“It is almost time, Medusa, wake up!”.. A voice groaned waking up.
“See, the long hand of the clock is going to strike 3:00 am, and her cries will be heard.”
“I know that well Chris, grandma told us her stories countless times, please sleep and let’s talk in the morning, okay?" Medusa responded looking at her brother with pleading eyes to let her sleep after the day's hectic job.
Just then the clock chime in and thunder was heard.
“Shhh, be calm, try to breathe in and out slowly, we will be fine”, Medusa spoke lowly to her brother.
Listening to his big sis, Chris breathes in and out closing his eyes tightly and covering his ears. He felt a familiar touch on his skin and he relaxed, his sister is such an angel, she had always kept him safe even after their parents had an accident. She is all he’s got and he always tries not to mess things up but, the story their grandmother told them was scary, and hearing the sound of the clock brings back those memories, especially when it was the said date for her arrival.
Breathing in and out, he snuggled up with his sister holding her tightly until sleep did its job.
Waking up with a yawn, Chris stretched his body as the sun peeped in telling him it is day time.
He stood up and stretched his body as the fresh smell of waffles drift past his nostril, he inhaled deeply and almost dashed through the door to get some but he knows well his grandma won’t let him have any unless he is well cleaned up.
Walking towards the bathroom, he washed his face, brushed, and did his business, putting on a yellow polo and faded jeans, he walked towards the kitchen to meet his sister and grandma.
”You look good to me, Medusa said you’ve not been sleeping, come here son,” his grandma said stretching out her hand to hug him.
“I am fine, grandma, it is just that this story is different unlike the others which felt real but aren’t, like that of the vampire and wolves, but her story grandma. .. Her story is a true-life event and I am living it, I feel sad for her always” Chris spoke out, sighing.
“Well we still have two days more to hear her cries, buckle up young man,” Medusa spoke up cleaning up her mouth with a napkin, I've got to go guys, see y’all tonight.”
Leaving his grandma’s embrace, Chris hugs his sister tightly, whispering a thank you to her ears before letting go after she had promised she’d get him cookies while coming from work.
After eating, Chris cleared up the table and joined his grandma who was reading a novel on the couch.
“Grandma, may I ask something of you?” Chris asked sounding unsure.
“You know I can’t say no to you, what is it, baby?" His grandma answered giving him a slight smile.
“Can you please tell me her story again, maybe it will help me get calm, please grandma, I just want to listen to it again, just one more time,” he pleaded with his grandma giving her a doe eye.
Unable to resist his pleading eyes she sighed and began her story like she always had.
“Long time ago, in a small village, there lived a woman and man who loved themselves so much that people get jealous and envied them. Many though learned from them and tried living in love like them but it seem impossible.
“For years, they loved themselves unconditionally even without children, though many times they feel sad for not having a child of their own. However, the love between them never let the sadness thrive in their life.”
“On one raining day, when the heaven blessed the earth with pure tears, the woman was confirmed pregnant after feeling stressed for weeks, as they weren't the invent of technology then, peeing on a frog is used to check if a woman is pregnant when a woman pee on a frog and the frog produces an egg, then the woman is said to be pregnant.”
“The news of her pregnancy warms the couple's hearts and strengthened their love ten times stronger, they became inseparable for months the woman carried her baby then there came the day for her delivery but something happened, it rained heavily and thunder echoed around the village, the villagers were scared as the woman screamed in pain of child delivery”.
“On this night of danger, her husband was asked to get a herb that will stop his wife bleeding, on that night her husband was struck to death and the doctor couldn’t safe her baby.”
“It is said that she had left her home to the place her husband got stuck in the wood and was there walking around for two days mourning her loss until she stuck a knife on her chest very close to her heart on the third day to end her misery.”
“The villagers never took her body from where she had killed herself because it was a taboo for one to end their life in the village, however, they buried her husband and baby close to themselves leaving her to rot in the woods.”
“Her spirit became angry because she wasn’t buried with her beloved, she had killed herself exactly where her beloved had died to be close to him in death but she wasn’t buried with her loved one so she became bitter because her spirit couldn’t get reach to her family. With this, she laid a curse on mankind that they will never rest and she swore to never let the villagers and their descendants rest every year from the 3rd of June to the 5th which marks the day she had mourned and killed herself.”
“But how did her picture get taken, grandma?” Chris asked curiously.
“That is a mystery child, a mystery left untold” his grandma responded.
“Seeing this picture, I see a lonely woman, a broken one who has suffered a great loss and I can feel her pain, the pain of losing her beloved to a lightening never to be seen again and I think she comes out when there is lightening as it reminds her of her loss."
Cleaning the tears that had glistened in his eyes," Chris sighed, "I hope she forgives herself and finds peace at rest.”
“So do I,” his grandma agreed but for centuries she has been in this gruesome misery,” looking out the windows, she spoke up again,” it is almost night, Medusa should be home soon, peel the potatoes and cook them we need to eat on time to be able to sleep before the woman begins her cries, today will make it her second day, just one more day to go.”