Over the River and Through the Woods

Never go into the Woods for that be the realm of the enchanted
Wanderers who are foolish enough to go into the forest
They forfeit their lives to the monsters that live in the shrubs,
The beasts that live in the trees,
As well as the guardians that watch over the woods.
And these three groups have no compassions for trespassers.

They always told us children never to go into the forest that surrounded our village. Why, always was our response. Because it was full of creatures that would eat you without a second thought, always was their response. That legend was made to frighten us but for a small group of children, I included, it just made us want to go into the woods even more. We made up stories of ogres and goblins and whatever our imagination could conjure up. Anytime a villager went into the forest and didn’t come back we discussed how the traveler met his gruesome end.

But like all children as they grow up they learn how the world truly works. I was no different. As soon as I reached the age of 15 years I saw my body develop on it’s own accord. My chest grew out, my chestnut hair grew down to my back, and I got taller, much taller than other girls. My wisdom grew as well and the first thing I realized was that the warnings that out parents and elders gave us about the woods were false. There was no such thing as monsters or ogres or guardians of the woods. It was just something to keep the children out of the woods so they would get lost and the village would spend time looking for them.

I also learned that, according to the laws of the village, it was time to look for a husband – something that was not on my agenda. The only positive thing out of this law is that I could object to any and all proposals. So far I have had only one suitor who has constantly begged me for my hand but every time Roy asks, I turn him down. There’s just something about him that just bothers me.

Unfortunately because of these thoughts I wasn’t watching where I was going and tripped over a root in the garden behind our house. I grumbled getting up and brushed the dirt off my work dress before continuing with chores my parents left me while they were on the other side of the village. I was to tend to the garden while my younger brother Hank was in charge of dusting the whole house and keeping watch of our dog Trevor. I looked up at the sky shielding my eyes from the sun which seemed to shine brighter than normal. My sky-gazing was cut short when I heard out back door swing open.

“Watch out Sarah! Trevor got out of the house!” Trevor, our black and gold Doberman bolted past me before I could hear the shouts of my brother. He stopped at the edge of the garden and barked happily. Sighing, I went after him but as soon as I was within arms length of the dog he darted off in the direction of town. I yelled after the dog as he sprinted between people’s legs and climbing over wooden gates, and like a fool I followed him apologizing to people I happen to knock over and enduring the angry comments and laughs from others. My anger grew as I tried to keep up with Trevor’s fast pace but then my anger turned into fear as I stopped in a large field of dirt signifying the edge of the village. On the other side of the field stood Trevor wagging his tail, the forest was right behind him. I shook my head at him silently telling him to come back to not go into the forest. But like a disobedient child he barked twice and disappeared behind the trees. A lone gust of wind caused the edge of my dress and dust around me to flutter as a stone took residence in my stomach.

Should I go get my parents? Should I go after Trevor? But as I asked the questions and visualized what would happen my body slowly started for the trees. It was decided. I hiked up my smudged wear and ran after the crazy dog.

As soon as I took one step beyond the trees the air around me became colder. Even though the sun was out the tree branches blocked most of the light that shined down. As I pushed tree branches aside following the happy barks of the Doberman I heard other sounds coming from the darker corners of the forest. Thoughts of my childhood suddenly popped into my head. What if out parents were right? What if there are monsters in the woods that kill people? Once again because of my morbid thoughts I was not paying attention to where I was going. I screamed out as I miss calculated a step causing me to roll down a hillock. After the fall I looked up and stared at the trees as they seemed to silently taunt my efforts in finding Trevor. I sneered at the trees and pushed myself to my feet, or at least that was what I would have done if sharp pain didn’t appear when I stood. I sat back down and rolled up my dress only to see that my ankle had turned an ugly blue color and swollen up.

Now I was in serious trouble: in the woods with a twisted ankle and no protection at all. I pulled my knees into my chest and started to cry. There was no way I was getting out of the forest alive. I sat there crying for sometime. It wasn’t until I eventually stopped crying did I notice Trevor’s whining. I looked up and saw him sitting some feet away from me. I beckoned him over with a hand and he happily came over and licked my face.

Trevor was with me but we literally weren’t out of the woods yet. Now with the Doberman with me I felt like I had a chance to escape this nightmare. I slowly got up from the ground, using Trevor for some support and shifted my weight to my good foot. The two of us spent some time climbing the hill but in time we reached the top of the hill and started our journey back to the village. The dog trotted in front of me while I used a long branch I found as a crutch for my twisted ankle. Things were going slow but smoothly.

We had crossed a shallow river when a strong gust of wind blew at us. It was so powerful it knocked me over. When I got to my feet I saw that Trevor was turned in the opposite direction, barking his head off. I turned around and gasped when I saw that the whole river had frozen over. In the middle of the frozen river stood a tall pillar of ice and at the top of the pillar stood something. I was going to grab Trevor and turn to run, injured foot and all before I could find out what was sitting on the pillar. Instead when I grabbed at Trevor I felt ice. I didn't have to look to know that Trevor was now an icicle. Screaming I ran away, away from that thing. I didn’t get far though, the pain in my foot was too much and I soon fell to the ground in agony.

I turned over and saw an Iceman, a supposed legend, stand over me, the cold look in his eyes voicing his anger that someone had trespassed on his land. He took in some air and blew out frigid air down at me. I shielded my head with my arms knowing that wouldn’t do anything against the beast and soon I felt icicles form on my arms and face.

This was it. I was going to die.

Just as I was admitting my utter defeat, the freezing breath stopped. It took some time but I was able to get an eye open but the only thing I saw was the moon high above the trees. I was surprised to feel someone pick me from the frozen grounds. Whoever this person was I knew it wasn’t the Iceman because this person was incredibly warm, so warm that the ice started to melt off of me. My mysterious savior carried me in their arms and the two of us headed back to the frozen river and equally frozen Trevor. At the edge of the river I heard a large cracking sound – probably my hero grabbing Trevor from the ground. We then started moving beyond the frozen river and deeper into the forest but I wonder if that is such a good idea. Before I can voice my gratitude or my concerns sleep over takes me.
_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

1/4

Important info for my readers:
http://psybee.livejournal.com/