My Brother's Bride Is a Serpent

My mother brings home a woman named Julia Hayden from the back of the hill and makes her my sister-in-law.

Our family is poor. As Julia is beautiful, my mother forces her to work as a prostitute in secret to earn money for the family.

But a villager, Lara Clay, says Julia is not human.

When my brother sleeps with her, I peek inside through a crack in the door. In the dim yellow light, I see the shadow of a huge snake tightly coiling itself around my brother's body on the wall...

My family was poor. My brother, Philip Johnston, was lazy and gluttonous.

My mom, Jennifer Sawyer, had gone through great trouble to bring home a young woman named Julia Hayden from the hills behind our place for Philip to marry, but he beat and berated her every single day. Every part of Julia's body was bruised or cut.

I felt deeply sorry for Julia. Mom and Philip hit me and yelled at me every day too.

Eventually, our family became so poor that we couldn't make ends meet. So, Mom came up with a plan for Philip.

There were very few women in the village, so the men had almost no way to relieve themselves. Mom made Julia sell her body, charging 50 dollars each time. It brought them a good amount of money.

Philip agreed, and Julia became the only hidden prostitute in the village. She worked in the fields during the day. At night, Mom hung a red light by the front door, and the business began.

Julia was beautiful, had a great figure, and spoke in a soft voice. Men from the village came flocking in. Once night fell, people crowded our doorstep.

Sometimes, Julia had four or five clients in a single night. While the first man went inside, the others joked crudely with Philip.

"Philip, where did your mom find such a pretty wife for you? Maybe she could track one down for the rest of us someday. Save us the trouble of having to pay."

The others laughed in a lewd way.

Philip flicked the ash from his cigarette without a care. "Who knows which hill my mom picked her up from. She's been around for years and hasn't gotten pregnant once. She's a total waste of money."

…

Some men in the village had unusual preferences. I often heard Julia's agonized cries from the room. But after a while, other strange sounds would follow.

Whenever that happened, Philip would kick me hard. After watching me fall to the ground, he would grin nastily and say, "What a goddamn worthless piece of trash!"

After every client, Julia's body was covered in bruises. But for some reason, a strange fragrance came from her. Even though she hadn't bathed, the scent was overpowering. It made me feel lightheaded and filled me with the urge to fall asleep in her arms.

I shook my head hard to get rid of those weird thoughts. As I helped Julia tidy the bed, I lowered my voice and asked, "Julia, do you hate Philip?"

Julia gave a faint smile. "What's the point of hating him? This is probably just my fate."

Just then, the door was kicked open with great force.

Philip came back reeking of booze. The moment he spotted Julia, he lunged at her and unbuckled his belt at the same time. "You tramp, since all those guys have had their turn, it's time for me to enjoy myself."

A single tear rolled down Julia's cheek as she looked at me, her gaze filled with sorrow. She gestured for me to leave quickly.

I clenched my fists, wanting to rush over and punch Philip. But I was too thin, and I was a girl. If I tried anything, he would probably beat me to death.

Mom let out a sharp shriek from behind the door, grabbed me by the ear, and hauled me out. "You brat, stop bothering your brother while he's trying to get Julia pregnant, or I'll beat you to death!"

I looked at Mom with a bitter smile. I wondered how they could be sure the child would be Philip's if Julia got pregnant, since they forced her to sleep with so many men every day.