The Girl With Fire

A Story by Poorvi

She had one dream but sometimes they turn into nightmares

There was a girl once, thousands of years ago like any once upon a time story but it was not a fairy tale. This story could only turn into a horror from the starting and it did turn into that with its ghost still affecting the present. This story would be told again and again to the children of Agra because that’s where it happened and every single boy should hear its result so that they will know what will be the consequence of making girls suffer and every girl should hear it to know the strength of their gender.

The girl like any other lived simply and helped her mother however she can. Her father had died when she was two and her mother did everything to provide for her. It was the time when Chandra Gupta Maurya was doing the conquests in India and winning the kingdom one by one. They lived in a fairly peaceful place, the boys though trained to join the big armies of the king. The beliefs of the village were like any other places of their time. Boys were given preferences and girls were kept in line. The women of the village did their duty faithfully but when sat at work would talk about the legends and stories that had been going in their village for generation and which were only talked by the women. The golden time, when girls had as much freedom as boys. The restrictions were always there for them wherever they go. Everything had its restriction. Women should purdah always. The thinking, that they are given birth to only do household work and to bear child. A midst this a girl that god have graced with his grace was born in that village. She was not any different for the villagers just like any girl who would be someone’s wife and mother when it would be time. They don’t know or they had never understand that god’s grace isn’t in world to do things naturally but to change the world, to take away and destroy the evils that reside in the human even if they had to take some human lives.

This girl however had a little different upbringing from other girls. Her father had died and her mother was a lady who did everything as was expected but she also had a more open mind and wanted to give her daughter a different kind of life and through this kind of thinking the girl’s future was molded. She was asked from when she was young of what she like to do and what she likes to become when an adult, her response was always quick: a warrior. Her mother left her to her devices because she didn't knew how can she help her daughter to be a warrior but her daughter knew what she want and she had decided that she would do whatever in her power or beyond to be a soldier. That girl had fire, an ethereal fire in her that would not be distinguished and will try to achieve her dream.

Her first step toward her dream was to watch a carpenter do his work. She was a good and fast learner and seeing the man do his work, she understood the basis. The next step was to carve a sword for her. This dream that she had, she was intelligent and knew no one would favor her and thus she did everything alone. She tried to practice some but after some time she knew that she had to have a teacher and like Eklavya who had peeked in the classes of great Dronacharya, she also peaked in the training that the boys took. She couldn't make a friend because girls liked to do the things that were normal for them but she had to train and train harder than boys because she wanted to be one of the best and so she spent her childhood alone without friends and only thinking her sword to be a friend training hard in the time of night by a pond. This place was found by her and hardly anyone came here so she had made a training ground for herself there.

She was relentless in her dream. It was not normal and nobody was with her but her mother and she took her courage from her. Her mother had left her to herself so she hardly asked anything from her mother. That made her more independent. They didn't spend much time together as she was training and her mother was doing household but they loved each other very much.

Years went by like that. She went through tough training by herself. She would run hours, lift weight, punched trees, sword training, made herself arrow and bow and practiced on it, etc. she was becoming really good in all this. She was a warrior and her dream was really near for her. People were coming to their village to recruit soldiers. It was actually peace time but you never know when a fight would break. There was still some time and she doubled her efforts in training. She would be a warrior and no one could stop her from being one.

One night like always she was practicing. This was the perfect timing to train. No one came out at this time and so she can freely do her training although no one already knew about this place but there were precaution to be taken. All her time had went in training, she longed to duel with someone else to compare her skills to someone but she knew she couldn't do that. People will not stop at anything to thwart her dream so she kept quiet on the desire to have a duel partner.

She didn't knew that that night her desire would come true. A young man of roughly her age was out that day. That he had trouble sleeping and so had decided to take stroll in the village. He walked to the place where the girl trained. He stared at the scene in front of him. A girl in clothes like boys was practicing with a sword, hacking and maiming invisible enemies; he got entranced by the sheer beauty of the view in front of him. The graceful way she struck and rolled in the grass.

When he could focus again, he thought how absurd all that was, a girl fighting like a boy. This can never happen. He decided that he wanted to know what was going on so he stepped forward.

“Careful with that, girl” he said approaching the girl, “you might get injured”

The girl stiffened at hearing the voice. Her secret place had been discovered, her secret was out. She held her breath and calmed her nerve. One of the first things you should learn before going to a battle is to have a clear mind. To rush would mean sure death but planning helps. She decided to confront the person who had discovered her.

