As witches and Angels burn

The crowd was loud and most likely drunk. I looked down on sitting on top of the building where I lived. I always was to be found there.
A man took the small stage build for the 'festivity', trying to calm everybody down.
It even worked, as soon as he took the stage the people were quiet. Everybody respected the priest.

This was the worst part of living on the main street. Everything happened here, right under my nose. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore what was gonna be done and said. Of course that was impossible,

"We are gathered here today, for the death of a witch!!" The priest started.
The crowd got loud again and yelled things.
The priest raised his hands to make everyone silent before he continued.
"This day shall be the day that the witch will burn!!" The entire village yelled and screamed.
"She will be burned before the sun goes down tonight."

I let my eyes wonder over the stage trying to find the woman they were going to kill this time. 5 had been burned within the last month.
A young girl caught my eye. She looked like she was about 17 years old. It was probably her mother that got the punishment. It usually was like that, an older woman, that wasn't very popular in the village, or that people found weird, was a witch.

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There was something about this girl, I'm not sure what. She just stood there looking at the crowd. She didn't seem scared, she even had a smile on her face.

"The witch had books on how to make poisons. With the purpose of luring children to her so she could eat them alive!!"
The crowd looked scared and took their children close to them.
"We shall show the witch that we are good harted people by letting her have her last words."

Good harted huh.
Kill a woman that probably didn't do a thing. A woman that had a young daughter and most likely had a man that loved her.
Such good harted people.

"So witch what do you..."

To my suprise the young girl was dragged upon the stage. Her light blonde hair shined in the sun. She still had that smile on her face.
How weird that she still smiles after she just found out that she wouldn't live to see the sun rise again.

"...have to say to the people?" The priest asked.
She looked him deep in the eyes.
"I'm not a witch." She said simply.
"Too late for that you have already been judged. Anything else you have to say?"

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That beautiful smile left her face for a second. But a second only.
The girl was truly gorgeous. Her hair came a few inch past her shoulders, pale white skin her eyes had the same colour as the silver embroided crucifix on the priests gown, and that smile of hers.
No wonder she was the next one to burn, I'm sure the other girls were jealous of her.

"After I die," The girl started smiling again, "I shall tell Lucifer what you did to me. So he can send Abaddon, the destroying angel to avenge my death."
The priest gasped and some of the children in the crowd started crying.

She was dragged off of the stage, still smiling.
All of the sudden she looked right into my eyes. It send shivers down my spine.
She was taken inside a building.

I climbed back inside and sat myself down on a wooden chair. My family was rather rich and my father is a well known buisness-man.
My home was the biggest one in the street.

"Mr Owen, your father insists that you will be there this afternoon." Mrs Hammilton said.
She was my nanny. I didn't really need a nanny anymore, after all I was a 18 year old man. But I liked having her around.

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"Do I have to??"
"I'm afraid so mr. Owen." She said before she left the room again.

I sighed and opened the bible to read it. I couldn't focus though. All I saw was the young girls grey silverish eyes looking into mine, and that smile.
I closed the bible and sighed again.
She had looked familiar somehow. Like I've seen her before, I just don't know where or when.

I got up, grapped a hat and went outside.
The biggest part of crowd was celbrating and getting drunk. I pulled my hat a bit over my eyes so nobody recognised me.
I managed to get to the building she was brought into.

"You can't go in here." A man, apperently a guard, said.
"Why not?"
"The witch is in here."
"I want to see her."
"You aren't allowed to."
I lifted my hat so the man could see my face.
"Young mr. Kolp I didn't know it was you, be carefull with the witch." He moved aside and let me in.

I wondered around in the huge building. There were people walking around and whispering everywhere.
"Mr Daad! Where is the witch?" I asked one of my old teachers.

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"Mr. Owen what do you want from the witch."
Damn him with his curiousity.
"I think she cursed my.. cat." That was the first thing that came to my mind.
He seemed to believe that and pointed me where to go.

I found the room she was kept in and walked in.
"Mr. Owen, what brings you here?" The priest asked me.
I looked around and saw the girl sitting in a corner of the room, with her hands tied together.
"I want to talk to her." I said giving him a look saying: if you don't let me I'll tell my father.
"Be carefull." He said before leaving me alone with her.

"Owen Kolp." I said while holding out my hand.
"Anna." She said trying to shake my hand.
"Anna what?"
"Just Anna." She smiled again.

