Page 75 - NS 2024

White Lillies
Sara Beeman
*Trigger warning for miscarriage, violence, and implied themes of sexual assault.
Lyssa stood, hidden from view, watching the boats bob in the harbor, gently bumping against the docks. She was supposed to be in bed, getting plenty of rest for the long day ahead of her. Instead, she had snuck out of her bedroom window, a feat that would see her punished if she was caught. She was to go on her Journey that day, along with a few other girls in her small town, and she was supposed to be at home preparing. She was about to turn back when she heard a sound that made her blood run cold and she stood frozen where she was. It was the three tolls of the church bells, the ones that signified the death of an unborn child. Lyssa bowed her head in silent prayer before running back to her house. She would need to get back sooner than expected. Now there would be a trial to attend, and more than one body to bury.
Lyssa had returned to her house unnoticed and quickly got herself ready. When she emerged from her room, her family was none the wiser. They all wore solemn expressions as they exited the house and made their way to the center of town, where a stage was constructed on one side of the square. Here, all female criminals’ trials were held publicly, whereas trials for men were held in the private courthouse across the street. When Lyssa’s family arrived, a crowd had already started to form around the stage. In the center, a young woman stood with her hands bound in front of her, surrounded by four men holding guns. The judge was seated behind a table to the right of the woman, surveying the crowd, refusing to look in her direction. Lyssa looked at the woman and thought she couldn’t have been any older than nineteen.
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