1889

We are in a small village in Italy, with few residents, just outside Bergano. The children in the area hadn’t had a teacher for almost a year. Their previous one, had been reported to have shown weird behaviour every time there was a full moon. She would go out on her balcony and start screaming uncontrollably.

It was five in the afternoon when the new teacher arrived in the village. She was wearing a pink floral dress and a white hat. Her eyes were dark blue, like the ocean’s water on a cloudy day, and her curly hair was black like the dark nights without any moonlight. She was a charming and cultured young woman from Britain. Everyone was excited about her arrival; everyone apart from John. He was a forest ranger in his forties. He had a bad feeling about the new teacher but no one paid any attention to what he said. They thought he had just been affected by the previous teacher. No one was suspicious about the fact that an educated British lady had decided to come to a tiny village like theirs. No one apart from John.

The days were passing by and everyone was happy with the new teacher. All the children loved her. Soon, however, things started to change. Kids began acting weirdly and the games they played in the woods were unusual.

‘’They sing in a very strange language and their moves are so abnormal. Almost like a ritual dance.’’ One parent said.

‘’Could it be something they’ve learnt at school?’’ Another one asked.

‘’I don’t think so. The teacher is such a sweet and sophisticated woman.’’

‘’This teacher is turning the children to the Devil!’’ said John and everyone grew quiet. ‘’Can’t you see what she’s doing? How do you explain the fact that she always carries the Bible with her? You may think she’s just a religious woman but does every religious person go out in the woods in the middle of the night and just stand there, whispering words randomly? I don’t think so!’’ And before he could finish his sentence, they saw black clouds coming out of the church. Terrified, they ran to the building where they saw a big fire. They heard their children screaming and at the window, as her flesh was burning, the teacher was looking at all the desperate parents with an evil smile on her face. It was apparent that no one could be saved. The fire blazed with a supernatural kind of force and they couldn’t do anything to stop it. Mothers were screaming their heads off, knowing that they would never be able to see their kids again.

The church burnt for several hours. The parents didn’t have any more tears to spill, so they just waited for the fire to end, hoping to find any remains of their children. They buried the children’s remaining body parts deep in the ground. The teacher’s body was never found.

1989

All the residents were at the small square of their village, ready to welcome the blue eyed and curly black-haired woman who was ready to become an unforgettable teacher.