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Forbidden Fruit

Bittersweet

By Josaline RadleyPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
1
Forbidden Fruit
Photo by Dana Luig on Unsplash

“Never eat the fruit that this tree bears! Not if I tell you, not if a friend dares.”

Uncle Will began ominously after adjusting his seat near the fireplace. Willam Rhodenson was the twins, Justice and Juniper’s, favorite uncle. He was a self proclaimed adventurer who sampled every culture and any religion. Although they loved him very much, they were surprised that their parents let him chaperone their makeshift camp sleepover. Uncle Will was believed to be crazy and after he almost drove his car into the nearest lake looking for Atlantis, the twins' father had him committed. Tonight he seemed so different and rid of all those burdens he used to carry. Even though it was a welcome change, Justice thought it was from therapy and Juniper thought it was medication.

“Is this a scary story?”

Mary Ann frowned and began to clean her glasses.She was a friend from school who the twins had often said looked like a red headed Shirley Temple. Unbeknownst to everyone Mary Ann suffered from paranoia , she even slept with a night light.

“Maybe to some, it’s an old wives tale. One that happened in this very backyard.”

Uncle Will smiled and an eerie chill ran down Mary Ann’s spine.

“OK. Go on.”

Juniper pulled her sleeping bag up to her chin. She was suddenly intrigued. Her and Justice had always loved the tales he told. Uncle Will then pulled an apple from the basket beside him and shined it on his shirt.

“Years ago this house belonged to a beautiful young woman named Verna Hampshire. She was known for her mysterious beauty and no matter how many suitors came to court her she turned every one of them down . She was known to always be reading under her beloved pear tree of which she was very protective of. Everyone knew better than to come and pick the fruit from it. Verna was also known to grant favors…for a price of course. Say someone wanted to have a baby or needed their crops to grow, even finances they would go to Verna and miraculously it would happen.”

Uncle Will pulled a small knife out and began to slice the apple while he let the girls take in the beginning of the story.

“So let me get this straight. She was granting wishes like a Genie?”

The corners of Justices’ lips turned down, a shadow of doubt suddenly hung over her.

“Not the way you think honey. It was more like an exchange. A give and take. So years passed and she was still thought very highly of until the mayor noticed that she wasn’t aging. Where there should’ve been wrinkles, there was nothing but smooth brown skin. He kept his suspicions to himself because he wanted to ask her for immortality. Something inside him knew she discovered it. One day he visited her, bringing roses and a box full of things.”

Mary Ann’s skin began to crawl, she just knew the story was going to take an unpleasant turn. Mary Ann pictured Verna and painted her the hero of the story , doing favors and making people happy. Briefly she wondered if she could go to sleep now and skip the ending but of course she couldn’t. She was way too invested.

“He was straight to the point with her, after she invited him in. Asking politely at first the cost of her power. She denied him of course , saying he couldn’t afford the price. The mayor was determined though, he showered her with beautiful clothing and jewelry from the box he carried. Verna denied him again and he used a different approach. Bringing up the fact she should be an old woman instead of a girl in her late 20’s , the mayor hinted that the townsfolk wouldn’t take too kindly to a witch in their midst. Not one to be threatened, she immediately told him to leave and that’s when it began.”

Juniper rolled her eyes. She was on edge about the story and Uncle Wills’ dramatic pauses were starting to irritate her. While Justices’ hazel eyes were illuminated by the fire as she anxiously turned her braids, Mary Ann was completely hidden inside her sleeping bag only taking peeks now and then. All the girls waited for Uncle Will to continue.

“ Wanting to teach her a lesson later that night, the mayor in a drunken fit concocted a story about Verna being a witch to the townspeople and while some people weren’t sure , the men who were rejected by her quickly jumped to the same conclusion. They gathered outside her house, this very one, and demanded she turn herself in. The mayor broke her door down and told her “I can make them all go away if you just tell me your secret.” She looked him in his crazed eyes and said. “ You must take the lives of three innocent girls and then take a pear from that tree. Only then will you achieve what you are looking for but be careful it may not be what you truly desire .”

