The White Old Maid (From "Twice Told Tales")

Moonlight filters through narrow windows into an opulent, antique chamber where a young man's lifeless body lies swathed in silken shrouds. Two women, each radiant in her own way, glide to his side—one proud and stately, the other gentle and fragile. Their rivalry erupts over the corpse, and a desperate pact is forged: they each lay a lock of his hair on his brow and promise to meet again far in the future, sealing the agreement with intertwined hands.

Centuries later the proud maiden has become a solitary figure known as the “Old Maid in the Winding‑Sheet.” She wanders the town’s funeral processions, cloaked in white, never joining the living but ever present at every burial. Her life is a quiet ritual of mourning, a testament to a promise made long ago, as she watches the dead be laid to rest while the world moves on around her.