It was well past dusk by the time I made it to the woods. With a pounding heart and hesitation I entered the trees, for the place of my solace was barely recognizable with the long shadows filtering all around me. A fear grew inside me like none other that I had experienced before, and I didn't know if it was from the news of an imminent husband, or from having never stayed in my forests through the night. With a heavy heart I reached one of my haunts, and sat myself beside a lazy creek to think. Should I go through with the choice that had been made for me? A powerful figure...I didn't know who the councilwoman had spoke of, and no such figures that I knew of could come to mind. But even if he would turn out to be a kind husband, I could not imagine that a wife who was not allowed to choose her own husband would be allowed the freedom that I craved. But if I couldn't accept this destiny, could I really run away from it? I looked around at the woods. The trees that I knew so well in the daylight now seemed to be sinister strangers. Could I even spend one night here by myself? I had little on me for protection, and I would have to rely on my wind crafting if I was to run afoul of some creature. And yet, even while my fear of the night grew, the stronger my conviction became that I could not face this strange husband until I had had some more time to get used to the idea. I made up my mind to stay out until morning, and then reevaluate my feelings then.
I shivered and adjusted my hood tighter around my shoulders. The noise of the town was receding from my mind, and slowly in its wake came the clarity of my craft. A chill breeze was flowing across the creek, and with half a thought I turned it to a warm caress. I let my instincts take over as I listened to the night air, full of secrets. Suddenly, as though it had been there all along and I had just noticed it, a warm wind drifted across my face from deeper into the woods. On it came the scent of cloves and bark, and something old like a well-worn parchment. Before I realized it I had taken several steps toward the heart of the wood. The wind whispered past my ear, breathing of promises as it caressed my neck. The longer I listened and the farther I walked, the stronger the voice on the wind became. A small part of me in the back of my mind screamed out, but the voice was seductive and the scents were fogging the rest of my thoughts. My protesting voice grew dimmer while the dark of the woods pressed in on me. The wind from the heart of the wood invaded me completely, and I took no notice when I lost my footing and fell into the thick undergrowth of moss.
~~~~~
There was no indication for how long I slept. I could not wake up immediately, but instead swam just beneath the surface of my consciousness indefinitely. Around me there were voices, feminine and musical, but muddled by my half sleep so that I could not determine what they said. The scent of cloves was strong.
It could have been days, or hours, that I listened to the voices around me, trying to hear their words. I experienced a numbness, and could feel neither frustration nor fear at my predicament, only a calm waiting. I remained this way until I heard the voices fall to a hush, and then felt a warm palm laid upon my cheek. At once I awakened, and all of the coma-repressed feelings came upon me in a rush.
No comments:
Post a Comment