The mayor instantly ran to the tree out front to gather his fruit. Without listening to her warning, he took off towards home to his three daughters but forgot to call off the angry mob. They took Verna outside and tried to burn her. Her painful cries were reported being heard from towns over.”

After looking at all of the wide eyed girls, Uncle Will stood up and walked over to the pear tree in the back yard and took a single one off the branch. He tossed it to Mary Ann who started to shriek,

“You can’t stop there! What happened to Verna and the Mayor!?”

“Easy I was getting to that part. Now the mayor went home and saw his young daughters Isabella, Rebekah, and Amanda sleeping peacefully. He began to cry as he woke them, and kissed them all goodbye. One by one he slaughtered them, accidentally getting blood all over the pear. He took a bite and was instantly transformed into a hideous old man. The mayor's face sagged and his skin turned chalky. His hands shriveled while his back hunched over. Repulsed by his reflection He took the knife he used to slaughter his daughters and tried to pierce his heart but it was too late , his wish had been granted. Now at Verna’s house the townsfolk decided not to kill her because her face looked so innocent, surely someone as helpful and beautiful as her couldn’t be an evil witch. So they left her half dead under her beloved pear tree, her blood seeping deep and staining the roots. Little did they know she had a daughter visiting from another town who happened to be a doctor. She tried to use the enchanted pears to nurse her mothers wounds , but Verna quickly explained she would be ok without them and was ready to age normally. After explaining the rules of sacrifice, she told her daughter to never eat the enchanted pears because they were now poisonous and could only be used to harm. The daughter however, wanted revenge on the families who mobbed her mothers house. The next day she and her husband moved to town and opened a bakery which featured a delicious pear pie.The business was successful and one by one the guilty men dropped. Verna finally agreed to a suitor and bore many more children. On her deathbed she left her daughter her house and told her to never cut down her tree and pass the house through the family. Oh, and as for the mayor, his wife arrived into town the next day from visiting a cousin. She saw her daughters dead in their beds and an appalling old troll-like creature limping towards her. She reportedly went crazy and never came back. The mayor thought she would return with angry men of the town and ran into the woods behind his cottage for good. Some say they still see the broken hearted creature roaming around just barely out of view. That ladies, brings us to the end of this tale.”

Uncle Will smirked as he saw Mary Ann’s horrified expression looking down at the pear on her sleeping bag. Justice and Juniper had been squeezing each other's hand but let go once they realized what they were doing.

“ Wait…you never said the daughter’s name, people had to know her if she started a killer bakery!”

Juniper said, her voice was thick with sleep but she was determined to get every last detail. Justice and Juniper both wanted to be doctors like the other women in their family and she was glad to see that the men hadn’t killed Verna. She didn’t expect a doctor to be the real hero of the story

“Right. Well her maiden name of course was Hampshire but after she married her husband she became Elaine…… Rhodenson the owner of Rhodenson Sweets.”

Realization washed over the twins as their eyes widened and Mary Ann covered her mouth.

“B-but isn’t that your grandma's name…. And her bakery? Who did Verna kill to stay young?”

“Well girls it’s time to say goodnight.”

Uncle Will laughed all the way into his tent and zipped it leaving the girls in shock as they stared at one another. Refusing to believe the crazy story the twins chalked it up to one of Uncle Will’s tall tales. They said their goodnights and were soon fast asleep. Mary Ann however , could not sleep because she saw a shrunken figure just beyond the forest. Paralyzed with fear she stared at it until she thought she saw it limp away back to where it came from. Quickly she tossed her glasses off and pulled the sleeping bag over her head, only to pass out minutes later.

The End

Horror
1

About the Creator

Josaline Radley

Writing is my passion, live in the worlds I create.

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