“You should be careful boy, you might get hurt” she said in a confident voice, meeting his eyes.

They measured each other as opponent. The man, as they all have the pride of thinking themselves as a superior gender didn't think much of a girl with a wooden sword, the girl on the other hand took her enemy seriously. This was the first time she might fight someone and she didn't want to lose.

“You think you can fight just because you have pretty little sword” he asked

“You can try to duel with me then we can see if I can fight or not” she said.

“A warrior does not hit a girl” he said

“A warrior can fight a warrior” she said holding her sword tightly.

The boy snorted at the idea of a girl being a warrior.

The girl flung another wooden sword toward him. The boy caught it with ease and tested its balance in his hand. “One last thing if I win you would have to swear on Lord Ram’s name that you won’t speak about all this to anybody”

The boy regarded her with calculating eyes and thinking about what she had said.

“And if I win you have to swear you will leave this foolish errand.”

The girl eyes filled with fire yet she agreed. They both took a fighting stance and so the fight began. In the middle of the night, under the full moon, two human fought with all their might and that day the man understood that what power a girl can have. The duel went long but in the end the years of isolation and training gave its fruit and the girl stood victorious with her sword pointing at the boy’s neck and the boy huffing for his breath.

“I went easy on you” the boy said taking deep breaths.

They both knew it as a lie but didn't comment on it although the girl barked a laugh, a thing that was very unladylike at those times

After that the man swear on the name of the god that they all prayed that he will not tell anyone about this.

From that night a new friendship bloomed between those two warriors. The girl recognized the man as their leader’s son but the man told her that he had never seen her anywhere. Her confession of always training and not going around with girls surprised him.

The story of the girl started molding with the man’s. Their dance of the night with weapons became a daily occurrence and for once the girl was totally content. Now only when king’s men would come, her dream would fulfill.

The girl did not change even after she found a partner. She was still a proud warrior, unforgiving in her attacks, never stopping when she found a striking point, she did not falter even if he got injured. When they fought, they were rival, each other’s enemy and you do not sympathies with your enemy. She was cruel to him during spar and formal when tending to his injuries.

And he grew to love her every second. She wasn't like any girl he had seen before. She was determined and his equal and he treasured every fight, every second of every night with her. He never got slack when he fought her, she was a better warrior than him and instead of getting jealous, he learned from her. She was the most perfect girl that he had ever encountered.

Love changes human. He changed too. He was happy all the time. He didn't ogle toward women like he used to do before he had met the girl. And he trained twice, knowing that there is someone he wanted to win from. He had lacked in his training before thinking he was the best in his group but knowing that he was lacking in his ability, he pushed himself. Every night the girl congratulated on the small improvements of his way of fighting and his heart would fly at hearing her commend him.

The changes did not went unnoticed by his friends and family. His friends had seen him changing gradually and marveling at how he felt like a he had become a whole new person. This of course brought the question of how these changes came to be. He was adamant in his reply; he would not tell them the cause. The secret was his life, that’s all the answer all his friends could get him out of it.

So, they tried a different approach. Men enjoying Madira was something that was not unheard of even in the small village. So, the answer to their problems was easy.

The night went by drinking for enjoyment for the boy while the girl still went to her secret place waited for him for some time and with a heavy heart and aching chest that the boy had not come, she started training by herself.

By the end of the night, the whole story was in front of his friends and they were convinced that their friend is under the influence of a witch.

A man with wrong beliefs is not a dangerous man but a man who thinks his reasons maybe wrong are still justifiable, that man is the most dangerous enemy of the world.

The next morning the boy found himself in between his justifiable friends who gave him proof after proof that the thing he was feeling for the girl is nothing but evil magic. He cried, he told them to shut up but they continued with their theories. A girl cannot be that powerful, they said. They gave a detailed account of normally how a girl should be. They gave him information on what a witch can do and how he was in her influence. The boy being a boy of medieval times had heard the tales of witches. He had grown up knowing about the evil spirit that live on the earth and torture men.

His friend feed him suspicions and he, being unable to counter their every single remark, started believing them. The possibility that he might have been ill used, left him despaired. But the feeling of love, the warm feeling that ran in his heart as he thought about the girl felt real. How can this feeling, that made him feel alive, made him feel like that there was now some purpose for his life, that he had found his other half in that girl, how can all this be false, he didn't knew. But witches are strong, his best friend countered. He was convinced now and he felt his insides collapse on himself at thinking all this was a ruse.

