Agatha hadnât wanted to ruin the poor girlâs life, both girlsâ lives, but she needed to fill the order. She couldnât lose her job now, not with the baby on the way. She needed the money badly, oh so badly, if she was going to be able to provide for her daughter and soon to be born grandchild. She couldnât leave her daughter to bear the burden alone. It wasnât her fault after all. But that was all beside the point.
Agatha mounted Cinnamon, (the horse would be a useful addition to her life) tied the statuized girl to the back, and headed out of the woods. The path was nonexistent, only a memorized set of directions in Agatha's mind. She knew them well though, as she had traveled them so many times that soon that path might just escape her mind and form itself on the ground.
Her mind was elsewhere, straying to baby names and revenge plots. She didnât pay attention to her surroundings in the slightest. If she had, she may have noticed a girl by a stream, ready to take her last breath. Driven to drastic measures by her desperation and misery. She may have noticed the structure for a cabin. The beginnings of a life two girls would have made and shared. She couldâve seen a small shelter covered in moss. The product of hard efforts from those same two girls and the place where a beautiful romance began. But she saw none of it, for she was too wrapped up in her own mind and life to consider the effects her actions had on others. She couldâve gotten her statue ethically, with the use of actual stones.Yet she chose cruelness instead, chose to end a life, to break a heart. Choices are ours to make, but the outcomes are chosen for us.
Agatha trapsied on, emerging from the forest and continuing on through fields, past farms and homes, until she reached her destination. A small farmhouse, hidden behind a grove of maples. The front lawn was decorated with an array of statues, most of them Agathaâs own work, and she looked upon them proudly. The farmhouse door creaked open and an elderly woman stepped outside.
âAh, good, I was awaiting your arrival for some time now.â she remarked, eyes traveling from Agathaâs face to the statue secured on Cinnamon. âOh my! Itâs beautiful, exquisite!â she gushed, âHow did you do it?â
âHard work and planning my dear.â Agatha replied, concealing an evil grin with a kindly smile. She slipped off Cinnamon and began to untie the statue. The woman came over to help.
âCareful now,â Agatha warned as they lifted the girl to the ground, âsheâs a fragile piece. Delicateâ
They set her down gently and stood back to admire her in the sunlight.
âPerfect!â the woman nodded her head in contentment. âThank you.â
âIâm glad you like it, may I have my payment?â Agatha asked, attempting to be polite.
âOf course, of course!â The woman cried, rushing back to the house and coming back with a fold of bills. Agatha took them graciously, mounting her house and disappearing the way sheâd come.
The old woman looked over the statue, admiring the way the girlâs mouth was tilted slightly upward in a faint smile, and how her hair was adorned with a single, small plait on the side.
âGood gracious, Iâm sure to run out of room in this yard if I keep buying these!â she remarked, shaking her head and chuckling. âBut I canât resist how well done they are, how realistic. Like a real person was turned to stone.â
I'm working on a part 2 if anyone's interested. It's going to be called Just Me Alone to fit the theme. The first part should be up in a few weeks! Thanks for reading! â¤