Sable lay awake listening to the wind howling outside, and the groans of the cottage walls heaving against the pressure. Sometimes she would grow scared that the tiny home would blow away on nights like these, but she had only to listen to her mother’s slow, deep breathing next to her to know everything would be alright. Sable snuggled into her mother’s side, and felt herself grow warm from the inside out. It wasn’t long until her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted off into a deep slumber, as her mother was there and she knew she was safe.
***
The next morning was the same as any other, and Sable did her chores. She set the small rickety table, where she and her mother shared a breakfast of bread and fruit. Afterwards, she brought in sticks and moss from the surrounding forest for the fire, and settled in for her lessons. Later, they had a small lunch and it was finally time for their afternoon stroll, Sable’s favorite part of the day.
“There’s a chill in the air,” her mother said to her. “We might want to bring our coats.”
So, they bundled up, even opting for beanies, gloves and woolen stockings, and headed outside into the crisp autumn air. Sable giggled as her hot breath made clouds of mist in the cold, her mother laughing with her. They walked along the worn down path between the trees, their boots crunching on the fallen leaves scattered in shades of orange. Sable loved looking up at the very tops of the trees and trying to find patches of blue sky amongst the expanse of green.
“Your birthday is coming up.” Her mother said, smiling. “Shall we throw a party?”
Sable laughed. Every year for her birthday they had a party, just the two of them where they would sing and dance, and sometimes if the year had been good to them, her mother would bake a cake.
“Of course! It will be my thirteenth birthday after all!” Sable replied happily.
Together they continued their stroll merrily, like any other day, until they reached the end of the path. It ended quite suddenly, from where there was worn out dirt, there was suddenly grass covering every inch of it.
Sable had always found it odd, the way it just ended without any particular reason. It just… stopped. But that was how it had always been, and it’s what marked their turn to head back home. Sable began to turn around to do just that but she noticed that her mother made no move to do the same.
Her mother stood very still, and seemed to be staring very intently into the dark recess of the forest. Sable wasn’t alarmed, it was often that her mother stopped for a while to gaze into the trees. She patiently waited for her to finish, so they could go back home.
But her mother did not tear her eyes away. At this point Sable began to grow worried. She reached out to touch her mother’s hand, “Mother, what is it?”
Suddenly her hand was being gripped tightly and she looked up to see an expression she had never seen on her mother’s face before.
Her mother was terrified. There was no other way to describe the distress in her eyes and the quivering of her mouth. Sable felt the feeling of ice sliding down her own back and her body began to tremble.
Her mother brought a finger to her lips. Shh. She then broke away from Sable and began to move closer to where the path ended and met the forest floor.
Sable rushed after her mother, but stopped as she held up her hand. “No honey, don’t follow me.” Her mother whispered. “Follow the path and go back home. I won’t be far behind you.”
Sable was distressed. “Mother, please no.”
“Sable.” Her mother interrupted in a gentle voice. “Please go home.”
Sable could only nod as tears began to stream down her face, as she turned to run back home. She took one more glance over her shoulder and saw her mother smiling at her sadly. As she sprinted along the path, Sable could have sworn her mother’s lips had moved, and that she had said ‘I love you’.
***
Sable sat alone at the dinner table. Her mother had not come back yet. She had sat there waiting as the light outside the window grew from bright to an orangey glow to finally black, as night had arrived. Sable’s panic grew as the darkness had grown closer, and her mother had not come through the front door smiling, saying everything was alright.
Sable was distraught. She did not want to stay here alone, worrying herself to death, yet she was terrified of setting foot outside to look for her mother. Her mother had told her to stay, but her absence said otherwise. Sable couldn’t shake the thoughts of her mother stuck out there, hurt and scared, yet she had gone willingly into the forest hadn’t she?
Sable stood up from her chair quickly, causing the legs to scrape across the floor. She’d had enough. She was going out there, and she was going to find her mother.
She rushed around, grabbing her knapsack and filling it with a loaf of bread, dried meat and a canteen of water. It was enough to last her a few days, since she didn’t know how far she would be traveling. Sable spied the small pocket knife her mother always used, with the hand carved wooden handle, sitting on the fireplace mantle. She put it inside her coat pocket, just in case. She then put on her coat, lit a lantern and finally ventured out into the cool night air.
The lantern made a circle of light around her as she followed the familiar path to the point where she had last seen her mother. Determined, she stepped into the uncut grass and headed deeper into the forest.
As she walked for several minutes she noticed the trees growing denser and the way forward became more difficult as long overbearing branches loomed in front of her. Outside of the lantern’s glow existed nothing, yet Sable could feel the weight of eyes on all sides.
Up ahead Sable could see light filtered between the trees, and as she grew closer she could hear deep bellows of laughter. As she reached the source she stepped into a small clearing in which a wooden building resembling a tavern stood, light and laughter streaming from the windows. A lone horse stood tethered to a tree nearby. Filled with relief that there were other people out here, Sable approached the tavern.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you, little girl.”
