Charlotte and her parents waved and smiled at all the people around them as they took their seats. The people of Salem surged into the church to escape the pouring rain from outside and squeezed into open seats. Charlotte, her mother, and her father were seated in the back of the room next to Charlotte’s aunt, uncle, and her cousin, Dolly. Charlotte and Dolly were politely discussing the miserable weather as they waited for the ceremony to begin. 

        Just as the waves of people were coming to an end, two police officers stormed into the church, disturbing the soft chatter. The crowd drifted their attention to the officers dressed in uniform.

        “Charlotte Gibson?” one of the police officers called as he searched the crowd. 

        Charlotte stood up warily. Everyone in the church shared confused and nervous glances. She was a good child. She followed the rules, behaved properly, and lived by the Bible… What could she have possibly done wrong?

        “Charlotte Gibson, you are under arrest for the practice of witchcraft,” the other officer announced as he moved quickly towards the young girl.

Charlotte’s big, brown eyes went wide in surprise. The room erupted in sounds of gasps and gossip as her hands were tied behind her back. She had heard of people in town being accused. According to Mother, there were several young girls on the other side of town who had fallen ill and blamed witchcraft for their sickness.  

        Charlotte’s family stared in shock as she was escorted out of the room by the two officers.

        The officer closed the door behind Charlotte and walked out of the prison. She was alone in the cold, musty cell. The only light in the room came from a small barred window several feet up on the wall. There was no one in the cell across from her, but she had seen several people as she walked in. 

Charlotte sat down on the rickety bed in the far corner of the room and cried. What had she done to deserve this? She was no witch. The whole town knew that. She had been wrongly accused. There was no proof against her.

        She kicked the dirt on the floor across the room in frustration. She could hear the stifled cries of a woman in the cell next to her and wondered what she had done to be put in this dreadful place. 

        Charlotte’s heart jumped at the sound of a loud noise from outside of the prison. She dragged the bed across the wall until it was centered under the window. Then, she stood up and looked outside to try to find the cause of the commotion. She looked around, but all she saw was an empty street and pouring rain. The town was still at church; there was nobody around to make any noise.

        She leaned against the bars to see to the side and almost fell off the bed when the bars moved under her weight. She was shocked when she noticed the frame holding the bars together was loose. Charlotte jiggled the bars, and they moved up and down. She looked around the room. No police, no prisoners, nobody in sight. She turned back to the window and shook the bars harder this time. She almost fell flat on her back as the bars gave out. She gently set the barred window frame down on the bench next to her feet, careful not to make any more suspicious noises. 

        Charlotte quickly glanced around the quiet cell once more and then turned back to the open square in the wall. She took a deep breath and jumped up, wrapping her arms through the window and grasping the outside of the prison wall. She swung her legs up onto the window and then back over the other side. She fell into a pile of mud, the dirt wet from the recently melted snow. 

        She stood up warily and wiped the mud from her dress. She looked around, searching for anybody outside of the church. Charlotte gasped when she saw the two police officers from earlier chatting outside the prison door. She dove behind a dead bush just out of sight. 

She stayed there until eventually, she heard the voices vanishing into the distance. Once the adrenaline of the situation subsided and she realized what she had gotten herself into, she burst out into tears once again.

        What am I going to do? Will I ever see my family again? Her thoughts raced around her head. 

        After a few minutes of contemplation, she came up with a plan. Obviously, she couldn’t just go home. She was already in trouble for witchcraft, and escaping prison surely wouldn’t help her case. 

        She glanced nervously at the dark woods lying in front of her. The closest town had to be many hours away, possibly even days, but it was still her best option. 

Charlotte stood up and sluggishly crossed the rocky and run-down road towards the woods. Her dress and hair were soaked with rain as she stepped over the huge puddles in her way. She walked through the tall, bug-infested grass and finally reached the woods. She looked back once more at the quiet ghost town behind her. She took a deep breath and began weaving her way through the dead, spindly trees. 

        Owls hooted in the distance as darkness fell upon the damp and lonely woods. Charlotte jumped at the sound of howling wolves. She paused in fright, then continued on with her journey. 

        Yawning, she glanced up at the starry sky. She was exhausted after walking almost a full day. Her stomach growled, and her throat was dry.

        I should’ve stayed in the jail cell. At least there I would have had food and water. 

        Deep down, Charlotte knew that the chances of survival were slim even in the jail cell. Her mother and father had told her about the hangings.

        Charlotte, lost in thought, recoiled when she felt water against her ankles. She had stepped into a small pond. The corners of her mouth slowly stretched into a smile as she comprehended the discovery. She bent down on her knees and cupped her hands, scooping water into her mouth. Her hands trembled from the freezing cold miracle, given to her by God. 

        Charlotte looked around for a place to sleep for the night. She needed rest if she was going to continue her journey in the morning. 

        She was gathering sticks to build a shelter when she heard voices behind her. Her head whipped around in shock. The sticks she had been carrying dropped to the ground with a loud thud. 

