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“Place it in your hearth tonight,” Alina whispered, “and your father will forget you’re there.”
The bell signaling midday struck. The metal clang echoed through the village, followed by a few dozen children and young adults running from the hall. Joyous shouts in anticipation for a few hours of play overtook the bell.
Red looked down at the generosity Alina gifted her. I cannot accept this, she thought. With a heart torn in two pieces, she thrust the bundle back at Alina and turned on her heel…
Tears had welled up in her eyes as she hurried home. The regret of not accepting a gift from the woman who made her body stir with desire followed her the entire way. It struck her again, now, as she looked at Alina out the window.
“Get up, Rose. You’re going to be late.” Her mother’s voice snapped her out of her daze. She thrust a wicker basket of food at her. “You know how your grandmother feels about tardiness.”
Red hurried out the door. Thankfully, Alina was no longer there. She couldn’t afford any distractions, especially with the way Alina made her heart race.
The sun dipped below the naked treeline. Red knew it would be impossible to arrive on time. The wicker basket, full of Mama’s fresh baked loaves, weighed down the crook of her elbow, chafing the skin through her blouse. To walk in the woods after dark was a danger Red didn’t like to risk. Her mother had warned her to stay on the path and never wander into the Mørke Forest.
Red walked quickly, though her feet ached. Her stomach twisted, empty from having another meal taken from her by her father. She reluctantly slowed, knowing she could not keep up such a brisk pace without sustenance. I should have taken Alina’s gift, she thought. She studied the trees surrounding her, relieved she neared her destination.
The decrepit old house would soon appear around the corner—or perhaps the next. The closer she got to her grandmother’s, all the trees looked the same. The bitter autumn air sank deep into her lungs, creeping up her sleeves and biting her flesh. Red resumed her hurried pace, terrified of what she might find in the woods after dark. Her breath fogged in front of her. Though her grandmother was cold-hearted and cruel, her hearth would be warm. That alone was enough for Red to accept whatever brutality she would face when she arrived.
A giggle in the depths of the forest startled Red, causing her skid to a stop, dirt flying around her brown boots. With wide eyes and a hammering heart, she scoured the shadows for the source. In the distance, she saw the flickering light of distant fire. Fire meant warmth. She took a few steps closer to the forest but paused when she reached the edge of the path. Her body refused to break the rule she had always followed. “Never stray from the path.” Her mother’s words rattled inside her skull.
Red had abided by this rule since she was a child, obeying her order never to leave the town boundary except to go to her grandmother’s. She dared not stray from the path, even as the forest began to reclaim it.
“Who’s there?” Red shouted, shocking herself with the outburst. She immediately wished she had remained silent. I should have gone straight to Grandmother’s like I was supposed to. Danger lived in those forests, and drawing attention to herself was a mistake she couldn’t afford. Young women did not belong in the woods after dark.
There was no breeze, but the trees whispered in the voices of girls. A form began to take shape, approaching Red. The apparition encroached, and she began to quiver.
“Ghosts aren’t real,” she whispered to herself, but it did little to ease her worry. Humans could be so much worse.
But as the form paused an arm’s length away from Red, she saw it was not a ghost. The woman who stood before her was short in stature and strikingly beautiful. As she studied her wraith-like hair and the nightgown that clung to her lithe frame, Red recognized Alina. Had she been outside Red’s home earlier to lure her here?
“Alina.” Red breathed out the name in a whisper. “What are you doing out here?”
Alina laughed, a burst that ripped through the air, disturbing the silence of the forest.
When she did not receive an answer, Red stumbled and stammered. “There are dark and dangerous things in these woods, Alina. You should not be out here.”
“We are the dark and dangerous things in these woods, Red.” When she smiled, it reached her hazel eyes. “Why don’t you join us?”
“Us?” Red asked, searching behind her. In the distance, she saw the fire flickering, but when she focused, she swore she saw a pair of glowing eyes. She blinked in a desperate attempt to rid herself of the illusion, but the eyes lingered when she opened hers again.
Alina kept a serene smile on her face in reply.
Maybe Alina wasn’t trying to trick her, Red thought, as the other kids did. No one uttered Red’s family name without distaste on the tongue. Unwelcome at home and unwelcome in town, she never had friends, forced instead to watch other children playing in the distance. With this offer before her, she grappled with the idea, savoring the thought.
The Mørke Forest is where evil things dwell, Red thought ruefully. Mama always said the worst crime is witchcraft.
“I—I should not. I could not,” she stammered at last. “I must get to my grandmother’s before dark.”
“Very well, but know that the offer stands, Red. We could use someone like you in our group.” Alina’s tone hinted at the depth of her secrets. “It’s things that come out at night that are so much more exciting.”
The promise of friendship beckoned to Red. Unable to continue to look into Alina’s enticing eyes, Red cast hers to the ground. “I am sorry,” she mumbled. “I cannot.”
As she shuffled away, gathering her skirt and continuing to her grandmother’s, Red felt a twinge of sadness at leaving behind her first chance at friendship. She felt eyes on her as she continued down the path without looking back. She knew if she did, she would be lured into the warm welcome of other girls. Girls who wanted to include her in whatever they were up to. Her mother’s warnings trickled in.
Only two things lurked in the woods—wolves and witches.
Arriving at her grandmother’s at last, Red carefully knocked on the door. The house had always looked like it would collapse at any moment. From what she knew, her great-grandfather had left the town when he started to lose his mind; he escaped to the woods, where he built their ramshackle home.
Red strained to hear the old woman call her in. When she heard her grandmother’s voice, she knew she was in trouble. Her hands shook as she entered. The woman shuffled out from the back, where the single bedroom was.
