1001 Love Stories Darker

strawberries (68)

In the center of the cursed woods in a small village that stays out of them. No one goes into the woods because those who do never return. Be it man woman or child. They will all become food for the forever hungry god that hunts them.

It isn't just a story. It isn't a rumor. I know this because I am the god.

Who eats the curious, the brave, and the stupid.

I eat them all. The people know and has since stopped venturing into the woods.

Mother's warn there kids and those who do not heave the warnings. I consume.

So why am I now face to face with a child holding a pie.

"Are you Kaveri?" The maybe ten year old says and I smirk.

"Ah child. I do love the taste of stupid children." I say my stomach growling at his yummy flesh.

"I brought you an offering. But I can't find your shrine in the village. So I thought it would be in the woods. I didn't think I'd find you though." He says not wrapping his brain around the fact he would be my offering.

"Child did you not hear the stories. I consume all that step into these woods." I tell him and he only smiles.

"But those people are bad. I'm not, I'm not trying anything." He says and I grab him by his hair.

"Good bad or innocent. They all tastes the same." I say and suddenly fear fills his eyes, then tears. As the claws on the hands begin to protrude and I get ready to splatter the woods with the pretty color of crimson.

"I dropped it." He says and it shocks me enough to look down at my feet where that pastry landed.

He begins to sob and I let go for a moment only he doesn't try to flee.

"We made them in class today. We were supposed to offer them to our favorite god at their shrine. I just wanted to offer mine to you." He says and I pause.

"Me?" I question and he nods whipping his eyes with his arm.

"Sometimes the forest sings at night? It's said to be a bad sign. That someone has died. But it's beautiful to me. I like to listen, it's my final prayer at night to hear the voice of the forest." He says and I feel something long dead in my chest start to stir.

"The voice you hear are the happy songs of a full god. It comes only after I consume a human." I say and he only begins to tear up more.

"So I won't hear it cause I dropped the pastry." He says and I only sigh picking up the round tart.

I bite into it and notice the sweet flavor. Like berries, berries not native to my woods.

"What is this?" I ask and he smiles widely.

"Strawberries!" He says happily and I smile back.

"They're my favorite, but they're so rare that I don't get to eat them too often." He says and I sit next to the boy on a fallen log.

"You know you could have stolen it and eaten it yourself." I tell him and he sits next to me and smiles once more dangling his feet.

"But I made it for you." He says and I place a hand on his head as I begin to sing and his eyes light up.

That day for the first time. A child returned from the woods.

Even after the village Heard the song of the forest god. Said to be an amen of death.

*

"Kevera!" The little voice called out and I recognized it instantly as he ran through the woods.

No one was aloud into the woods. I ate anyone who tried. However, whenever his voice called out to me I would feel nothing but joy.