Letter 4: Your Sister is Accused of Murder
1648-03-20
Hide Barrowflint,
I'm writing to you regarding Dream Barrowflint. Your sister is in a lot of trouble. She is accused of murdering Burnt Dovetongue. But honestly, there are a lot of witnesses. Her case does not look promising.
I am one of those witnesses. Burnt was a peddler. She brought her wagon into town a couple of days ago. I was browsing her wares, hoping to find something unique. Suddenly, Dream came running out of her house. She was screaming at Burnt. She accused her of sleeping with her husband. Burnt is a troublemaker, so she played along, just to see how mad Dream would get. I know that she is innocent because she has been spending her nights with me. She sarcastically admitted to the accusation. We tried to laugh it off. But Dream attacked her with a hatchet.
She hacked at Burnt's chest four or five times. Her ribs were broken and her heart was exposed. It was terrible! But she didn't die. She only choked on her blood. In her rage, Dream tore Burnt's heart out with her bare hands and threw it on the ground. She shouted, “Let's see how you like it!”
But still, Burnt did not die. She had no heart and clearly could not breathe anymore. But she kept moving and choking. Dream began to shake her, screaming, “Why won't you die?!?!”
A small iron cube fell out of Burnt's jacket and landed next to her heart. As it settled in the pool of blood, Burnt's suffering ended as she finally died. I couldn't take my eyes off of that iron cube. I desperately wanted to pick it up. I took a step towards it. But then, several folks tackled Dream and restrained her. The cube must have been kicked during the scuffle because I lost sight of it. Oh well. It was just so very unique.
Anyway, your sister's trial will start soon. You should hurry home if you want to see her. I don't think that she will survive this.
Sorrowfully yours,
Almond Bundleskink