My sister, born with a face only a mother could love, was determined to marry the Mayor’s handsome son. To become beautiful, she tried every trick in the book. One day, she brought home two pills, claiming they could transform a girl overnight. She didn't take them herself. Instead, she crushed them into the dinner she served to me and our little sister. 1 Starved after a day of chores, my little sister, Daisy, devoured her dinner like a wolf. Even though my stomach growled and my mouth watered, I didn't dare take a bite. I had seen it. I saw my older sister, Martha, bury the crushed pills at the bottom of our bowls. If these pills were so precious, so magical, why give them to us? "Eat up, Claire. Once I marry Caleb Thorne, we'll all be eating steak and lobster every night," Martha said, a rare, gentle smile on her face. Daisy looked up, her big, doll-like eyes shining. Her skin was already porcelain white, perfect without any magic. "I want pork chops for every meal!" she chirped. I played along. "Sis, whatever you're using lately, it's working. You look amazing. Caleb won't be able to look away." Martha grinned so wide I thought her face would split. Caleb Thorne was the Mayor's son, the only boy in our backwater town who had gone to college in the city. He was handsome, educated, and completely out of our league. To keep him from leaving again, the Mayor announced he was finding Caleb a local wife. The moment he graduated, there would be a wedding. Every girl in town was fluttering with excitement. But none more than my unfortunate-looking sister. Daisy finished her bowl and licked her lips. When Martha turned her back, Daisy looked at my untouched food. "Claire, are you gonna eat that? Can I have it?" I frowned, hesitated, and then dumped my bowl into the pig trough. A spotted black piglet gobbled it up in three bites. The next morning, we found Daisy in the pigpen. Her chest had been torn open. She was dead. Martha said it was a wild boar. Daisy was young, so there was no funeral. Martha wrapped her in a straw mat and buried her in the backyard without a tear. I noticed the spotted piglet was missing, too. At the same time, a bag of red powder appeared in Martha’s room. Every day, she mixed it with water into a thick, blood-like paste and smeared it on her face. She told me it was a new, high-end facial mask from the city. 2 Every night, Martha painted her face with that crimson sludge. And every morning, she looked more beautiful. The pockmarks vanished. Her skin became smooth as glass. Even her small, beady eyes seemed to grow larger and brighter. The town gossips started joking that the Mayor’s son didn't stand a chance against her. Martha soaked it up, swaying her hips that seemed slimmer every day. "We have to wait for Caleb to come back. The Mayor doesn't decide everything." She was stunning now, but there was a catch. She smelled. A faint, metallic stench of raw meat hung around her, no matter how much she scrubbed. It was overpowering when the mask was on, but it lingered even when her face was clean. I also noticed that as the sun went down, her beauty faded. By nightfall, she looked like her old, homely self. That was when she would retreat to her room, mix the powder, and apply it religiously. By sunrise, the beauty returned. The water she used was specific. I had to collect morning dew, boil it, and collect the condensation from the pot lid. Every morning, I stared at my reflection in the bucket—dirty, dark, plain—and wondered. If I used that mask, would I be beautiful too? One day, Martha went to town. I snuck into her room to steal a pinch of the powder, but the bag was empty. She must have gone to buy more. She didn't return until the next evening, looking uglier than I had ever seen her. That night, I watched her silhouette in the window. She poured something out and began her ritual. I knew that by morning, the beauty would be back. I woke up early to collect the dew. As I opened the door, I nearly ran into our neighbor, Mrs. Gable. She looked frantic. "Claire, have you seen my Lana? She hasn't been home in two days." Lana? She was the prettiest girl in town, Martha’s childhood friend. She was missing? 3 Caleb Thorne came home. At first, he refused to even consider a local girl. But the moment he saw Martha, he froze. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." He couldn't stop complimenting her scent. I thought she must have drowned herself in perfume, but when I got close, I nearly gagged. It was the same rotting, metallic stench. Martha got her wish. They were engaged. The day before the engagement party, Martha brought home a massive wooden tub. She dumped half a bag of the red powder into it. I had to stir it with a broom handle for an hour to mix it. It looked like a tub of coagulated blood. Martha soaked in it for hours. When she emerged, she was otherworldly. Her skin seemed to glow with a faint red light. She walked on her tiptoes, like a ballerina, wrapped in a towel, heading to her room. I followed like a servant, carrying her clothes. As we passed the kitchen, the glass terrarium by the stove started shaking. Inside, a small white snake was thrashing wildly, hissing and striking the glass. Caleb had given it to her. He said exotic pets were trendy in the city. I shrunk back. My woodshed was full of garden snakes in the summer; I didn't see the appeal of keeping one in a box. Martha leaned down, tapping the glass with a blood-red fingernail. "You think I’m beautiful too, don't you?" The snake went berserk, throwing its body against the glass all night. Around midnight, Martha stormed into the woodshed. "Take that thing out of here! It's too loud!" "But Caleb said it needs heat. The box is plugged in. There’s no outlet in the shed..." "I don't care! The whole town is coming tomorrow. If I don't sleep, I won't be beautiful!" She glared at me. "But an ugly thing like you wouldn't understand." I dragged the heavy box into the shed. The snake thrashed whenever Martha was near, but calmed down once we were away from her. I stayed awake all night, hugging the glass box to keep the snake warm with my body heat. I was woken up by noise. Mom was back from her job in the city. She was strutting around like a peacock, clinging to Martha’s arm, bragging to the neighbors about her gorgeous daughter marrying into the Thorne family. I watched through the cracks in the shed wall, feeling a hollow ache in my chest. When Daisy died, Mom didn't even come home for the