During the darkest times, witchcraft was a serious matter and anyone who was recognized guilty was mercilessely executed.
To the young Anna, all of this felt distant, until the day she had to face to cruel reality. She had done nothing wrong, or so she thought, by playing with a book in the forest, but to the very religious people of her little town, it was seen as witchcraft. Despite being only 10, she was violently taken to a tribunal that condemned her within a few hours. Even her parent didn't defend her, as their only thought was that they had given birth to a witch, a creature of the devil itself. She was to be hanged this very day.
As soon as she was condemned, her hands were tied behing her back with rope and she was taken to the center of the village. There standed the gallows, and as she get closer she could see a dangling noose waiting for her.
Even if she was young, Anna understood what death was and therefore was terrified. She cried and cried, but no one would come to help or pity her. Once she get to the plateform, she was made to stand on a little stool, and the executionner gently put the big and sturdy rope noose around her neck, before tightening it. If the people had cared, it would have feeled pityful to see such a big rope around such a tiny neck. She was barely standing and kept crying, while her so called "sin" was once again told to the people by the executionner. Hanging someone isn't that much of a pleasure for them, but having one less witch always felt good. The young girl tried to free her hands but it was no use, they were well bounded behing her back. She even tried to beg for her life quietly to the one who was designed to kill her, but her pleas remained unanswered as he kicked the stool away.
She soon began to struggle and dance on the noose, but it was no use. Sadly for her, she was too young and therefore too light, so she wouldn't be able to die fast. Furthermore her struggle to grasp air only made her agony longer, and she suffocated for endless minutes. In her head, she begged for anyone to save her, to release her from the pain. She begged her father, she begged her mother, but the only sounds that she could produce were ones of struggle and suffering. Finally her movements started to get slower, and life left her body. Her face was distorded by the pain, but to the people watching, she was just a witch and deserved what had happened to her.
Anna was not the last young girl to be hanged cruelly. Many girls, whatever their age, were often hanged there for almost not reason.
The very same day, Ines and Margareth, two 15-years-old girls were condemened the same way. They loved each other, but their love was seen as witchcraft all the same, and soon they were put under the gallows. Despite their pleas and tears, ropes were mercilessely put and tighten around their neck, and their stools kicked away. They hadn't even been able to say goodbye to each other.
This cruel cycle went on and on for decades, until witches became a thing of the past…