“What are you saying? You were unconscious in front of him? You foolish woman, you let someone drug you without realizing it! And you’re defending that shameless scoundrel, calling him a ‘gentleman’! Do you know what the word gentleman means? You, a dropout from a music academy, nurse, letting your ridiculous sympathy lead you to treat that hypocritical scoundrel, bandage him, and heal him… What do you think you are? You are my woman, not some damned nurse from the Red Cross.”
She widened her eyes in grievance, listening to his series of angry complaints, and retorted indignantly, “Who told you to always leave me behind? You just threw me aside in the church. He was bleeding; could I just watch him get hurt? Besides, he got hurt for me.”
He glared at her, his lips moving, but he swallowed the words he wanted to say. He stopped rowing vigorously and let the small boat drift in the current.
The sky gradually darkened, and a crescent moon rose in the sky. “The moonlight is beautiful,” Khanyi said obediently, leaning against his shoulder. “Tell me a story; it’s so boring not to talk.”
He was silent for a while before finally speaking. “Alright, since you want to hear it, I’ll tell you one, but it’s not a story. It’s a legend from the villagers around here. In the marshes by the Javier River, shepherds often find their sheep and calves missing. When they find them, they only see piles of white bones on the riverbank.” He spoke while moving his lips, revealing a charming curve.
“Is it wolves?” she asked, looking at him, a bit curiously.
“Not wolves.” His ice-blue eyes flickered. “Those bones seem to have been deliberately piled up. Sometimes it’s sheep that go missing, and sometimes it’s young girls or children.”
“Ah… young girls and children?” Khanyi became tense. “What kind of monster harmed them?”
“No one knows. It’s said that a hundred years ago, this kind of thing happened. In the evening, someone saw a witch dressed in black sitting on those piles of bones in the marshy forest. The villagers called her Black Agnes. She was a monster with blue skin and only one eye, living by eating people.” He spoke softer and softer, his voice growing lower.
“Black Agnes…” Khanyi whispered. The surroundings were very quiet; the sounds of insects and frogs had stopped, and it was so silent that she could almost hear her own heartbeat.
“Look, across the riverbank, it seems like there’s something,” he suddenly stopped rowing, pointing behind her at the shallow bank, saying alertly.
“What? What?” She sat up straight, turning to look at the riverbank, where various tree shadows loomed, dark and indistinct. “Oh, Ryan, don’t scare me.”
But when she turned back, she was genuinely startled because she found that she was the only one left in the boat. He had vanished into thin air, leaving only a khaki coat at the bow.
“Ryan—!” Khanyi shouted at the water’s surface. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but he had suddenly disappeared, and combined with the somewhat terrifying story he had just told, a chill wind swept across the lake, and the surroundings were silent. The only sound was the thumping of the flowing water from the dark depths.
“Ugh,” Khanyi covered her mouth, scared and crying, “Ryan, where are you? Come out…”
“Hey, I’m right here, you silly! You’ve been tricked!” His voice suddenly came from the riverbank.
Khanyi held back her tears and looked in the direction of the voice. She saw him wearing only a white shirt and pants, soaked from head to toe, sitting on the bank and waving at her. She wanted to paddle over to him, but the two oars were too heavy; she couldn’t move them and could only shift one, causing the small boat to spin in place.
“You little fool, where do you plan to row the boat?” he laughed loudly at her, then with a splash, he dove back into the water. After a few seconds, he suddenly popped up beside the boat with a “puff,” startling her again. He didn’t climb back into the boat but slapped the edge of the boat with his palm. “Hey, why are you crying? Coward.” He mocked her while turning to swim a step away, grabbing the boat’s rope, and continued swimming toward the bank, pulling both her and the boat onto the shore, skillfully tying the rope to a wooden stake.
“Why did you suddenly disappear and run to the other side of the river?” She glared at him, her big eyes still glistening with tears, pouting in anger.
He looked at her with his blue eyes, unable to help but bite his lip and smile. “Didn’t I tell you? I once served in the navy.” He reached out his hand to help her down from the boat.
“I’m not interested in knowing!” Khanyi didn’t take his help and, like a nimble little rabbit, lightly jumped off the boat, not even glancing at his face as she quickly walked toward the villa’s yard.
He stood there in a daze, running his hand through his wet golden hair, thinking that he had really scared her just now. But when he thought of her pitiful, aggrieved expression, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He was soaked, and the night breeze made him feel chilly all over, so he followed her into the house, entering through the back door into the warm yellow-lit room.
He entered the hall, looking around but not seeing her figure. He instinctively glanced toward the staircase and saw the petite brown-haired maid, Evelyn, coming down from the second floor with a pile of clean clothes. He took them from her with understanding, politely thanked her, and headed toward the bathroom.
