๐๐๐๐๐๐๐;โฃโฃ
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"๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฌ๐บ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฅ'๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต. ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฌ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฅ'๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ."โฃโฃ
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An old farm tale, a saying passed down through generations, Jakub had heard that sing-song sentence many times over his formative years. Now, running the family farm himself, he couldn't help but smile when a ruby rose morning broke over the fields left to him by his late father. Memories aside, a red morning usually meant little more than windy weather and a smattering of rain. Nothing too taxing for brave Jakub.โฃโฃ
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Wellington boots up to his knees, the farmhand paced towards the sheep pen. Walking brisk steps beneath the scarlet sky, still, mild air belied the lore's warning, and it was only upon his approach, that Jakub inhaled the putrid scent of ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ.โฃโฃ
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Stretching out across the pen, all fourty-five sheep lay dead. A hand covering his gasping mouth in utter surprise, Jakub dared a closer look at one of the felled livestock -- they hadn't been slain by a beast, an optimistic fox or hungry wildcat, no, instead, each sheep's body ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ in a chasm of jutting ribs and exposed guts. Hot, rotting insides spilled out onto the grass, as if each animal had been decaying under the sun for ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ด. But just last night, Jakub had counted every woolly mammal, fed them, led them safely to bed. There was no way they could have festered so violently in those few short hours.โฃโฃ
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The chicken coop fared the same. Feathers and innards, each fresh egg spoiled. Pails of fresh milk sat curdled in the cow shed, alongside burst bovine bellies. Every animal on the farm succumbed to a spontaneous, savage slaughter.โฃโฃ
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Eyes darting frantically, searching for the culprit, Jakub turned his desperate gaze skywards. The red sky, the cursed omen passed down through fathers and sons, burned a fierce, cloudless scarlet. No rain, no wind, no sound, the air entirely motionless, Jakub's heavenbound gaze began to rake the eerily glowing sky. It was gone. ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐.โฃ
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Originally written and shared as part of Verbuary 2020: https://tinyurl.com/4vf84fm8ย
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