Try and Catch Me

Injustice (1)
The first thing Lia noticed when she arrived in this world was the platinum blonde hair. Tamara reminded her of a goddess who descended to the human world from her place in heavens.

But for the people in town, those same platinum blonde hair signified one thing: the witch. In the sea of dark hairs, Tamara’s hair stood out.

A palpable sense of fear surged in as the people encircled around them. Subconsciously, Tamara and Lia stuck stood closer, back pressing each other. They stared back at the scrutinizing gaze of the people.

No one spoke. After all, it had been years since the townspeople had seen the witch. Yet those years did nothing to quell their fear and anger.

Lia scanned their surroundings determined to not let her emotions show. Just one opening. Even if it was just tiny, as long as there was one.

In the corner of her eye, there was a small gap between a child and an adult. Lia grabbed her mother’s arm and dragged her to that direction. If they could only just ran away–

“Where do you think you’re going, Missy?” A large, burly guy blocked their way and smirked.

“Home,” Lia said.

The guy stared at her before roaring in laughter. Some followed suit. Others snickered.

The burly man leaned, close enough for Lia to smell the stench of gin mixed in his breath.

“There’s only one place where you belong,” he sneered. “Go. Back. To. Hell.”

As soon as he said it, a beefy hand pushed Lia to the ground. She winced when her butt met the hard paved road.

Tamara darted forward and stood in front of Lia, pointing a finger at the man.

“Don’t you dare hurt my daughter!” She growled.

Tamara’s voice, which was usually calm, brought a chill down to Lia’s spine. The man might have felt the same as he leaned back a bit, flushing to the tips of his ears when he realized what he had done and swatted Tamara’s hand as if killing a fly.

“What did you say!?” The man towered over the two of them. He was the biggest among the crowd. No wonder he treated everyone as his underlings.

With the boom of the guy’s voice, a chorus of erupted voices surrounding them. Everything was chaotic. Lia was pushed and pulled in all directions. She clasped her hand with Tamara’s, determined not to lose each other in this mob.

“It hurts!”

“Stop!!”

Lia groaned in pain as different people, different hands jabbed at her. She shrieked and clawed and kicked. That intimidated some people, but then they came back in full force.

“Stop, please,” she hated to beg, her chest heavy from injustice. She wanted to hurt these people as much as they hurt them. They did not do anything. They never hurt anyone. Was it a sin to just exist?

In front of her hazy eyes, there were unknown faces, all jeering, all screaming, all judging. Lia shut her eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable.