Week Two - Task #10. “The Witch Trial”

[Katherine Laurier]

You feel heat before you see it.

A crowd gathers in a clearing, though this time it’s not for celebration. It’s for accusation. The air is thick with suspicion. They point and they shout. A young woman stands in the center, hands bound, eyes steady.

“She danced in the woods,” someone says.

“She knew too much,” says another.

The woman meets your eyes.

You know this is not justice but fear dressed up in fire. You want to step forward but the air pushes back as the mob turns to you.

“What would you accuse?” they whisper. “What would they say about you?”

You look down. In your hand is a sprig of herbs, still wet with dew. You drop it and do not speak.

The pumpkin that lights in the tree is dim, but it smolders all the same.

You walk away hurriedly, heart pounding, knowing that sometimes the bravest act is refusing to join the crowd.

Task:
No words left your mouth, but you sure had a lot you wanted to stay. Solve this fallen letters puzzle. Send your solution in a Roost Private Message to both Katherine Laurier and Prof. Sindor Aloyarc.

Alternatively, write a letter of at least 150 words, either from the perspective of a woman deemed a witch by society back then, or addressed to the women or a specific woman, either made up or real, who experienced the unjust witch trials.

This task is worth 10 beans, with an additional 13 bonus beans for completing all Week Two tasks by end of activity. Deadline is 11:59pm (HOL time) on Friday November 21st.