The Girl In The Golden Mask
This is my entry for the Carnival Writing Challenge
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Carneval is in our region a big thing! An old tradition carried through the gernerations.
But one thing is weird. There is this unwritten law: YOU DO NOT WEAR A GOLDEN MASK!
When I was a child, I asked my mother, "Why's that? Why can't I wear any mask but not a golden one?"
My mother told me the following story:
Once upon a time, there was a small town nestled deep in the forest, surrounded by darkness and mystery. The townspeople kept to themselves, and they rarely ventured out into the woods that loomed over them. They had heard stories of the creatures that lurked in the trees and the spirits that haunted the land. But despite their fears, they went about their daily lives, hoping that the stories were just myths and legends.
One day, a young girl arrived in the town. She wore a golden mask that covered her entire face, and no one knew her name or where she came from. She walked through the streets, her eyes hidden behind the mask, and the townspeople whispered to each other in fear and confusion.
Some of them thought she was a witch, come to cast spells on their homes and families. Others believed she was a lost soul, searching for a way out of the forest. But no one dared to approach her, for fear of what might happen.
As the days went by, strange things began to happen in the town. People reported hearing voices in the night, and doors that had been locked were found open in the morning. The livestock grew restless and wouldn't settle, and the crops started to wither.
The townspeople knew that something was wrong, and they looked to the girl in the golden mask for answers. But when they tried to approach her, she would disappear into the shadows, leaving them with nothing but the sound of her laughter echoing in their ears.
One night, a group of brave men decided to follow the girl into the forest. They armed themselves with torches and weapons, determined to find out the truth about her. They tracked her through the trees, but she always stayed just out of sight, leading them deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Suddenly, they heard a piercing scream. It was coming from a clearing up ahead, and they ran towards it, hoping to find the girl and rescue her. But when they arrived, they found something that chilled them to their bones.
The girl was standing in the center of the clearing, surrounded by a circle of dead animals. Their eyes were wide open, their bodies twisted and contorted in pain. And the girl was laughing, her golden mask reflecting the light of the moon.
The men were terrified, and they turned to run. But as they did, the girl spoke, her voice like a whisper in the night.
"You should have never followed me," she said. "Now, you're mine."
The men ran for their lives, but the girl's haunting laughter followed them all the way back to the town. They warned the townspeople to stay away from the forest and the girl in the golden mask, for they knew that she was not human, but a demon who had taken on the form of a girl.
From that day on, the town lived in fear, never knowing when the girl would return to claim her next victim. And some say that on quiet nights, when the moon is full and the wind whispers through the trees, you can still hear her laughter echoing through the forest.
And even though nobody has ever seen this girl every since, the golden mask remains a symbol of said horrific night.
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