Sable stopped dead in her tracks, at the sound of the deep raspy voice. Slowly, she turned her head to look at the horse not twenty meters away from her. It couldn’t be… had that voice really come from this horse?
“What’s the matter girl?” it rasped.
Now the animal grinned at her, showing rows of decaying teeth. Sable covered her mouth, smothering a scream. The horse, although speaking, was a disgusting sight. It appeared as if it was rotting, with open wounds covering its torso, stinking and filled with maggots. Patches of dry, cracked skin showed through its matted dark hair, and its mane shined with grease. One of its eye sockets was empty, its remaining eye bulging and blood stained.
“Like I said, you don’t want to go in there.” The horse said. “We don’t see human girls around here much.” Its grin grew wider, lips stretched over yellow teeth.
Sable found her voice. “What is this place?” she asked cautiously. This creature terrified her, but she needed answers.
“Oh but it’s the deep dark woods,” it began, “where little girls are a delicacy!” The horse let out a bray of laughter.
Sable began to back away, horror swallowing her whole. A bustling came from the tavern and the front door let out a loud creak.
“Who’s out here?” came a haunting voice that set Sable’s hair on end. From where there was laughter inside the tavern, she could now hear shrill screams.
Heart hammering, Sable bolted back into the safety of the trees, the horse’s braying laughter echoing behind her.
***
Sable collapsed against the base of a tree. She had run as fast and as far as she could manage from that clearing, and the tavern and the horse. Now, she was exhausted. Somewhere along the way she had dropped the lantern, leaving her in complete darkness. She was scared, she was lost, and she had no idea where her mother had gone in this horrible place. She was alone. Sable curled up into a ball and cried. She heaved and sobbed until she fell asleep, nestled against the tree.
She woke to the feeling of something soft brushing under her nose. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, only to open them again to the darkness of night. Had she only been asleep a few hours?
“The night is eternal here,” said a voice to her right.
Sable jumped to her feet, expecting to see one of the many terrifying creatures she had created in her head. But what sat there was an animal of immense magnificence. It had the features of a fox, muddy red fur, a large bushy tail and wide pointed ears. Despite the resemblance, the animal was almost twice the size of a regular fox. It had spoken to her. Did every animal speak in this place?
“Don’t be afraid child, I will not hurt you.” The fox said.
Sable gazed at the creature in front of her, looked into its eyes, and she felt the truth of its words.
“Will you help me?” Sable sobbed, on her knees now begging.
The fox stared down at her, and with a flick of its tail it began to walk away, further into the forest.
“Wait!” Sable was panicking. “Please don’t leave me!”
The fox stopped, and without looking back, simply said, “Follow.”
Sable scrambled to her feet and dashed to catch up with the fox. “Where are we going?” she asked, as she struggled to keep up with its long strides.
“You are looking for something are you not?” the fox said matter of factly.
“Yes! How did you know? Do you know where my mother is? Are we going there now?” Sable erupted with questions in excitement.
“Just follow.”
So, she did. It was really her only chance of finding her mother, and besides she felt safer with this fox. However it wasn’t long until Sable began to hear a loud wailing ahead of them, and there all on her own was a little girl, of about three or four, sitting in the dirt. Sable rushed over to comfort the girl, and looked to the fox for explanation.
“Children are often left to wander the forest.” It said in its calm voice. “For amusement.”
Sable didn’t know whether to be shocked at anything anymore, but she made sure to hold the girl close and shush her waning cries. “We have to take her with us.”
“Where we are going is not any safer.”
“I don’t care.” Sable said defiantly. “I won’t leave her.”
But the girl had other thoughts. Breaking away from Sable’s embrace, she dashed away and ran deeper into the forest.
“Wait!” Sable called, running after her.
She followed the lightness of the girl’s hair weaving between the trees, disappearing and then materializing again in the darkness. Sable then heard a scream, and pushed her legs faster. She broke through some bushes and saw the girl flailing in a small pool of water. The girl was a mess of thrashing limbs and broken cries as she splashed in the water. She was drowning.
Without hesitation Sable rushed in after her, the chill of the water non existent against the warmth of adrenaline in her veins. Despite its size the water was deep and she couldn’t touch the bottom, forcing her to swim out towards the girl. She grabbed onto the girl’s body and knew she would have no luck trying to calm her down, so she tried her best to drag her to the shore. The girl was heavy, more than she should be for her age, and growing heavier still. Sable was struggling but she herself felt stronger, and she kept pulling, finally making it out of the water.
Sable dragged the girl on the dirt coughing and spluttering, before dropping onto her back, breathing raggedly. She had done it, they were safe.
“You’ve entered the pool of life.” A voice came from above her. The fox stood over them, a sad look in its eyes. “It has taken your years.”
Sable sat up, and then finally noticed. Lying next to her was no longer a girl of four, but a girl that looked to be about ten years old. Sable reached for her and then felt the strangeness of her own arm, it was too long, and her sleeve too short. Panicking, she stood and gasped as her legs had grown as well and the ground was further away than it had been before. It wasn’t just her limbs, her hair had grown longer and there was a tenderness in her chest that hadn’t been there before, making her shirt tight. Panic tried to claw its way out of her, but she pushed it back down. She had to find her mother.
