One of the abbots slapped Usheniko, and it left the woman in tears. Collapsing to the floor, everybody hounded and cursed at her. Usheniko curled her body and covered her eyes; for her to be here was the worst thing that could ever happen to her after the ordeal she faced in her past.

“Kill the witch!” Aijin said, turning to Neha. “This is the woman you are friends with, right? You cannot go near her anymore, do you understand? She is dangerous, evil, and demonic; what more can I say!”

“M-mother, she isn’t like that!” Neha shook her fists and glared at her parent. “She has not done anything wrong!”

“Oh how would you know that? Perhaps that she has brainwashed you with her psychic powers; no wonder you say such a thing. Oh honey, don’t be like this, you should know better than to not associate with her! Now she is on stage, arrested for her crimes; it is absolutely right for the High Order to lock her up, so that she will not pose much threats any longer!” Aijin resumed the barrage of her insults. She stood up and pointed her finger, the enthusiasm in her eyes inflicted much pain upon her daughter. Neha could not help but call for Usheniko. She raised herself and was about to go to the aisle, but Aijin dragged her back to her seat. Sullen and shocked, Neha trembled.

While the clamor still occurred, Sachen’s parents threw themselves in the air. Their faces burning and their voices thundering, they fueled the fire of the people’s rage that grew so much that nothing could extinguish it all together. Sachen seethed, and she thrust her parents back to their seats. But they persevered. She urged herself to come up to the stage and save Usheniko from this madness, but the aisles were beginning to be congested with people from the side. The girl could only watch.

“Cut her head off!” said Datai, a buildup of sweat glossed his forehead. “Do it right now, I don’t want her in my sight!”

“Throw her in the grasslands and finish her off, just like what you did to them!” Saraji said. She let out a giggle. “Hurry up, hurry up!”

“Mom, papa, are you mad?!” Sachen grabbed her father’s tunics and reeled him to his seat, she did the same to her mother. The parents reddened their faces more, and they hacked on their saliva.

“What the hell are you doing Sachen?!” Datai said. “Can’t you see that we are expressing ourselves against the reincarnation of the devil right there?!”

“Yeah!” Saraji clicked her teeth, she folded her arms. “And I wonder Sachen, if Usheniko has managed to trick you into her so-called friendship? Maybe she was planning to chop you up and cook you for her very own consumption. Isn’t that terrifying? She is a witch after all, so of course she would do the same to anybody that come in her home!”

“You are talking nonsense mother,” Sachen said, “and I don’t even know where you get those beliefs from! Don’t act so stupid in front of Monkhuba and me!”

“’Stupid?’ You dare call me that? Why I ought to give you-” Propelling herself to her daughter, Saraji raised her hand and swooshed it to Sachen’s side. Datai snatched his wife and brought her to her seat before she could slap her kid. Sachen grumbled as the commotion hammered her head, and it became more painful when Monkhuba wailed. Sachen comforted him, but he was unable to stop. From there, Neha and Sachen sat with terror on their faces and with complete shock; they felt powerless to do anything. After all, to overmaster the crowd if they were to intervene sounded daunting. Their strength alone wouldn’t do anything to change the course of this situation.

Ten minutes flew by, and the people settled down. Once they sat on their seats, the Lama resumed the service. He pursed his lips, and for the whole time did he keep his eyes wide open.

“Now, as my people continue to examine this decadent, horrifying person, I shall tell you all the accusations that some of our informers gave to the clergymen—all in details, and one must pay attention! This woman right here is arrested for many charges, from witchcraft, treason against the state, the failure to pay taxes, and worse of all... oh yes, she had leaked details of our village to the enemies from the east! Yes, you have heard me! All those things that she had done, and she got away with it! Since last year, she has been living in this village, with the intent of corrupting the youth and destroying our civilization as we know it. Maniacal she is, there is no doubt that she must be put under handcuffs, for the safety of our children. In regards to your collaboration with the enemies, we have a single witness to prove that.”

Yebuka glared at Usheniko, who trembled and coughed. With the narrowing of his pupils, he stared at her for a while; it was tearing the woman alive. Who was the witness? It riddled her mind, and she could come up with a guess that it could be a customer from her business that intended to make false statements against her. She knew she was innocent, but she had no reason to why the Lama would summon a witness if she had not done anything wrong.

The Lama slammed his hands on the podium and snapped his fingers. It revived the people into another wave of uproar, but soon they were quiet again.

“My people, you are waiting so patiently. Well now it’s the time to reveal the person; and the mad woman is not going to like it one bit. Usheniko Ganshipe.” When he looked at her again, the Lama snickered. There was something dark forming in his eyes.

Gulping a stockpile of saliva down her throat, Usheniko rubbed her cheeks against her shoulders. She then glanced at the furthest left part of the aisle, and her heart stopped. Behind the shadows, no denial served the fact that the person there was already familiar to her. Words she couldn’t spill out, tears she could barely shed, Usheniko sulked. The witness walked through the aisle and arrived on stage.