They decided to attack her that day.

The news that a witch was in the village spread like a fire. Women dragged their kids in the home. Rituals to protect their house from evil spirit were done. All men were ready that night with torches, all warriors of the village lined with their shining sword. Today they would hunt a witch and made their village pure again.

Oblivious to everything happening in the village, the girl was ready to train with her friend. She hadn't been this happy ever. She had a friend who sparred with her, who didn't scoff on her plans anymore. It was a welcoming sight. The nights together had made a precious place for him in her heart. She was not a fool and she recognized her feelings as love but the goal in front of her was too big. Her whole had been dedicated to her training; she won’t let it go to waste. The comfort that a person get in the arms of their love had to wait. She still had to go through the hardship and thorns of wars and win them. She can’t grow soft just because she had started feeling love, she can’t do that to her lifelong dream.

She was sad that the boy didn't come to their practice yesterday night but she knew that he has friends to be with. She wouldn't turn into a nagging woman just because he missed one night of their spar.

As she got to her spot and again waited for the boy, she was again gripped with the sadness that he might not come even today. After some minutes, she pushed her sad thoughts aside, squared her shoulders and started her training. She had always trained alone so it shouldn't affect her that ache was again alone, doing her training. She just missed the challenge that the other warrior gave her.

She stopped in her tracks as she noticed the light coming from afar. No one had come here except for her and the boy. She was suspicious as to what might be going on. She waited, thinking that those lights may turn somewhere else but they did not. They were coming straight in her direction. Her instincts were screaming two options at her: fight or Flight.

Unsurprisingly, she stood her ground. She had faced her problem headfirst till now and she won’t be running today either.

As she watched the big crowd coming toward her, she knew that today all her efforts would turn futile in the end but she was a warrior and she was not scared of death. She knew that they had come to kill her. The angry shouts of villager were ringing in her ear and were echoing in her heart. She felt numb knowing that this might be the end. The hard work of her life, she couldn't even live long enough to live her dream. She uttered the name of Lord Ram. She would give her everything to this fight. The fight for her survival.

She accepted the fate that was inevitable.

The villagers entered the clearing with all the men who can fight, on the front line. Others with torches which flared with exciting flames were behind so that they would not be harmed.

Those flames looked like they were waiting for a body to devour. She had the intuition that it was going to be hers.

The men attacked with their real sword while she defended herself with her wooden sword. She was quick on her feet. She used her small figure and light weight to her advantage. She slid between the enemies, rolled, swept her feet under enemies. At one point she got her hands on a real sword. She slashed her opponent without mercy. She beheaded and dismembered whoever came in her path.

They changed tactics. They attacked her together. 10 swordsmen against one. The result was decided even before she started this unfair duel. Slowly, the swords started sliding against her skin, cutting limbs, piercing her important organs. At last the fight stopped when she collapsed on her knees. Her left arm was missing from elbow, her bones sticking out from where the arm had been cut off. Right palm was missing and blood gushed like a waterfall. Her face disfigured from many slashes she had encountered. There was only one ear left and a slicing could be seen on her both of her eyes. But still she looked at them, not looking down. A warrior will always have their pride with themselves. She won’t get them the satisfaction by looking like she had lost completely. Her body may not move now but the fire in her would never be extinguished.

The villagers took a moment to gloat and then bounded her. They would burn her alive at the main market place. They dragged her, the many wounds on her legs made it difficult for her to walk but she didn't protest. She bit her lip to the point that it started bleeding, to stop any noise that may come out from her mouth because of the pain she was feeling.

The first thing she noticed when they stopped at the market place was the boy who sat still, looking toward the big pile of woods that villagers have collected to burn her. She couldn't see her mother anywhere and she came to the conclusion that either she doesn't what was going on or she had been silenced for forever. The thought did not settle well in her mind. It only gave more fuel to the fire in her. The boy turned as he heard the commotion that villagers were making at catching the witch and she caught her eyes.

The villagers dragged her toward the wood pile but she stubbornly stopped ion between standing in front of the person that she had come to love. And who was doing nothing to save her.

“I am happy that I saw your real face before dying” She spat at him

“I am sorry, I love you but….” He trailed off.

“But what?” She asked in a bitter tone.

