Ten Days by J. Thorn (ereader manga .txt) 📕

It takes ten days to die. The Gods give you time to devour your sins before the Call to Judgment, and They laugh at the weak.

#

I had no choice. Honor lives long after the creatures of the dirt eat your flesh--long after your sun-bleached bones poke through the shallow grave. Legacies live on the tongues of others.
At first, they shared glances across the fire. Night covered her face, but not the sparkle in her smile. Hane tried to mask his feelings. The eyes always mirror the truth.
Sasha greeted me from the hunt with a kiss, a slight touch of hands.
“I am happy for your return. I will prove my love to you,” she would say, leaving her passion unspoken, untapped.
The seasons cycled and the greeting faded like the ebbing tide of the Great Sea. The distance grew over time.
“Welcome,” replaced her original expressions.
Sasha served me through empty, ritualistic motions. Her change raised my awareness but did not lead me down the path of revelation. What one treasures as new and exciting often turns routine, predictable. Through the flames of the fire, I saw the magnetic pull of Hane’s eyes on Sasha. And I knew.

#

Generations hunted the abundant game and used the sprawling canopy of the Northern Woods for lumber. I turned to Her in my time of need, holding out a hand for the solution I desired. She revealed it during the heat of the summer season.
I followed the ancient trail into a secluded valley. The Sun God blasted the One World with unforgiving heat. Even in the shade of the living sentries, the oppressive air filled my lungs like cotton. A small stream ran through the floor of the valley on its eternal voyage to the Great Sea. I stopped on the trail to pick up a large, green leaf and placed it under the band on my forehead, which kept the salty sweat from burning my eyes. Creatures of the Northern Woods buzzed with midday activity, although some chose to hide from the scorching rays of the Sun God.
I heard it before I saw it. The cry reached my ears and pulled at my heart. I determined that the sound originated from beast, not man, and I left the trail. Through a copse of trees, I spotted the utter blackness of rich earth. The chasm dropped the length of one man and it must have occurred through a natural settling of soil. This explanation did not console the fawn struggling for life at the bottom of the pit. Tufts of fur floated in the dense air and some stuck to the thin, spiny roots crawling from the walls. The creature’s ribs pressed hard against its skin. I looked down into the dark eyes of the animal and raised my bow. The arrow delivered instant death, piercing its heart with chiseled stone and compassion.
The Sun God descended behind the horizon of the One World. I made camp for the night. I packed sufficient food, so I did not have to eat the body of my unfortunate acquaintance. I jumped into the cavity. With arms extended, my fingertips touched the sides. The rotting, earthy smell of decomposing leaves soothed my nerves without dulling the senses.
My body recognized the solution before my mind realized it. I grasped the front legs of the dead fawn and swung it up on to the edge of the hole. The internal organs burst when it landed, flooding my nostrils with the sickening smell of death.
The leather satchel I carried provided no tools made for this kind of work. I reached for a low-hanging branch and pulled myself out of the chasm. I would need to double the hole’s width and depth.
The Lady of the Light rose underneath the glaring white face of the moon. She struggled to shine in His bright luminescence. Sitting next to a small fire, I pulled a scroll and ink from my pack and began to write. The deed would fade into obscurity if I did not record it. Hane’s death would stand as a warning to those considering adulterous dishonor.

#

I maintained husbandly duties to the best of my ability. I kept to the hunting cycles of the forest and managed to return with the expected kills. The Gods frowned on my nightly poaching of the creatures, a practice forbidden to the hunters of the One World. It would be a small price to pay.
The Lady of the Light failed to reach her previous mark of the night before, a sure sign that the Gods of the North would appear with the next cycle of the moon.
The task consumed me. I heeded no notice of my wife’s behavior. I ignored the frenetic rumormongers and their ravenous appetite. When our farmers pulled the last harvest from the fields, I knew I would have to double my efforts to finish before the encroaching winter froze the ground solid.
Vengeful thoughts protected my body from the chilly days spent in the Northern Woods. The sentinels of the forest dropped their cover to the ground, spreading bright hues of red, yellow, and orange everywhere. The leaves crunched under my feet and helped to cover the yawning gape I created in the soil. I left the remains of the fawn on the edge of the cavity. Its skull kept me company with secret stories of infidelity. By the time the trees bared their bodies to the autumn wind, the labor neared completion.
I moved the excavated earth to the stream where the current tossed it towards the Great Sea. High above the new cell, I built a small stand in a tree. From this vantage point, and with the perspective of the eagle, I would sit with my ink and scroll. I strung a leather sack of unleavened bread and a flask of water from one of the branches. I would not miss a single moment of Hane’s agony.

#

“But Rankin, I have all the game I need for the winter season. My wife stocked our hut with dried fruits and salted meats.”
I shuddered at the mention of his wife and wondered if she knew what I knew.
“A surplus can serve you well, Hane, especially with the Soothsayer predicting a long, dark season.”
He nodded his head in agreement and motioned with one hand to the trail.
“Follow me,” I said.
“What will this cost me?”
I led the man into the forest. I buried my head, making it impossible for him to see my face when I answered the question.
“Only what it should,” I replied.
Hane followed me through the Northern Woods and into a chilly evening. He chatted about mundane things and I answered without thought.
“I have stored the skinned animals deep in the earth to protect them from other predators and lazy hunters.”
“You are a wise man, Rankin. How much farther must we hike? I need to be back for the evening fire.”
I winced and cried in pain at his mention of the fire. I saw Sasha’s face in my mind and blamed the outburst on a sharp stone that cut my foot.
When we approached the pit, I took a long look at the dimensions. Hane would not escape. I glanced upward at the stand and smiled in anticipation. The autumn wind stole sweat from my forehead and the moisture from my mouth. I shook as I turned to face Hane.
“Down there. I tied a rope to the tree. You may choose two pieces of game and then we will negotiate the payment.”
He suspected nothing.

#

Things deteriorated on the seventh day. Eyes began to see things that did not exist and ears heard sounds never made. Last night they looked down, hoping to see a corpse.
I can still feel Sasha’s hands pushing me into the trap created for Hane. He kissed my wife in the maddening light of the moon. The fawn’s weathered skull spoke no longer.
I heard Them laughing.

Publication Date: 08-08-2009

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