Page 25 of Souls We Rip

And that was the reason why I was still watching the human’s life.

Right before my eyes, through the Souls’ Mirror, the human was getting out of church, after she had taken the holy bread from the priest. She was walking with her mother, as her sister was bedridden.

I saw them praying in church, during the service, kissing icons, mixing germs. It was a good thing that I was eternal and not touched by mundane diseases.

Her mother walked before her, tears shining on her face. The peasant remained behind, taking one piece of bread from a napkin and eating it. It was said that the stomach needed to be empty for that bread to help your mind and body.

The woman fed a stray cat with the rest of the pieces, petting it as the animal ate.

How would a woman who gave abandoned animals food rip ten souls?

My attention was snagged by the sound of footsteps outside my chamber. I tapped once on the Souls’ Mirror, my reflection leering right at me.

I heard the peasant breathing, cutting through the silence.

“Curiosity killed the cat, peasant!”

My fingers grazed the surface of the glass, and it showed me her.

The woman was standing, glued to the wall. Stone must have breached her skin from how hard she pushed herself against it.

“If you want to ask questions, inimă, you will have to wait your turn.”

‘Inimă’. Heart. Why would I call her that?

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes.

Before and after I took her, I tried to rake my mind on how to lay this plan I had at her feet. It would not be easy to accept, especially for someone who hasn’t hurt a fly in her life.

Therefore, there was only one option: to force her into it.

When I got the idea to take her as my replacement, I searched through her life in the Souls’ Mirror. As I did then, I was doing it now.

She held her head down whenever her mother or father would chastise her. Always praying for the salvation of their souls, as if his could have any redemption. The thought of it made me snort.

On the other hand, her mother was not evil. She was just a mother who, instead of the palm, used words. Gentle words to stray her daughters from evil.

I don’t remember mine, or even if I had a mother in the first place.

Not wanting to delve into my past, I concentrated on the woman from the opposite side of the wall.

The human’s heat was palpable through the air. I watched as her cheeks turned rosy, her chest panting, and her knees shaking. My blood started boiling, and I cast a shameless thought aside.

We, eternals, never had impure sentiments about humans. We found them impractical. Filled with emotions which could not be closed in a trunk and forgotten. There was nothing simple about them when it came to grief, sadness or even love. The latter was the most dangerous of all.

Love could make one sacrifice oneself for others who do not deserve even one’s glance.

Her breathing made my jaw clench. “If you won’t start talking, you can go on your merry way!” I whispered, fully aware that she would hear me.

My voice could travel miles away, if that was my intention, a perk I gained when I became the Goat Man.

Her gasp reached my ear, my pulse thumping.

I relieved myself of my breeches and shirt, sending them onto my bed. Grabbing my robe, I turned back to the Souls’ Mirror.

It became my sanctuary, a breath of fresh air after a day filled with anguish. It was my only friend, loyal to my beliefs.

The image of the woman was still on the glass. It seemed as though she was trying to crawl up the wall out of fear. The sleeves of her dress, usually flowing, were dampened from the humid air. The hair was stuck between the fabric and the stone, a few strands of it cascading around her tormented face.