The Hanging Tree

A young woman coming back for vengeance...

The Hanging Tree

As she sat in her room, the heavy knife held loosely in one of her hands, she threw another picture of her family into the fresh hot fire she had lit in the tin can that sat before her.  

When there were no more photographs to be destroyed she stood and walked over to the window standing just close enough to make steam on the window with her breath. As she gazed upon the tire swing that hung in the backyard the faintest hint of a smile spread across her face, she slowly reached down until her hands found refuge on the splintering wooden sill. When she lifted the window up and her nose caught wind of the apple cent that came from the tree outside she smiled for the first time in a long time...that is, until reality caught back up with her. With that, she shut the window with a thundering slam and walked over to the door to her old room where she paused to run her fingers over the jagged fist sized hole in the wall.

When she made her way down the ratty old staircase the carpet squeaked and gushed with every step she took. Her nose crinkled at the heavy smell of cigarette smoke that was everywhere in the house as she walked down the blood soaked staircase, the old knife still griped tightly in her hand.

She walked into the living room laughing maniacally as she saw the long trail of blood going through the living room. She stopped next to the fireplace mantel and gazed at herself mirror for a long moment before she drew her hand back and brought it forward into the mirror, shattering the mirror and her own image as she did, before turning and following the trail of blood into the kitchen. Upon arrival in the kitchen she gazed downward at the body of her dead Uncle before laughing and slowly walking towards her Aunt. As she stood in front of the chair her aunt was standing on she reached up to pull the gag out of her mouth before saying “hello Aunty.”

Her Aunt spit blood down onto the floor before ordering bitterly “Alex, cut me down girl.”

Alex laughed as though she found the concept amusing as she began to slowly pace and say “oh no, no, no, I could never, you had twenty years to torment me… now; it’s my turn.”

As alex slowed she crouched down to pick up some blood off the floor and smear it around on her already bloody hand  while she began to say “eight years you kept me here, I screamed and screamed but no one ever came...so now; you get to pay the price,” with that she pushed the chair out from under her Aunt and watched in amusement as the rope tightened around her neck, suffocating her slowly, before Alex turned and walked outback.

When Alex was standing next to the tree she smiled before throwing a rope over one of the branches and murmuring, to no one other than herself, “you know, I never did like family get togethers,” with that she put the rope over her head and jumped...never to be heard from again.     

Author's Note

Please ignore any mistakes and let me know what you thought, more soon. ;}