by Thuan Nguyen
Woof! Woof!
It was Ginessa’s dog barking at something.
“Oh, get away from me you dumb mutt!”
It was a woman’s voice. Mavis had never heard this voice before. It was not one of the villagers.
Suddenly, Mavis heard the dog whimper and stop barking suddenly.
“Ginessa?” said Mavis, and she coughed once again from breathing the ashy substance that was still floating around.
There was no reply.
Mavis heard the stranger leave through the front door, without saying another word.
“Are you okay, Ginessa?” said the old lady. She was walking slowly through the room, with her hands held out in front of her, feeling through the air. At times like this, she really hated being blind. Where was Ginessa? Was she okay?
And then, Mavis’ hands touched something.
Something hard and cold. Cold like stone. It was shaped like a person. before long, Mavis had realised it was a stone statue. What was a stone statue doing in her living room? It was very strange. And where was Ginessa? Suddenly a scary thought entered Mavis’ head.
“It couldn’t be,” she said to herself. But just to make sure, she fumbled her hands onto the statue’s torso, up the neck and placed her fingers on the face.
And then she froze. She recognised this face immediately. She had only felt it a few moments ago. But how could this be? What did it mean? The old woman had no idea, but there was one thing she knew for sure.
The face of this statue was the face of Ginessa DiManlen.
End of Volume 1
To be continued in Passion of the Liger: Volume 2