        “Hey! I heard a sound from over here,” the deep voice of a man called. Charlotte froze in fear.

        Have they found me? Who are they? 

The sounds of loud, thumping footsteps got closer and closer. Charlotte whipped around and ran, almost slipping in the puddles of melted snow. 

        “Come back here!” a voice called after her as she weaved through the trees.

        Adrenaline coursed through her body, and she ran for her life, faster than she ever had before, heavy footsteps echoing behind her.

        Charlotte dodged the lifeless trees, branches jumping out and slapping her across the face. She felt the burn of scratches across her face and arms and blood oozing out of her wounds. She didn’t know who the men were, but she knew if they caught her she would be in trouble.  

        Grunts and gasps for air followed her closely. Charlotte could tell she was beginning to lose her pursuers. She glanced back in an attempt to get a glimpse of the men but could only see several large shadows. Charlotte had expected more, but there seemed to be only three. 

        Her head whipped around as the root of a tree caught onto her shoe and yanked her down to the ground. Her chin smashed against the cold, wet dirt and smeared all over her dress and legs. She wiped blood and grime off her face, and just as she stood up, she felt large, gloved hands grab her waist. They lifted her up, and she was flung over a man’s shoulder. She screamed and flailed and smashed her fists against the man, but he wouldn’t let go. 

        “Is it the girl?” a big, burly man dressed in a police uniform asked. 

        “Looks like it,” the man carrying Charlotte replied. 

        “Who are you? Are you all police? I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m no witch!” Charlotte shouted at the men.

        “Humbug! We’re taking you straight back where you came from, young lady. Can’t have a witch running around the woods”

        Charlotte screamed and kicked. 

        “You look like you’ve been pounded,” one of the men chucked, still out of breath from the chase.

         “Henry, we should think about setting up camp. We’re not getting back to Salem anytime soon in this dark. Put the girl down, I’ll help tie her up.”

        Tie me up?! Charlotte's stomach twisted.  

        The man set her down and held her hands by her back as the other tied them. Charlotte writhed and fought back as the men walked her over to a nearby tree and tied her against it. No matter how hard she struggled, the ropes wouldn’t budge. 

        Charlotte slid down against the tree, and the ropes slid down with her, keeping her tied. She sobbed. She was so close. 

        Charlotte woke up with a jolt as she felt something climbing up her leg. She gasped at the sight of a chipmunk, staring up at her from the dirty forest floor. The chipmunk ran away, and Charlotte let out a sigh of relief. She looked around but couldn’t find the men who had tied her up. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the sky was painted with a mix of blues, pinks, and oranges. 

        Charlotte stared into the empty woods, past the snoring men on the ground, for what felt like hours. 

        Finally, the men woke up and came over to untie Charlotte from the tree. The one named Henry grasped her arm tightly as they began their long journey back to Salem. 

        After many unpleasant and painful hours, they emerged from the horrid forest. 

        Friends and neighbors gathered around Charlotte and the officers as she was escorted through the town. Her anxious thoughts raced through her head as the officers walked past the prison. 

        Where are they taking me? Charlotte wondered. In the back of her head, though, she knew exactly where they were taking her.

        The crowd was huge as Charlotte and the officers rounded Gallows Hill. Feelings of regret and sadness rushed through Charlotte as her fate grew closer with every step. 

        The gloomy, dark sky was filled with clouds and crows, circling the town. As the noose was pulled over Charlotte’s head, she spotted her mother and father in the crowd. Her mother was in tears, her father’s arm wrapped around her. 

        Charlotte took a deep breath and prepared for what was about to happen. She had accepted it. God had done this to her. A punishment. She hadn’t been a good enough child, and this was His way of showing it. 

        She looked into the faces of the people surrounding her. She saw sadness, fear, and even delight. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and braced herself for what she knew was coming. Her heart thumped in her chest, loud enough to hear from a mile away.

Charlotte’s eyes shot open and filled with terror as her feet were swept out beneath her, and her whole body plummeted to the ground. Before she had a chance to land, the rope yanked her back up by the neck and suspended her in mid-air. The noose tightened around her throat, causing pain like she had never felt before. Her lungs were collapsing, and she couldn’t breathe.  She felt nauseous, but nothing could come up. Stifled gasps came out in an attempt for air, but the rope just got tighter and tighter around her neck. Charlotte’s face burned, and her head felt like it would explode. The minute of eternity finally ended as Charlotte’s vision began to blur, and she saw swirls of color, colors she had never seen before. The sounds of crowded Salem townspeople faded into nothing. The bright colors turned into light, shining into her eyes. The pain and agony left her body. Charlotte was at peace. It was over. 

Several months later, a solemn and depressing feeling clouded over the town of Salem. Charlotte Gibson’s mother and father watched in sadness and disgust as the accused witches and wizards of the town were released from prison. Their only child, who they had loved so dearly, had been taken from them for no good reason. Mrs. Gibson had known, right from the start, that her young girl couldn’t have been a witch. The only thought that kept her going was that she would see Charlotte someday, and that God would keep her safe until then. 

-Grace M.