With a steel resolve, she told the fox “It doesn’t matter. Just take me to my mother.”
It nodded. Sable knelt down to the girl, who was crying, obviously confused and scared out of her mind. Sable ran a hand down the girl’s head, the way her mother would when she was upset.
“It’s okay.” Sable said, repeating the motion. “We’re going to be okay.”
***
They reached the site of an old wooden cottage that seemed abandoned based on the rotting, sagging planks and shattered windows. Yet, despite its rundown state, the home was familiar to Sable.
She gasped. “This is my house!” She ran up to the doorway, shards of glass littering the way, and peered inside the dark room. “It’s even the same on the inside!”
The table where she shared meals with her mother, the small kitchen where they’d prepare meals, and the double bed with the woolen blanket where they had slept. Sable felt tears sting her eyes, as she stepped inside. But, as she kept looking, the excitement wore off. The table was rotting, the legs bulging with moisture. The kitchen was infested with insects, maggots writhing in moldy fruit and things with too many legs lumped together in a crawling mass. The bed lay broken, and the blanket torn.
“What is going on?” Sable turned back to ask the fox, but he still stood at the tree line with the girl.
He looked down. “I am sorry.”
Then the door slammed shut. The room turned to complete darkness. Sable stumbled forward, arms outstretched to find anything to gain her bearings. Her fingers found something smooth but deathly cold, and Sable jerked her hard back with a gasp.
“C’mon, dear. Don’t you want to hold your mother’s hand?”
Sable’s heart stopped. That voice she would recognise anywhere. A voice she had heard every day for her entire life.
“Mother!” Sable shrieked, reaching again towards the coldness in front of her.
But, there was nothing there. Suddenly the lights flickered and began to emit a dull glow, casting shadows big and small across the room. Sable searched with her eyes fervently but her mother was nowhere to be seen.
“Mother, where did you go?” She cried.
A low rumbling laugh began to reverberate throughout the cottage, and the walls began to shake. Slowly, the tone shifted to a higher pitch until it transformed into a piercing cackle. Then a creaking caused Sable to whip her head to the bed. To her horror, a long arm reached out from underneath and dug its long fingernails into the wood. It began to drag itself out, revealing another arm, and then another, and another. Using the arms protruding from its back it emerged from under the bed and stood hunched in front of Sable. It had long dark hair that hung over its face and dragged along the floor, but as it began to stretch out to its towering full height, it revealed a grin of jagged teeth and lips wet with blood. Sable couldn’t believe her eyes.
“What have you done with my mother!” she screamed at the monster with her mother’s face.
Again, it let out that horrible laugh. “Oh, the mother you knew is dead and gone honey.” It cackled. “Now, I am finally free.”
Sable shook her head furiously, tears streaming down her face. “No, you’re not her! She loved me, she wouldn’t leave me!”
In an instant the creature was pinning her down, snarling. “I hated you!” it screeched. “I hated being your mother!”
Sable, sobbing, struggled against its piercing talons, only causing them to dig deeper into her flesh.
“How dare you follow me here, you selfish brat! I told you to go back home!” It boomed, spittle and blood dripping onto Sable’s skin.
“But I was scared! I didn’t want to be alone!” Sable screamed. This wasn’t her mother. It couldn’t be, it just didn’t make any sense.
Memories of the life they had spent together flashed through her mind, years full of tenderness and love. And that was it, Sable wouldn’t let this monster take away her mother completely, not in her memories. Sable reached for the pocket knife still in her coat, her fingers finding the smooth surface of the wood. In a deathly grip she brought her arm up above her head and swung down, embedding the blade into the monster’s throat. It let out a horrifying scream as black blood began spilling out of the wound and on to Sable. She kicked out, toppling it over and she stood over its dying body. She watched as it writhed and screeched until it melted away into a black ichor. All that was left was a giant pool of oozing black, and the pocket knife. Sable picked it up, wiped it off on her skirt and then walked to the door.
Outside she was met with the little girl who immediately clung onto her arm, and the fox who looked down in shame.
“I had no choice.” It said, “I am a slave to this forest.”
Sable said nothing for a long time. Finally, she crouched down to be eye level with the little girl and said, “Everything is going to be okay. I’m going to look after you now.” The girl nodded, grasping Sable’s hand even harder. Sable looked back at the fox. “Take us home.”
***
Sable could see the worn out path up ahead, the very one she had walked with her mother only a few days ago. Her heart ached but she refused to let it show, and she squeezed the girl’s hand. The fox had walked them here safely, and as they made it to the edge of the path the animal stopped.
“It is my time to leave you,” it said.
Despite the fox’s role in her near death, she still felt sad to see it go. Placing a hand on her stomach she bent over in a bow. “Thank you.”
With that, she led the girl onto the dirt path and away from the deep, dark forest. Hand in hand, mother and child walked together once again.