Page 75 of Souls We Rip

He tightened his hold on me, his fingers digging into my skin, sending shivers through my body. And once more, I complied, thoughts of anger relinquished.

I was too enthralled by the Goat Man that I did not notice where we were. The pull this creature had on me should not exist, not after how he treated me. And still, he tried to be better.

Perhaps he was practising being human after all these centuries.

He confused me, he pulled and pushed, throwing me over the edge, a lint over his shoulder. But my mind never lied. The feelings I had, I only read about them in books or heard stories from the other girls in the village, usually married. I never dreamt of touching a man like I wanted to touch him, to feel his weight on me and let myself be consumed by his own nightmare.

But he represented the opposite of what I was, of everything I believed.

I had the love of God in me, still. The Goat Man had darkness creeping around. The many souls he took were visible in his eyes, blue swirls covering almost the entirety of the white orbs.

He drove me to madness. And despite everything, my soul never lied. I wanted him in every shape or form.

And what would be of me, once this contract is completed?

The Goat Man twirled me around, a destroyed hut before my eyes. Its wood was broken, eaten by termites and time, dirt covered the porch, and vines were growing through it. The stones which were used for the walls were still standing, the only clue that there was a house at one point in history.

“What is this?” I said, moving away from him.

“It used to be my house.” His voice flew in the wind, surprising me.

He took a step towards the first step of the porch. “We were five siblings. I was the youngest boy. I tried to remember anything before that moment, but it feels as if that is my first memory. Ever.” He sighed, stepping next to the former hut. “My middle brother died there.” His long finger pointed to a spot on the stairs. “His blood seeped into the ground so fast…”

He turned and climbed one more step, his pain palpable. I felt the blood pulsing in my veins, ready to break them. My heart might be gone while I wore the body of eternity, but the feelings were there. If I had a ticker, then it would have broken at seeing his frantic eyes.

“And here,” he said low, “was my little sister. Most likely running from…”

Him.

I stepped closer to him, my feet caressed by the grass.

“And there,” he showed with his hands stretched to the end of the porch, “were my other brother and sister.”

The Goat Man crashed down, sobs rippling through the air, his scream cracking the remaining stones of the ancient house's skeleton.

How almighty he seemed the first time I laid my eyes on him with his scythe slaughtering my father’s hand.

And right before my eyes, he became…vulnerable.

I knelt next to him, my arms wrapping around his neck, his fear calling to my kindness.

He let his head fall on my shoulder, tears wetting my ie. His fingers dug into my skin until they turned white. I let him cry his sorrows, bending my head on his, my hair covering his face, cloaking him from the world.

The Goat Man

“I was wrong about you, Ana,” I whispered, tears drying on my face.

The evening sun turned the sky into a piece of art. The rose, red and orange cast soft shadows on the woman from my right. Her delicate gestures made me wonder how I came across her. How the Mirror sent me to take her father, and instead, she selflessly offered the purest soul I have ever met.

If I were her, I would have let her father die.

Deep down, into my undying core, I knew I was not worthy of her. Her whole being was mesmerising. Ana embraced her new world, slower at times, as if she owned it.

“Yes, you were,” she stated, her white eyes with five swirls of blue locked on my cheeks. Her hand caressed the grass at her legs, her dark hair gaining a red hue in the sunset.

I smirked, a huff of air coming from my mouth. “I beg forgiveness for everything ill I’ve done to you.”

She swallowed, the sound making my shoulders slump further. “As you should, Goat Man.” Her eyes saw something far away. “Thank you for showing me this side of yours.”