didn't you?"
He smiled at me. His fangs were still stained with blood.
"And your biggest mistake was searching for me."
He leaned over my neck and gently kissed my skin. His lips were cold. Like those of a corpse.
"Do you think I can't sense your intentions?"
My eyes widened. His tongue lightly touched my skin, causing my fear to grow even more.
Was I going to die? But...
"Where is my sister?"
But he didn't answer my question. "I can give you everything you need, Isadora. I can make you experience heaven that your god can't provide—"
I screamed as his hand pressed harder on my neck. His movements became more aggressive. I clung to his cold wrist. A wrist with no pulse. Truly, he was dead. He wasn't human like me.
"You can't give me your soul completely," he said, and his long fangs sank into my neck. I screamed. Loud. My screams echoed in the forest. My cries mingled with the laughter of the women dancing before the fire.
Until I lost consciousness. And when I woke up, I was in my room. I was still alive.
But my body was now marked with sin.
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