A Witch, A Gallows Bird

The Wretched & Alone system works brilliantly for the creeping dread and paranoia of the witch trials. The prompts were so thoughtful and interesting, and I really enjoyed fleshing out my character and the people around them, all the more to cry later.

And because I only know how to poem, have this little thing about my poor witch: 

I could have lived.
I could have trusted no one,
saved no one, believed in
no one, and lived.
I could have spoken your name
on the wind in the night, and let it be
the only truth to come
from my lips.

I could have kept every hex meant
to protect the innocent
buried deep in my soul,
like the jars buried
in the soil around 
my now-burned
cottage.

I could have sent
my neighbor to the
gallows, my sister,
the childhood friend
I loved
- too well -
and danced alone by the
stream for the rest
of my life. 

I could have buried
every implement,
salted the earth
with the power
I'd been given.

I could have lived,
but I loved
- too well -
and could never
let the breath go
out of a child, or a
young mother,
never let a field
lie fallow that
could feed
a mouth.

Enough.
The time for regrets
has come and gone.
I ask for no mercy,
not because my soul
is stained or signed away,
but because I no longer
know that we are
capable of such
a thing.

This was my first game in this rules system and it won't be my last. Absolutely chilling experience building dread and desperation with each roll of the die and each turn of the cards. Every element of the game works well together to enhance each other and keep the tension high. I'll definitely be looking out for more from this creator in the future!