Seriphena - The Black Death

Preface

 

I could feel my world slipping away as I stared into the fire, everyone was gone, and there was nothing left for me to do.  All my friends, my family, gone. Forever.  There was a pain so sharp in my heart that it was almost physical. Elizabeth was all I had left, the only thing that kept me together as the world crumbled around me. Everyone was gone, and then there is me, Seriphena.

 

Chapter 1

 

I sighed as my spade hit the ground for the last time. At last! I can go home to my sisters. As I dragged my feet along the dirt tracks I thought about the most horrific disease that had ever come to Banham.  I looked across the road at William’s house. I felt a tear appear in the corner of my eye when I thought about his death. He was so sweet to me when we were just about to get married when I saw the first boil appear. I sat by his side while he lay in bed and the spasms got worse. Three days. That’s all it took for the vile disease to wipe my fiancé’s soul from this earth. We had no doctor in our village; he also had been killed by the disease. I had cried as I felt his life slip through my fingers and felt his heart beat for the last time. I shook my head and carried on walking. The Black Death will always be there to haunt me. How could I forget about the Black Death when everywhere I turn I see another of my friends with a boil? I finally could see the silhouette of my hut ahead of me and ran towards it to see my sisters sitting outside in the garden. I shooed them inside, I couldn’t bear to let them roam around outside where there is death hiding in every corner. Our mother got infected by the poison also and my father’s death, caused by a broken heart, so now it is my sisters and I, alone in this cruel world. “Hello my darlings!” I said as I ran down and sat down beside them and kissed each of there foreheads in turn. “Agges dead!” giggled Margaret. “What?” she nodded her head rhythmically and pointed he tiny fist towards the window. I gasped when I saw Agnes’ corpse on the top of the pile on the cart.

 

Chapter 2

 

I scowled as I passed Agnes’ empty shell of a house. I knew I had to take action, so there I was, passing the village sign, ours was the only village in the area that had a sign. I didn’t know what it said; it looked like gibberish to me.

 

I finally found my feet walking through the church doors to a suddenly silent room. I could feel their pity radiating through the room. “Right,” I said as I stared at the different people at the pews “let’s get started.” I sat at the front of the room. I looked behind me to see Agnes’ sister, Mary, stand up. It wasn’t hard to tell she had been crying, her eyes were read and her hands were shaking. Her loud sniff filled the room. “We must whip each other.” I waited for the outrage of our village, nothing. Only silence. “We must punish ourselves. We have all sinned at some point!” Her voice began to rise and tears began to stream down her red cheeks. “It is your fault!” I couldn’t help but notice her eyes flicker to me as she said, “that my sister is dead.” a deadly silence filled the room as her words silently echoed through all our brains and we took in her meaning. My eyes dragged to the split seam on Mary’s sleeve and gasped as it split al the way around and fell to the floor.  She now had some sewing to do.  I gave her a sympathetic smile but she just scowled at me and sat back down. “We should burn the dead” shouted gill from the back. I heard Agnes’ sister sob. The priest then piped in and said “We shall all go on a pilgrimage!” I disagreed with everything they said so I stood up. “You’re all crazy!” I whispered. “Pardon?” the priest gasped. “You’re all crazy!” I repeated, louder. “We just have to stay away from slaughter houses and use medicines from the as apothecary!” There was dead silence. And then there was an uproar. There were people laughing and shouting while I stood there in shock. It was not the reaction I was expecting.

 

 

Chapter 4

 

A year, that’s all it took for the majority of our village to die and sweep down the river with their souls now angles floating up to heaven, including my little Maggie, the youngest of my sisters.  A lot of people a celebrating the end of the Black Death; however, he majority of us stay at home and mourn for our loved ones.  I tried to keep my sisters inside as the disease crept through the village like a snake, every death another blow to the hope of survival.  I made Jim, my neighbour; help me build a larger and more comfortable house for me and Elizabeth. Everyone got paid more; the lords need us so we can haggle.  I now have enough money to buy coloured frocks for Elizabeth and me; however, we walk in black to mourn for our dead sister (although the frocks are quite stunning!)  I work more in the fields, Lizzie helps out too. We work together to earn our food over the harvest period.  A lot of people are buying land and are therefore richer but I keep none as I still cannot afford it. Although we all do get paid higher wages there was a law introduced that said we must not higher than what we were before the Black Death. Of course, we all ignore it. In other corners of the country however, rebellions have begun and they will spread down to us as rapidly as the disease itself. It was all I could do to keep me and Lizzie ind3ependant people.

 

Epilogue

 

As I felt my world slip away, I stared into the fire, everyone was gone, and there was nothing left for me to do.  All my friends, my family, gone. Forever.  There was a pain so sharp in my heart that it was almost physical. Elizabeth was all I had left, the only thing that kept me together as the world crumbled around me. Everyone was gone, and then there is me, Seriphena and this little hut with my sister and the scars that kept the mental bandages around my heart, trying to fix what has been broken and constantly failing. I could hear my sister shouting my name as the flames became a sheet of red over my eyes; I could feel my sister shaking me but the mental pain was so intense, I laid there and closed my eyes as the steady rhythm of my sisters head drummed through my ear, her heart became my own as I felt my soul lift high into the air and leave the pain behind me, I was leaving my sister behind but she would grow into a young lady with a world that was much better than what I had been brought up in. Every memory flashed through my head in an instant and it was suddenly gone, all gone. I stepped through gates and into the arms of William and Maggie’s arms were wrapped around my leg and the whole world was there around me, everyone I loved.