burial. Now she was beaming like she had never lost a child. The yard was full of food. For once, I got to sit at a table and eat my fill. After the guests left, I snuck a piece of pork knuckle and went to the backyard. Daisy had said she wanted pork chops. When I got to Daisy’s grave, I froze. There was a fresh mound of earth right next to it. 4 The wedding was set for a month later. On the night of the engagement party, Martha didn't come home. The next morning, I heard her crying in the yard, telling Caleb he had to take responsibility and move up the wedding date. Lately, whenever I brought firewood into the house, the smell of blood was overpowering. The cold weather came early. By September, we could see our breath. Martha was afraid the snake would freeze, so she made me bring it back inside. The moment I stepped into the house, the snake went insane. It arched its back, striking the glass, its patterns swirling dizzyingly. My hands shook. I plugged it in and ran back to the shed. That night, I heard Martha and Mom arguing. "Who told you to use my mask?! I need it for forty-nine days!" "It's just one day short!" Mom hissed. "I need to look good too. The Mayor has been a widower for years. If we snag both of them, we're set for life!" "I know more about this than you! The first thirty days are critical!" I didn't understand. What were they talking about? Curiosity pulled me out of bed. I crept to the main house window. The door was locked. I pressed one eye to a crack in the wood. I gasped. The white snake was dead. It had bashed its head open against the glass. The tank was smeared with blood. Inside, Martha was sobbing. "Don't worry," Mom said soothingly. "We still have Claire." 5 The next morning, I brought the dew water. The door was still locked. "Sister, I have the water." The door flew open, knocking me back. Martha’s head was wrapped completely in scarves, showing only her eyes. Her eyes... they were cloudy, like an old woman’s. The skin around them was sagging and wrinkled. "The mask is gone! What good is the water?!" "Why are you so ugly?! Useless trash!" She kicked over the bucket and started beating me. I curled up, protecting my head. After she stormed back inside, the wind carried her scent to me. It was the smell of a butcher shop. I gagged. "Hello?" A strange, accented voice came from the gate. I turned. A woman stood there. She looked foreign, but her English was perfect. "I am Serena. I practice the old ways. I sensed a strange energy in this house." "I think you need help." Martha ran out, desperate. She begged Serena for a reading. Serena frowned, sniffing the air. She stared at Martha with suspicion. "I will return at midnight." She came back that night. She laid out a cloth with letters on it—a spirit board. She held a dagger over it, chanting. Her hand moved on its own, spelling out words I couldn't read. She did this three times. Each time, blood seeped from her fingertips. She clutched her chest in pain. Finally, she looked up, pale. "Someone is looking for something lost." "Did a dead person leave something here?" Martha and Mom shook their heads frantically. Serena narrowed her eyes. She pulled a small tin from her bag and handed it to Martha. "Use this. It might help your face." Martha grabbed it, hiding her covered face. She hadn't shown her skin all day. How did Serena know? 6 Martha ran inside to apply the balm. I stood there, watching Serena pack up. A minute later, Martha ran out, ecstatic. "You're a goddess! It works! Do you have more?" Her scarves were gone. Her face was beautiful again. Her eyes were bright and youthful. Serena ignored her. She stared at the corner of the yard. "How did the snake die?" It was pitch black. How did she see the dead snake in the shadows? Mom scoffed. "My son-in-law gave it to her. Dumb thing just bashed its head in last night." Serena looked from Mom to Martha, then to me. "Just two daughters?" "Yeah. The youngest one got eaten by a wild boar a while back," Mom said casually. "A child spirit. Taken too soon." "You should perform a rite for her if you can." Martha and Mom rolled their eyes. Seeing Serena wasn't going to give them more balm, they turned and went inside. Serena watched them go, smiling faintly. Then she turned to me. "I summoned a vengeful spirit just now." "It won't stop until it finds what it lost." 7 "Tonight, no matter what happens, do not make a sound." That was the last thing Serena said to me. Two days until the wedding. The Mayor sent over gifts. The house was festive. Even I got a new dress. But I couldn't smile. Serena’s warning echoed in my head. Night came. Mom and Martha went to sleep early. I lay in the shed, wide awake. Creak. The shed door opened. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't move. Sleep paralysis? A cold wind blew in. Someone sat down next to me and started to weep. Drip. A cold drop landed on my eyelid. A wave of overwhelming sadness washed over me, drowning out my fear. I forced my eyes open. It was her! The scream rose in my throat. No matter what happens, do not make a sound. I swallowed the scream. "Are you okay?" she asked. I couldn't move my head. I could only stare at her, tears streaming down my face. Her eyes couldn't focus. She stared blankly at me. Drip. Drip. Drip. It wasn't tears falling from her eyes. It was blood. 8 She raised a hand that looked like a withered branch and closed my eyes. "I'm going to find my things." Silence. I tried to move, but I was frozen. I couldn't even hear anymore. What was she looking for? I lay there, stiff as a corpse, until dawn. "MOM!" Martha’s scream broke the spell. I could move. Nothing was missing from the house. But Mom was dead. She was staring at the ceiling, eyes bulging. Her face was purple. Her hands were rigid claws, one of them digging into her own throat. The wedding was tomorrow. The Mayor came and shook his head. "We have to cancel." "No!" Martha screamed. "Mom's dying wish was to see me marry Caleb!" Caleb arrived. He looked possessed. He insisted the wedding happen or he would leave the country forever. The house was chaos. The wedding prep continued around a corpse. I helped the local women clean Mom’s body. When we took off her shirt, everyone gasped. There was a purple handprint on her chest. "It's Daisy," one woman whispered. "She's come back." "They say she died getting her heart torn out." But they didn't notice one thing. The handprint was adult-sized.
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