I'm sure now, I have seen her before.
That smile, those eyes they just look so familiar.
If only I knew where I saw them.

"Why did you come here?" She asked with her beautiful quiet voice.
"I don't know." I said telling the truth. "Why did you look at me?"

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"Why did you notice?" She said smiling.
"Did you want me to notice?"

She laughed. Giggled more.
Her eyes were filled with joy and pleasure.

"How can you still laugh like that? I mean they are gonna kill you within 2 hours."
"Because I don't want to waste my time crying."
"That makes sense. So why are they gonna do it?"
She shrugged.
"I know my herbs and the powers god gave them. I guess that makes me a witch."

I looked at her in disbelieve, they were gonna make her die for something like that.
And she just keeps on smiling no matter how unfair this all is.
Her eyes seem to still be filled with love and happiness.

"Mr. Kolp, Your father wants you." The priest said walking in followed by 3 other men.
"I wish to stay a bit longer."
"You can't. It's time for the witch to be punished for her sins."

The 3 men walked to Anna and put her on her feet.
I looked at her with tears in my eyes.
She looked at me and smiled again.
Smiled for the last time.

"Owen," She said turning around. "You're very pure." She said before they took her away.

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Pure. Now that would be the perfect way to describe Anna, pure. Pure like an angel almost.
Like an angel...

I stormed out the building and ran towards the church. I got in there and looked around.
It was around here somewhere. I knew it.

~~~~~~ 10 years ago~~~~~~

"Come on Owen, you're not scared are you?" Dianne laughed at me.
"Of course not. But I don't think we should.."
"Owen is scared, Owen is scared." She sang in mocking tone.
"I'm not scared!!" I yelled at her.
"Let's go then." She said grabbing my hand and taking me up the alter.
"We can't be here Dianne."

I was so scared we would get caught. I knew Dianne wasn't.
She was 3 years older than me and I looked up to her.

"Look it's over here." She said crawling in a little hole in the wall.
"Dianne what are you doing?"
"Come on, it's so pretty."

I went after her.
We got into a room, filled with old paintings, books and statues.
Dianne was right it was gorgeous.

"Wow.." Was all I could say.

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"I know." Dianne said dissapearing behind some paintings.

I wondered around in the room.
Most of the paintings had the devil or demons on them, that would be the reason they were hidden here.
One of the paintings was different though.
It wasn't framed. It wasn't as dark and scary as the others either.

The painting showed an angel, with light blonde hair, pale skin and eyes like silver.
She sat on a cloud next to god and looked down on the world below her.
Somehow she seemed sad. A tear was swelling in her eye, but then again she was smiling at the same time.

~~~~~~ end of flashback~~~~~~ It was behind the alter.
A hole in the wall hidden behind a red curtain.
I ripped the curtain down and let my eyes shoot over the wall behind it. I ran to the hole.
I remembered it bigger.
I went trough the hole and came in the room.
Remembered that bigger to.

My eyes scanned the paintings on the floor.
Demons, devils, people obviously sinning.
They all were here, every painting I saw here 10 years ago, exept for the one with the angel on it.

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At The Square

Anna was tied to the wooden pole at the middle of the stage. The men were laying wood against and around her feet.
The people were going crazy.
"Burn her. Kill her. Satan shall not get to us." They screamed.
Anna just smiled. And kept smiling while a man with a burning torch walked towards her.

"She will burn!!" They yelled in chorus.
The priest raised his hands again.
"Witch you're time has come. Any last words?"

A smile came on her face again.
"God bless you all!!" She yelled laughing. "God bless you all!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~I finally found the painting with Anna sitting next to God on it.
I ran back to the square, hoping I could still stop the execution.
I held on to painting as if it was the biggest treasure ever.As soon as I left the church I saw the smoke coming from the square.
I started to run faster and faster. But the closer I got the stronger the scent of burning flesh got.

I fell to my knees and a tear came out of the corner of my eye.
I was too late.
I looked at the painting and whispered "I'm sorry Anna."

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A sudden breeze of wind took the painting out of my hands and dropped a few feet away. I got up and picked it up.

My eyes went over it to check if it was still intact.
It seemed different somehow. It still showed a picture of an angel next to god.

The smoke blocked the sun. The scent made me sick to my stomach.
I looked at the flames lightning the square.
I could have sworn that I saw Anna's face in there.

I looked back at the painting in my hands with tears pouring out of my eyes.
It had something on it that wasn't there before.
Words written in the bottom left corner.

Angels always smile

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