The smoke of the torches burned my eyes
The chants of, to the bottom of the river, crashed into my ears
You have sinned against our Lord!
I was walking with my hands tied, with something dragging me to the sentence everyone wanted for me
Dark hooded capes hid the faces of the mob. When one would momentarily lift his head, from the light of the full moon I could see that their faces were painted red
The only person in the mob who wasn't wearing a dark hood and didn't have her face painted, was a young woman walking near me, close enough to touch if my arms were not chained to my body. She wore a light pink summer dress similar to the white dress I was wearing. When we arrived at the river, I could hear between the chants that she had begun to hum a tune
Hmm mh, hmm mh, hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm
She repeated this same hum over and over while they put the chains around my knees and ankles
A cloth tied over my mouth and around my head muffled my cries. I was turned to face the crowd. The hair that had fallen onto my face was wet with sweat and tears
A man held up a book and began to yell over the crowd
This is what happens when you blaspheme the Lord and sin against our God
Yeah!
Drown her!
Kill that witch!
My breathing became more and more heavy. I screamed. Please, don't! All they could hear was a scream
I looked to the woman in pink. She had peace in her eyes and a small smile on her lips as she continued to hum. Her right hand was clasped over something that reflected in the moonlight
Two men stepped forward, wrapped an arm through each of mine and picked me up. I felt the water touch my feet. I cried and looked at the woman, still humming. Through the cloth, I pleaded with her. Please help. I need help
And it went like
She stepped forward. The evil ones stopped speaking. The ones that held me were faced away from her, but as soon as she spoke and took a step toward me, they let go of my arms and began to back away
The woman continued to hum as she used the key in her hand to unlock each of the chains that bound me. She dropped them lightly onto the bank of the river. One by one, I was released from the captivity and the promise of death
She took my hand
As we walked together, the crowd parted and remained silent. A strong wind passed, and their torches were extinguished
I had learned the song and hummed along with the woman as we made our way home