“No no, it cannot be her! Why must you bring her here?! She cannot be the witness!”

Yebuka laughed. “You are oblivious to the one closest to you, madam. Behold my fellow villagers, this is the one that you are hungry for. It is none other than her daughter... Azukunika.”

The people applauded upon the young lady’s presence. Always wearing the same robes, always holding a cold expression, the young lady sneered at Usheniko. She crouched towards her, and stabbed the woman with her grin. Why would she show up against her mother’s behalf?

“Azukunika. My dear, I demand an explanation. Tell me that the High Order is deceiving you to do this. You must be doing this because of the money, that’s all, right? I shall provide you my profits, for whatever you might buy for yourself, okay? Please be a good girl and walk away. Please please, I beg you, or else I’ll give you a spanking.”

Azukunika retracted her lips. She stood up and kicked her heels against the floor. “Spanking? If you only knew that things are not what they seem, then you would not do such a thing to me.”

“W-what are you saying?”

“I have something to prove to you.” Rummaging her pockets, Azukunika presented a parchment. There was a red seal at the bottom corner of the paper. She giggled for a bit like the paper itself was a complete farce. “This is the document that I’ve signed before I confessed my sightings to the High Order, to confirm that I uphold the truth to all things. I have done the right thing, and I don’t regret it.”

Usheniko’s eyes were full of tears. A force tightened her neck, and at once did she gasp for breath.

“N-no… how could you do this?! This must be a fake! Somebody must have deceived you, I can tell right away!”

Yebuka arched his eyebrows. “How so? Do you have any rebuttals to back that claim up? I guess not. Anyways, Ms. Azukunika Ganshipe, do you mind telling us what you saw during your mother’s wrongdoings?”

“I will.” Tapping her chest and breathing slowly, Azukunika drew herself to the audience. The people showed much inquisitiveness from the presence of the young lady alone, some of them wanted to ask questions about her past. But they looked forward to hearing her testimony.

“Ever since I arrived at this village, I have kept a close watch of her, with all intents to make sure that she was all right. One day, she was not home, which perhaps I must have thought that she was gathering some herbs for me in order to make me medicine since I contracted the stomach flu. I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find her. At the eastern gate, a couple of guards approached me. They stated that Usheniko wandered off into the forest, under the premise that she was picking more of the herbs. I went in there, and found that she was traversing through the river; she made it to the other side, and from that point, I eavesdropped on her. She walked near the cave, which is supposed to be off-limits to the commoners, and she came rushing when she saw the enemies coming forth. With her evil, disgusting mind, she conversed with them about the plans to attack the village. She told that they had to strike on a rainy day to create the most devastation upon us. This was from one of her fortunes in fact. She also told them to kill anybody in their way, as to create terror and smash the hearts within our chests. Goodness were they excited! Usheniko did not show a face of regret when doing that. In fact, she laughed the whole time! She said to the officer with a mustache that her intention was to take vengeance, because the High Order of the Celestials have offended her generation, her bloodline, and her occupation! I am ashamed to be part of her family.”

Azukunika panted, she then coughed. After her testimony, the audience whispered to themselves and at the same time they sweated too much; the witness’s account was so compelling that the people were at a loss for words.

The Lama shrilled and stretched his arms. “Thank you, thank you Azukunika. As always, you are loyal to the cause; I shall reward you later on before you go back to prison.”

“You’re welcome my Lord. Now I will take my leave.” Lifting the lower part of her robes, Azukunika bowed to the ruler. She then picked up her feet. Usheniko seized one of Azukunika’s legs, something within herself caused a fire to swell her whole body in heat. Rarely did she feel such an impression, and as much as it became ever so powerful, the woman doused the fire albeit it leaving too much pain.

“Why, why must you tell lies to your own mother like that? I didn’t do it, don’t be making things up! Do you have something resentful within you that led you to this? Tell me, please, for I am here for you.”

Azukunika scoffed and shrugged. She wagged her finger. Bringing her legs away, she lowered herself again. She latched onto the woman’s necklace and choked her until she was deprived of oxygen. The glimmers on the emerald struck Azukunika’s nerves; she seemed to remember something terrible from looking at it. The lady released her grip.

“You killed him. You killed the one that I cherished.”

With a frown, Azukunika left the stage. Usheniko choked, her eyes rolled as her daughter disappeared from her view. Darkness shrouded her face, and for a lack of better words, it began to drown her. Whatever Azukunika meant by that, Usheniko could not find an answer, but for her ‘daughter’ to speak out her testimony and turn her back like that was something that she could not tolerate. It felt like the whole world smashed her into pieces, a thought that left her in sneers and jeers from the crowd.

Yebuka fanned his face with his sleeves. He sighed. “What a pity for her to do that. But the dove of salvation will surely save Ms. Azukunika Ganshipe from her sins by serving her remaining time in prison. At least when she is in her cell, she will stray away from the corruption of her mother. I’m so sorry, that you had to see your daughter telling the truth. Now my villagers, who wants to hear more?”

