Furor in the Village{Excerpt from the Mendacity} by BRAWTA

The villagers were not going to tolerate this anymore, this woman had landed on their doorstep and had caused more trouble than she was worth. They demanded that Caridad, the overseer fixed this new dispute or else they were forced to take sides. Caridad appealed to the clan but discussion after discussion would not appease them. This time Edra had gone too far, she had threatened a fellow villager and denied that this ever took place. Words of disgust rolled off their tongues when they described Edra and her malicious ways. The village reeked with hatred. The once lively place had unhappiness dwelling in it's midst. Caridad was disappointed that they would not give any more chances to Edra but she respected their decisions.

Edra was a dismal picture, a half smile was forever pasted on her face. "Good, it seemed to say, I have put you in your places, now let's see how Caridad is going to fix this?" Caridad knew that if she abandoned her, Edra would sink into a deeper depression and cast a worst shadow over the village than she had already done. What is the solution? It is as if the goddess of Joy had deserted them and in it's place Lucifer had cast a spell commanding evil, calling for darkness, removing laughter.

Caridad, not one to take defeat knew that there must be some way out of this mess. She sized up the situation, decided she would deal with the clan much later, right now Edra was the danger she had to pay closer attention to. What would be her next move? No one had enough eyes to watch her, all they knew was that she was not good news and they were keeping their distance. Caridad had a long talk with Edra, her dull appearance, fierce bloodshot eyes frightened her but she refused to show fear. What did this woman want? Why was she bent on destroying all goodness? Where did this darkness come from?

Caridad listened to stories of her family, a mother who had died when she was young, shot by an unknown perpetrator. She described a house full of siblings, aunts and uncles who thought their children were of a better and more wholesome stock. Caridad found so many holes in these intriguing stories and she asked only a few questions because Edra began to slur her words, move around uneasily and peppered each sentence with "you know", "It's like", "That's what I am talking about." whenever Caridad added some sympathy to her long and doubtful tales. Fearing that she would make things worse, she kept her doubts to herself and allowed Edra to spin stories after stories which were weaved with lies and drama.

Caridad knew that Faith can do miracles but how do you talk about the Divine One, the mercy of the Father, The Forgiving one? How do you introduce such language to someone who took her lessons from the street and according to her have participated in numerous unpleasant and dangerous experiences. She told the story of her sideline as a dancer, She danced in many community events and was looking to become a budding star. As she began to get gigs she saw hope but in this business she quickly learned there are cut throats. When someone else received a job with a big band, she was angry that she lost out on what she thought would be a chance to launch her career. She lashed out at the dashing recruiter with whom she claimed she was having an affair. Once she realized he had eyes for this other person, she reported the affair to the Authorities because she was just sixteen years old. Before long the recruiter had a mental breakdown and had to leave town.

This story would remain etched in Caridad's mind and she knew that this woman had unfinished business to take care of, she needed deeper consultation. Caridad knew that beyond that tough exterior was a child-like manner that made you feel pity but Caridad also knew that wickedness was lurking just around the corner and would pounce on you at any given moment. Right now Caridad knew she was handcuffed to this sordid mess and it would be a long time before the key would be found to unlock this tight hold.

Caridad dismissed Edra and remained alone to take in the day's event, Her mind began to wander and for a fleeting moment the thought of dropping Edra like a hot cake came to her. This would ease her trouble and bring the village back to vibrancy. She knew this was wishful thinking. She had long felt this call to her life to give a helping hand and although sometimes the call is not easy she never allowed that to get in her way. Helping the downtrodden is a throwback to the way Caridad was raised. Her Granny Maudeline was always ready to help those in need including Caridad's friends. This explains Caridad's link to Edra.