Page 44 of Forbidden Knots

"Are they in the water?" I asked. "Are spiders in the water?"

She giggled.

"What's that?" she asked the air. "She should know?"

"Sorry, the voices," she spun her finger at her temple.

"Rose,Rose,Rose," she whispered. "Rose,Rose, Rose," she continued. "Rosekilledthemall."

I moved from her.

"Are you Rose?" I whispered, my heart beating so fast I could see it pulsing down my chest.

"No, silly," she said, and I felt a momentary relief. "Rose is a bad, bad girl."

She crawled back to me. "Do you want to see them?"

I swallowed a lump in my throat, silently nodding, not knowing where all of this would lead me.

She held her hand out to me, and I blindly stood up, walking after her, each step heavy. All my senses were screaming that I should stay, but I followed her anyway.

She pulled my body after her, leading to a dusty shelf next to the old brick wall. She placed both her hands on the old wood and then pushed it to the side.

"Little help?" she asked.

I simply nodded, confused, and followed her motion until we completely pushed the shelf from the wall, revealing an old door. She opened the door and motioned with her finger for me to come to her.

In my mind, I wondered what could possibly go wrong at this point as she said, "I don't bite,little doll!" and giggled, turning around.

I shrugged my shoulders and followed her inside. My body was immediately cold; cold air brushed through my skin, and cold sweat formed on my forehead. As we entered, brick walls mixed with dirt welcomed us, and we continued to walk. I expected an empty room, but it was a full hallway that led to who knows where. My mind was shrouded in darkness, but nothing, absolutely nothing, stopped me from following this strange woman who looked like a ghost.

After almost five minutes of pure silence, a cold wind hit my face, and the sun brightened above us. As she opened the door even more, I noticed her pale face had a bit more color than before, and her dark eyes were hazel in the sun, just like my mom's. My mind was racing with questions, but my eyes were scanning the grass beneath us. As we stepped outside, we were already out of town.

She giggled, her knees touching the ground, then lay down and looked at the sky.

"This is my spot, and there is where Rose laid," she said as I stood above her. Her eyes were filled with tears. "What's this?"she asked, "Why is water in my eyes burning like fire while my face is like ice?"

"You mean, why are you crying?" I asked, confused.

"I don't cry," she said angrily, turning around and wiping her tears. "Your friend is there," she said, pointing towards the cliff.

My heart skipped a beat as I followed her gaze. The cliff's edge loomed ominously in the distance, and a sense of dread washed over me.

"Sophie?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

The woman nodded, her expression suddenly somber. "Yes, she's there."

The smell of rotten flesh hit my nostrils, and I immediately hit the ground, crawling away from the wall. My palms covered my face, trying to block out the stench, but nothing could mask the odor that had already infiltrated my mind. Summer and another hot day made everything worse, and all I wanted was to escape, but around us were nothing but cliffs. I crawled a few steps back, but my hand landed on something hard, breaking the skin open on my palm. As I turned around, grabbing my hand, I realized it was a skull, not a rock, peeking through the ground. I gasped, stepping back close to the doors as I noticed more than ten skulls of different shapes embedded in the ground, with a hand protruding from behind a bush of red oleander flowers.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, giggling. "Mommy says that it makes the flowers even more poisonous if poisonous people lay underneath."

"Lotta?" I stuttered, the words barely escaping my mouth. "Lotta killed them all?"

"No, silly," she said, giggling. "Rose did. Mommy just uses the flesh for humus and makes a tea that makes Rose dizzy."

"Where is Rose?" I asked, my eyes watering.

"She visits sometimes," she said, touching her hair.

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