Once more, the cheers of the people stormed the atmosphere again. The people at the front rows thrashed themselves and begged and shrieked.

Neha and Sachen remained as they were. With their parents contributing to the clamor, they clammed their mouths and sweated. If only there was a good opportunity that could allow them to speak up, that could help them in such a struggle, then it might have been a game changer. But from the endless noise, it bred them nothing but the trembling of their hearts. So as it was, it pained them to even look at their friend; they started to blame themselves for their cowardice, and perceived much that Usheniko would not give them reprieve.

By the swaying of his hands did the Lama lull the audience. All the voices he had to absorb through his ears, he still stood with confidence brimming around his aura.

“Because of her daughter’s imprisonment, it motivated Usheniko to commit to vengeance. She was so angry that she entirely set a different course for her business; she transitioned from counseling to the occult. From psychic visions, to palm readings, to astrology, to witchcraft, which those things are illegal under our edicts, she made more money than before. The villagers really appreciate her services! With her business being successful, she felt that she needed to take drastic measure in order to start her vengeance. According to reports, she kidnapped children and drained them of blood in order to make a poisonous potions for her customers, so that slowly, she could annihilate our existences! But she wanted to take things even further: she wanted to destroy the whole village itself! And from my statement about her interaction with the enemies in the forest, there is absolute validity that she deserves to be punished!”

Everybody bolted, and they rubbed their ears and gasped. Neha and Sachen’s parents embraced their daughters, tears were flowing.

“I didn’t know Neha, I didn’t know!” Aijin said. “You were hurt by that devil? I should have saved you earlier!”

“What are you talking about? She’d never do that-”

“My goodness, I guess this must be the effect of her spells! Don’t let her get into your head, please!”

“Mother!” Despite Neha imploring her parent to stop, Aijin continued. Letting go of her child, the mother sobbed. Neha turned to the side and looked the aisle.

Datai squeezed Sachen, while Saraji pestered her daughter not to approach the so-called witch.

“And if I hear a rejection from you, then I have to lock you up in your bedroom!” said Saraji. Sachen pushed her father away and growled. Monkhuba giggled, making her feel worse.

Yebuka continued to speak. His eyes were twitching. “Black-hearted, isn’t it? All of that for the sake of her daughter! Can you imagine how stupid that is? Yet, nobody caught her red-handed, and it is my fault for not catching her earlier. Even when her daughter returned to the village, which I had allowed Azukunika to visit her parent for a short time, she still wanted to hurt us. Along the time in her job, Usheniko raked in a lot of profit, and she had the intention to see her family again far south of the village. She thought that they’d come back from the hard times that we have experienced two years ago.” Yebuka ripped a piece of dead skin from his chin, and he loosened his collar. “She does not know at all doesn’t she? How laughable, how naive. She hasn’t realized it! Now we can tell her... is that right, Usheniko?”

“W-what?”

Usheniko lurched her gaze to the podium. She wanted to ask about it, but the glaring eyes of the ruler congested her head. What did he know about her family, that she didn’t?

Clutching onto the edges of the podium, Yebuka snickered to himself. He lifted his head and coughed a little. His demeanor hinted a small sparkle that disappeared in a blink of an eye. The sight of the figure buried Usheniko alive; little could she listen anymore to his words, little could she bear the weight of the outrage from the villagers. From this point, her heart snapped in half. Now everything was about to fall apart, she had no choice but to bear the burden.

No hope for the woman, Yebuka delivered the final blow. He laughed before composing himself. He leered at the ceiling.

“Your family, is in fact, had been arrested for conspiracy and corruption. For a long time, they had supported the venal regime of Ozughen, the 27th Lama with money and valuables. After the revolution, my associates and I arrested all your blood relations. We deported them to the grasslands and killed them.”

All in a flash, the revelation destroyed Usheniko from within.

“No, no! It cannot be!”

Usheniko languished in tears and slapped her hands on the floor. She wailed so loud that the people on the balcony shook themselves and rocketed to the ceiling. There was nothing that could help her from this turmoil; the gods didn’t bother to bring about justice for her woes. Out of complete agony, the woman fainted. Neha and Sachen stood up and called out for her, but the roar of the audience teared their voices into tatters.

After the Lama’s lengthy statement, he formed a circle with his associates. They deliberated for a short time regarding the verdict, and all of them nodded and heaved. They then broke away from the circle, and Yebuka’s smile grew larger than before. He stared down at the people in the front rows, which shivered them to the fullest. A gasp coming from him, he lured his eyes to Neha and her mother; he winked. Neha looked away. What was the purpose of him doing that the second time around?

The Lama bit his lips. A sliver of hair fell to his foot. He clicked his teeth.

“For Usheniko Ganshipe, the verdict is death by execution.”