But when a few people disappeared in the forest, and when she first heard rumours about a werewolf hunting on the nights of the full moon, she did the most unwise thing. She alone went into the forest, with nought but a hearty meal and a change of clothes in a bag swung over her shoulder. You see - one of the first people to disappear was one of her grand-grandsons, her very own ray of sunshine in the gloom of old age. And she was set on finding him, feeling deep in her heart that he is alive - that he must be alive.
One would call this insane, an old person finally losing touch with reality, and she was aware of that. But as the moon pulls the tide, her heart led her through the trees, showing her the hidden pathways only animals trod on. And she walked, one foot in front of the other, not looking further than a few steps forward.
Time passed slowly, with the full moon falling from the heights of the night sky, still illuminating her path. She remembered the day she showed him a cave in which he made his little den, hidden away from other children and his siblings - a place only he and she knew about. The memory was so vivid and, as it played out in her mind, she could only hear his boyish laugh, like crystal bells resonating deep within her, keeping the hope alive. After all - what else had she left? And she clung onto it, like a drowning man clings onto driftwood in the raging river.
Lost in thought, she did not notice the eerie silence that fell around her as she approached the place she was looking for - it was almost as if the very forest itself was holding its breath in anticipation and fear of what’s to come. With eyes seeing nought but the memories playing out rapidly, she started humming. ‘Twas a long-forgotten lullaby, the one her mother sang to her, and the one she used to calm him down after other kids picked on him - because he was as frail as a twig, thin and long and so very out of place, like any kid his age could be.
The moon was setting slowly, and the break of day was close when she reached the only place where she knew he felt safe. Where once was a comfortable den of a too-silent boy, filled with blankets and pillows and forgotten papers where he practised his writing, now laid a broken form of a man curled up in ripped blankets and pillows, with red spots staining his wolf-like snout and a haunted look in his eyes.
She did not flinch, looking at him, with nothing but love in her expression as he rose and towered over her. Her neck cracked uncomfortably as she kept raising her eyes to look at him, and the blood-red stains on his chest and arms did not escape her watchful gaze. His mouth started warping into a scowl, showing his teeth, and his body tensed up, ready to tear her apart quicker than she could run away; but she still stood with her back straight, looking him right in the eyes.
“Let’s go home, Edel.”, she simply said, as the dawn started illuminating the skies. “Let’s just go home.”
Hearing that, his scowl distorted into an expression of utter despair and tears welled in his eyes. As they rolled down his face, chunks of fur started falling off, and his confident anger turned to fear as he shrunk into himself. Standing naked in the pile of bloodstained fur, Edel wailed like a baby, like he never cried before, and the forest echoed with his desperation.
She set her bag aside and pulled him in for a hug, trembling and crying with him; until they had no more tears to shed. Only then she opened her bag, giving him a change of clothes she took with her and setting the meal she prepared on a wooden stump that he used as a table.
“Now, my sunshine boy, do you know why did this happen?”, she asked when they sat down to eat.
“I… got cursed?”, he muttered, shoving food in his face.
“No. It is because you did not eat.”, she took a bite of bread. “You see, my darling boy, this is… a family matter.”
He stopped chewing and stared at her, growing pale in disbelief.
“Every few generations, there’s a werewolf born in our family. They, at first, look like they’ll be sickly children, tall and pale, and as graceful as newborn fowls. But as time passes, they live, and they grow. Slower than others. Also wiser, because to avoid murdering your peers, you have to think of other ways to stave off the hunger...”, she continued and, right as the first rays of the sun broke the darkness of the cave, he finally understood.
One would call this insane, an old person finally losing touch with reality, and she was aware of that. But as the moon pulls the tide, her heart led her through the trees, showing her the hidden pathways only animals trod on. And she walked, one foot in front of the other, not looking further than a few steps forward.
Time passed slowly, with the full moon falling from the heights of the night sky, still illuminating her path. She remembered the day she showed him a cave in which he made his little den, hidden away from other children and his siblings - a place only he and she knew about. The memory was so vivid and, as it played out in her mind, she could only hear his boyish laugh, like crystal bells resonating deep within her, keeping the hope alive. After all - what else had she left? And she clung onto it, like a drowning man clings onto driftwood in the raging river.
Lost in thought, she did not notice the eerie silence that fell around her as she approached the place she was looking for - it was almost as if the very forest itself was holding its breath in anticipation and fear of what’s to come. With eyes seeing nought but the memories playing out rapidly, she started humming. ‘Twas a long-forgotten lullaby, the one her mother sang to her, and the one she used to calm him down after other kids picked on him - because he was as frail as a twig, thin and long and so very out of place, like any kid his age could be.
The moon was setting slowly, and the break of day was close when she reached the only place where she knew he felt safe. Where once was a comfortable den of a too-silent boy, filled with blankets and pillows and forgotten papers where he practised his writing, now laid a broken form of a man curled up in ripped blankets and pillows, with red spots staining his wolf-like snout and a haunted look in his eyes.
She did not flinch, looking at him, with nothing but love in her expression as he rose and towered over her. Her neck cracked uncomfortably as she kept raising her eyes to look at him, and the blood-red stains on his chest and arms did not escape her watchful gaze. His mouth started warping into a scowl, showing his teeth, and his body tensed up, ready to tear her apart quicker than she could run away; but she still stood with her back straight, looking him right in the eyes.
“Let’s go home, Edel.”, she simply said, as the dawn started illuminating the skies. “Let’s just go home.”
Hearing that, his scowl distorted into an expression of utter despair and tears welled in his eyes. As they rolled down his face, chunks of fur started falling off, and his confident anger turned to fear as he shrunk into himself. Standing naked in the pile of bloodstained fur, Edel wailed like a baby, like he never cried before, and the forest echoed with his desperation.
She set her bag aside and pulled him in for a hug, trembling and crying with him; until they had no more tears to shed. Only then she opened her bag, giving him a change of clothes she took with her and setting the meal she prepared on a wooden stump that he used as a table.
“Now, my sunshine boy, do you know why did this happen?”, she asked when they sat down to eat.
“I… got cursed?”, he muttered, shoving food in his face.
“No. It is because you did not eat.”, she took a bite of bread. “You see, my darling boy, this is… a family matter.”
He stopped chewing and stared at her, growing pale in disbelief.
“Every few generations, there’s a werewolf born in our family. They, at first, look like they’ll be sickly children, tall and pale, and as graceful as newborn fowls. But as time passes, they live, and they grow. Slower than others. Also wiser, because to avoid murdering your peers, you have to think of other ways to stave off the hunger...”, she continued and, right as the first rays of the sun broke the darkness of the cave, he finally understood.
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