Rebecca and the Smiling Man

For years the Smiling Man terrorized the village of Torren. He lived among the stones in a crumbling dros atop a hill that overlooked the town. Few ever saw him but his influence was felt, he took what ever he wanted, food, tools, livestock, and on occasion a child would go missing.

Rebecca had seen him once. He was slim, pale, and tall as a tree. True she was only seven years old at the time, in those days every grownup was tall to her. His head was bald but for a few wispy hairs and he had a twisted beard streaked amber by tobacco. The Smiling Man had come to speak with the town elders about the noise caused by all the pigs in Farmer Ieuan’s mud patch. Every one cowered from his pale eyes and long toothed grin. Oh, that grin, that evil twisted yellow grin. He took two of Ieuan’s best pigs, a mated pair, and destroyed the rest expelling thunderous fire from his hands. Ieuan’s wife wept, the Smiling Man laughed, and Rebecca threw a rock. It hit the smiling man in the back of the head. He turned his monstrous gaze in her direction, his smile gone, he huffed spittle shouting, “Who? Who did that? Which one of you filthy maggots threw that stone?!” Rebecca ran.

She hid in the marshes up to her neck in muddy water until nightfall, then crept home to her Mum and Dad. She heard her parents whispering about how the Smiling Man had burned Ieuan’s cottage and barn to the ground in rage. Rebecca caught a cold and was bedridden for days. When she was well enough to go out she found that no one, not even Farmer Ieuan, was angry with her. She had stood up to he Smiling Man.

Years passed and Rebecca grew older. At age 16 she kissed her Mum and Dad goodby in their sleep and snuck away from the village in the night. She traveled the world, met some unlikely characters, both good and bad, learned to swing a sword. She returned to Torren at age 21 to put the Smiling Man in his grave.

She spied the village from a distance, all seem peaceful and almost pleasant. She would deal with the tyrant first and visit loved ones latter. She crept like a cat up the hill and entered the jagged pile of stones ready to slay her lifelong enemy. He was waiting. Scavenger birds had scattered his bones and left his black robes in tatters. The Smiling Man was dead. Unknown to Rebecca he died of a coughing fit five years ago.
She picked up his skull.
His grin had grown wider.