“But your soul is tainted. We can’t run away from the fact that you’re a witch. We would be together but not in this life. I hope you would wait for me in the next life where we would love happily and where your soul will be pure.” He said. Tears ran down his face but the girl looked toward him in disbelief.

As they tied her to the wooden pile, she looked through bleeding eyes toward the boy. The boy she had thought as a friend, as her love but after everything, he turned out to be like any men. But she won’t leave things like that. The thinking like this had ended her on this point. The fire in her grew, every nerve in her body sizzled with the force of this fire. As they started the fire, her body started to glow with her inner fire. Her eyes didn't left the eyes of the person she had loved and when she spoke, it was a heavy sound filled with the doom that was coming toward the villagers in the near future.

“My soul is not tainted but I won’t say the same for yours. Your soul is tainted by the evil that you now have committed. You men think highly of yourself. Devil speaks through you all. Devil manipulates you into thinking someone pure to be evil and you believe what he says. A girl with god’s grace become stronger than you and your demon eats you. You try to erase God’s grace. You think you can kill me, you think you can finish me, my dreams. Tell your devil that a God’s grace won’t be erased by your effort. Even when I die, you will not live peacefully. I won’t be going in the realms of God, I would be here watching you, hunting you men, who think so poorly of women. You won’t be sleeping from this day on. You will regret this day, every single second of your life. End my life and feel the God’s own wrath on yourself. You wretched men, who worship goddess for blessing and prosperity, hit them, kill them. If you think I am going to hell, then you aren't very far from the gates of hell either. Your ego will be your destruction and you, who told me that he loves me; you will live in agony and die in agony. There is nothing else I wish for. A dying wish should be fulfilled and I know god himself will see that you get that punishment.”

She didn't make any other noise after that, even when the fires licked her body. The fire was not only burning her from inside, she was burning from inside too. The ethereal glow that had given power to her words now was burning her from inside. She couldn't tell how it felt; everything she might say would be an understatement. So, she just stared at those yes. She didn't flinch, she didn't blink, she stared straight toward those despair filled eyes of the person that had said that he loved her. She would make sure that these eyes would be in his dreams every night and in his thoughts every waking moment. She wasn't a naive girl and she expected a brutal life for him. When the fire touched the area around her eyes, she still made her vision fixed on those traitor’s eyes. She was in agony and she had full reason to pass on this agony to those who had caused it. No girl or women in this place would get what she got; she would make sure of that. She would be here years after years to save her gender and give them strength, to give them her fire.

The young man could only avert his eyes away when her eyes turned to ash. She hadn't blinked even once through the whole experience, she had stared at him through all this. The village people rejoiced that the witch was gone, her glowing in the end further proving her witch lineage. His friend asked him to come with them and enjoy but he told them that he wanted to be alone.

After they were gone, he went to the pile of ashes that was slowly drifting off with the wind. There were still pieces of wood that glowed orange indicating they were still hot. He buried his hand in those glowing amber feeling the sensation of burning; It gave a calmness to his remorseful heart. He tried to look through all the ash for something, something for safe keeping, to remember her. He loved her; his heart clenched painfully remembering what he had done to her. She had become his life and what did he do, he killed her. He was already regretting doing that but he knew that she would not be coming back to him. He cried for her, howled in the still night. He gathered the still glowing wood and pressed them to his heart, to feel the same agony that she would have felt but it wasn't enough, nothing would ever be enough. The eyes that had stared at him through the fire were imprinted in his mind and he knew he wouldn't ever forget it. She won’t let him forget.

He stood up after his self-afflicted punishment and collected the ashes in a box and left the place for forever. Nobody saw him again but word is that what she had said while dying came true. He lived every second of his life in agony and died in agony. He never loved again and nobody loved him. The eyes were still there behind his eyelids as he died.

It is said that within the next year the whole village was destroyed. Famine came, drought was there, and men disappeared for a long time and were found many days later. Their bodies mutilated and their own wife couldn't identify their husband. Only people left in the village were Women and little kids.

What the girl with fire said came true, every tainted soul went to hell and after long this area was emptied by the villagers, it was only inhabited after many years passed and the people in graves were only bones. Yet the girl remains, finding her victim, punishing them with the fire that surrounds her.

Rumors go around about the girls who had a dream in which they burned from inside out but were told not to make a noise, those who succeeded woke up to find a tattoo which looked like flames, on their arm.

THE END