The Woman From Hell



The people here had typical traditional thinking and were very patriarchal.

Frank and his father went out after having breakfast. Frank's mother and I were the only ones left at home. I was cleaning up the dishes when her gaze on me became more and more amiss. I pursed my lower lip and stopped moving. "Is there something on my face?"All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

It would have been fine if I did not say anything, but the moment I did, she got agitated. She slammed the table, pointed at my nose, and reprimanded, "It's your face. Your expression ever since you got up has been nothing but sour. What is it? Do you think you've been treated badly since joining this household?!"

I turned my face away, trying to control my emotions. She was just a country woman. Why should I lower myself to her level? Everything would be over when I found a way to contact the outside world and left this place.

Thinking of this, I took a deep breath and forced a smile on my face. I opened my mouth calmly, "How could I possibly think so? I still have to make a living here, after all."

"Really? Your smile is uglier than your crying face. Let me tell you something. I don't care where you were before or what your status was. Even if you were a rich young lady, you'll be forced to work now that you've come to us. You'd better stop thinking about all those useless things. You're going to get it if you don't listen. Go and wash the dishes."

She said to me in a commanding tone. Her gaze was extremely stern, just like those evil mothers-in-law on TV.

"I'll do it right now."

I put away the dishes and went to the kitchen to avoid getting into a confrontation with her again. I turned on the faucet and started cleaning. I just started washing the dishes when the old hag came over and cursed, "You're using too much dish soap. You spendthrift bride! You just need to pump out the dishwashing liquid once to wash a few dishes. Do you understand? What a waste!"

Before I even responded to her, she continued, "The water as well. Close it when the basin is full. Don't waste it. Really now, you don't know how to be thrifty or how to do housekeeping even after getting married?"

Was such little dish soap enough to clean these dishes?

I wanted to argue with her, but I figured I could not, so I gave up and nodded obediently. "Okay, I understand."

The old hag obviously felt bored.

She just looked at me for a bit before heading out. Her absence made me feel more relaxed. Otherwise, it would constantly feel like she had her gaze on me and that would make me uncomfortable.

I thought I could take a breather after washing the dishes. I did not expect to see the old hag coming over with a basin of dirty clothes as soon as I walked out of the kitchen. She threw it on the ground in the yard outside. "Wash the dirty laundry."

I stepped forward and nodded. "Okay, where's the washing machine?"

"Sheesh, still thinking about a washing machine? I'm sorry, we don't have such a thing in this house, so wash them with your hands!" The old witch entered the house without looking back after speaking.

If it were not for my consciousness, I would have thought that I had returned to the past.

Alright, I would just hand-wash them, then.

My mind was filled with thoughts as I hand-washed the clothes. The old hag might have bought me back because she herself was punished. Now that she finally had me in her clutches, she naturally had to vent it out.

Why did those women just not leave, though? Why were they so willing to stay here for generations?

The more I thought about it, the

more absorbed I got that I did not realize the old witch was standing right in front of me at this moment Suddenly, I felt a pain in my hand When Dcame back to my senses, there was a red mark on my fair hand. I looked up. There was a thin whip in her hand. My hand was probably red because she hit me...