Page 49 of To Trap a Soul

Susie’s hazel eyes crinkled from the overly large, awkward smile she wore as she handed over a pale clay bowl through the door’s threshold. Her stained apron showed its age, despite looking clean, and it helped to accentuate the curves of her thin frame. Freckles dotted the backs of her hands, her cheeks, and even her chest, which was partially hidden away by her plain navy corset and its matching dress.

“You really didn’t have to,” Lindi said, as she reached out and took the offering. Refusing could be considered rude, especially as readily made food was considered one of the greatest gifts.

Susie’s left cheek twitched with nervousness as she gave a laugh. “Well, it was made with one of your chickens.”

But all our chickens would have died by now.Did she mean a hen that had been born from one of her family’s?

Lindi looked down at the bowl of pea soup that had strings of chicken meat in it. The thick broth was a rather bright yellow,and it wafted with the scent of carrot, parsley, onion, and parsnip.

She figured the chicken had been at the end of her life, unable to lay anymore eggs, and they wanted to eat something high in calories. Edible meat was a rare luxury, since most went to the nobles to eat lavish food. Farmers and peasants, on the other hand, scrounged for whatever food they could find, which mainly consisted of vegetables and fruit.

She even noticed a few wild mushrooms in the bowl. Susie had likely gone foraging for them, as well as the wild herbs, to add taste to their mostly bland food.

Lindi offered her a placating smile.

Why are you here?was what she really wanted to ask.

Lindi wanted to be left alone, as she didn’t want anyone to pick apart her lack of ageing. Thankfully, she’d never met Susie before, as she was a new wife to the village. If anyone did ask about her youthful features, she planned to lie and say her mother had always looked young.

“I appreciate it,” she answered, hugging the bowl to her side. “I saw Joshua planting barley seeds with two other men today.”

Susie was Joshua’s wife, and Lindi was thankful he managed to find one, despite his quiet and often shy personality. She seemed similar, reserved and unsure – a perfect match, in Lindi’s opinion.

Susie’s pale cheeks pinkened. “Y-yes. He told me he saw you when he was working your farm.”

Lindi figured the gesture of food was due to the free land they were allowed to farm, with her parents being deceased and Lindi mostly absent. They wanted to show their thanks, even though they didn’t understand she was just happy to see all her parents’ hard work building this place wasn’t going to waste.

Their essence lived on in their land.

“It appears my family’s farm has become the entire village’s,” Lindi said with a shake in her voice. She quickly swallowed the lump of emotion forming in her throat. “Hopefully the yield is good and feeds Rivenspire well.”

Susie’s forced smile began to fall. “We don’t mean to profit off of your loss, but farming the extra land–”

Lindi reached out to grasp the woman’s forearm and gave it a tentative squeeze. “I don’t mind, really. I don’t intend to stay much longer and it’s better if it’s being used.”

She’d been here seven months too long.

Lindi had been discovered not long after she gave birth, and their warm welcome had made it hard for her to leave. Part of her didn’t want to, even if that was best. It was her home. She had every right to stay in it so long as the land was being used for its intended purpose and her tithe was given on time.

“Are you sure you can’t stay, Lindiwe?” Susie looked at the bowl in Lindi’s arms. “Maybe you can marry–”

“No,” Lindi quickly cut in. “I refuse to marry just because I have to. I just wanted to get through winter and visit home.” She forced a laugh while gripping the bowl tighter, and said, “I honestly thought someone would have moved in by now! No one has told me about who was last here, since I can tell it was once occupied.”

There were plenty of couples in the town. With her family home vacant, she expected at least one pair would have wanted to leave the nest and get away from whichever parents they were living with.

Lindi’s forced humour wasn’t greeted with warmth.

Instead, Susie looked away as she muttered, “We’re all a little uncomfortable with the idea... with everything that’s happened.” Then she held her wrist and scratched at the side of the joint. “People think it’s cursed. The man who was living here last grew ill and died of an unknown sickness. The person before thatjust disappeared overnight and no one knows why. It’s... made everyone wary of living in it in case they meet their demise. We were considering demolishing it before you returned.”

Lindi’s features stiffened, and she looked away as well.Others have died here?It made sense, considering the mess of rags and empty bottles of herbal medicine that had been left behind.

People tended to be quite superstitious when it came to repeated deaths. If they were thinking of destroying it, they probably wanted to give it some time before deciding what to actually do with it. Not to mention who would do the job, and what the costs involved would be.

I can’t believe my home will be destroyed once I leave.

When she, too, just up and disappeared without a trace.

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to share such frightening news about your residence,” Susie said, bringing her softer gaze back to Lindi’s firmer one. “Joshua wanted me to say hello and offer you some food for letting him tend to the land. Please enjoy the meal.”

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