Stranger's Blood

Anita's POV:

When I looked up, our eyes met. I quickly looked away, feeling a blush creeping onto my cheeks. After all, I wasn't here to meet anyone new; I’d come to heal and discover myself.

"Excuse me," he said. “Can I sit beside you, beautiful lady?” He asked politely, the smile still on his face.

I was too flustered to reply, and my heart raced when he smiled at me. I felt a flush of embarrassment tingling my cheeks as he called me a beautiful lady, a phrase I hadn't heard in ages. Unsure of how to respond, I awkwardly shrugged my shoulders, gesturing towards the empty chair beside me.

“Thank you," he said appreciatively and sat down.

‘What does he want?’ I wondered, a frown settling on my face.

“I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be offensive. But you look like you're new here. Are you visiting Willowbrook for the first time?" He asked with a gentle voice.

Although he sounded sincere, I still hesitated for a moment before replying. "Yes, I'm just passing through. Is anything the matter?"

“Oh no. I am Jacob Racer,” he introduced himself.

“Okay. So what?” I replied curtly, my mind swirling with questions. Despite my rude manner, I couldn't deny the flutter of excitement that danced in my chest.

“Oh, about that. I am a local, born and raised in Willowbrook. You see, we are not used to receiving visitors, probably because of our previous experience with strangers,” he smiled and slipped from the glass of tea that had just been placed in his front.

“What do you mean?” I had a curious look on my face, not because I trusted the stranger but because I wanted to know more about Willowbrook.

“Thousands of years ago, our community welcomed seven foreigners. They appeared nice at first and brought a lot of gifts for us. We were overjoyed and let down our guard. For seven days, the foreigners stayed with us, asking us different questions about our land and its mysteries, and our naive forefathers answered all their questions. We completely trusted them, to the extent of taking them to our dragon goddess-naming ritual. At the ritual, while we were celebrating, the foreigners gave us a lot of wine and alcoholic drinks. We drank to our heart's contentment, unaware that the drinks were poisoned. After drinking, we fell asleep—every single one of us. And the foreigners killed our children, burned our farmland, and stole our jewelry. Worse still, they killed our dragon goddess's little children.

When we woke up, we were bound with shackles, and the dragon goddess's spirit was crying out for vengeance because of her dead children. We lost thousands of precious souls, and our land was barren for centuries. Well, until the Demon Lord visited and made a deal with the dragon goddess. In return for our community's peace, we had to offer the dragon goddess the souls of seven foreign children every year. Unfortunately, we didn't know where to find foreign children. In our vulnerable moment, the elders made an unwise deal with the demon in exchange for the villager's peace.

The other minor gods and goddesses tried to help us, but some of them were turned into trees, rivers, and fish, and the most powerful and beautiful of them was turned into an old lady.” He paused and sighed softly. “Since that day until now, our villagers have refused to open their hearts to trust again. They dislike strangers, and most especially, they don't trust anyone.”

“Wow! That's a sad story. But then, people are different. Some strangers are good. While some are callous and evil-hearted,” I whispered my last six words as I remembered Asher and how he betrayed me.

“Exactly my point!” Jacob smiled broadly and gently banged his fist on the table. "Not everyone in Willowbrook is like that. Some of us, including myself, believe that Willowbrook can still be saved and that the foreigners might be the ones to help us bring back the dragon goddess children. Because immediately her children are found, she'll regain her sanity and help defeat the bloodthirsty demon.”

“Oh! Do you mean the goddess's children are still alive, as in, they aren't dead?” I asked with raised eyebrows. Feeling a sudden urge to know more.

“Well, there is a rumor that one of the goddess children escaped. But…we don't know if it's true, and if it is, surely she will come back to Willowbrook one day,” Jacob said, looking determined, and a broad smile was on his face.

“She? A girl?” I was excited to hear this.

“I mean, he?” Jacob stuttered, unsure of what to say. “Look, rumor has it that it's a boy. But I believe it's a girl because both the goddess's baby boy and the girl's bodies disappeared shortly after the fight.

So we aren't sure if it's a girl or a boy,” he whispered and sighed sadly.

“I now understand why the villagers dislike strangers. They have every right to.” I murmured thoughtfully and gently took a sip of the coffee.

“That's by the way,” Jacob said, a grin on his face. “Why are you here?”

“Me?” I didn't expect him to ask me such a direct question, and I looked at him curiously.

“Yes, you. Or am I being too nosy?” He asked with a grimace on his face.

“Not really. I don't know. But I have heard of its wonders." I replied and smiled broadly.

“Its wonders? That's speculating and amusing at the same time.” Jacob looked amused and raised his brows. “What type of wonders, my dearest?”

Although I haven't gotten used to his endearment, I decided to overlook it. “Well, you know. The magical fish, shining rivers, talking trees, strange people, and...” I paused, wondering if I was supposed to say what was on my mind.

“And what…” Jacob looked at me with narrowed brows.

“And nothing. It's nothing important,” I stammered. I wasn't scared, but I didn't want to sound rude or disrespectful.

“Oh, please be at ease when I am by your side, milady,” he coaxed with a gentle smile. “I guess you were about to say regular sacrifices?” He asked with raised brows. It looked like he didn't care if I bad-mouthed Willowbrook.

“Well, maybe... but do the villagers make sacrifices? Also, is it human sacrifice or animal sacrifice?" I was unable to contain my curiosity.

‘Oh, it's a stranger's blood. Our deities love their taste better,’ Jacob thought in his head and giggled excitedly.