Hung Me Out to Dry by Wen Wen Yang

“I told you, but you still let yourself be sezeused.” I said as a child scurried past me and disappeared into the crush. Anna rolled her eyes. I continued, undeterred. “And he was hardly handsome. He was an ugly only the blind could love.”

“And I was blind,” Anna said and drew the scarf around her face. “Do you know when this will start?” She pointed to the front of the crowd.

“Nice change of subject,” I stood on my toes. “They’ve just marched the people up, unsteady as drunks.”

“I wonder if they feed them before hand,”

“Waste of food,” my heels met the ground again. “Ugh, the crush of this crowd will suffocate me. I have errands to run.”

“Everyone does.” Anna looked around and suddenly placed her hand over her mouth. “Don’t look. There is a man giving you his eye.”

“I won’t look until I get both his eyes.” I said with a smirk as I struggled to keep my eyes on the stage or Anna.

“It looks like he’s here for a good time, though you could provide better.”

“Oh hush you,” I muttered, then in a louder voice, “It’s starting.”

First, the pledge. People either mouthed it or looked generally bored. Then, a speaker of no particular distinction said something about the wellbeing of the nation. I stared at the woman on the stage, not listening to anyone. I was too far away to see the details of her face. The woman was short, yet she gave the impression of someone very grand.

“There,” Anna said as she nudged my ribs. “That man by the steps, he was the one looking at you. Looks like he’d be hung,” She winked at me.

I swallowed hard and became flustered despite myself. “They’re starting,” I said finally.

The woman was first. She walked to the designated spot on the stage. The officials did their usual bit. The trapdoor opened. Her neck snapped. She swung in the wind. So it continued for all of them, including the man.

“Hurry!” Anna shouted as she pulled me toward the stage. The crowd moved of one mind, surging forward like the tide. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket as she drew close.

The officials slit the feet of the executed. Anna was among the first to dab her handkerchief in the blood. Who could know that so much blood could be in such a small woman? Up close, I could see that she was rather beautiful.

“Let’s go Anna,” I heard myself say as I fought against the people.

“Ma’am,” was the only warning I got before someone grabbed my arm in a fierce grip. I looked up and saw a face covered in shadow. He wore the wide brimmed hat of the local guardsmen. “You must come with me,”

“No,” I tried to pull my arm away but he held on stronger than Death’s grasp on a corpse.

“You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason. Don’t make a scene. Come with me.”

“I haven’t done anything wrong. Anna,” I turned to her. She was clutching the bloody handkerchief to her blouse, staining it as well. “Tell them I haven’t done anything.”

“She never takes a bit of blood,” Anna said, sticking her lower lip out at me. “The man who is swinging now, he kept staring at her, like he knew her.”

“He was staring into the crowd, not only at me!” I protested before another set of arms grabbed my free arm before I could strike Anna. “You’ve known me for years, Anna! How can you accuse me like that?”

Anna stepped up close to me. The men kept me still. “Because,” she said evenly and calmly into my ear, “Men always stare at you. Maybe now they will stare at me.”

The End