In These Woods

1

This story is for a writing contest by @dragonner so please cheer me on! 😝 

Reve glanced down at her mother on the sofa. "Good morning, Mama. Can you hear me?"  

Mama didn't answer.

Well, she never answered. But it wasn't her fault—and nobody's fault.

She'd stopped speaking. More accurately, she did nothing but breathe. Sometimes Reve was afraid that even that would stop and her mother would go.

So Reve checked on her every morning.

"Reve," her father's voice said, "scoot over."

Reve reluctantly scooted over to give him enough space. 

"I gotta start up the motor, but I'm kinda feelin' lazy now. Reve, are you ready? We're almost at our next home, Allveggieandnomeat."

"Allveggieandnomeat?" Reve exclaimed. "What kind of name is that?"

"I don't know, but I'm gotta go. Byeeeee!"

As the caravan shook and bounced along with their horses, Reve recalled what was happening. She and her father was traveling to Allmeatandnomeat (which didn't even make sense) and she was going to live there—because her father had heard that there might be a healer who could help her mother. Which Reve was sure that was a lie. Seriously, it made no sense.

"Mama," Reve whispered again. She knew Mama couldn't hear her, but still, it was comforting to have someone to talk to.

"We're going to our new home. A new place. And maybe you can talk again!" She squeezed her mother's hands. "I love you, Mama. Can you hear me?"

No answer. Reve knew that she wouldn't, yet she had hoped, just hoped—

The clattering of hooves shook her out of her thoughts, and she smoothed down her lilac dress. It was  quite pretty, at least in Reve's hometown. Her mother had been a dressmaker, after all. Reve's wardrobe was one of Reve's treasures. 

She caught sight of herself in the mirror and ran her fingers through her long chestnut curls. Reve hoped that this town wouldn't be too poor, nor too wealthy. It just would be super awkward.

"Reve!"

Reve took one last glance at the mirror and dashed off after her father, skirts and curls flying in every direction.

When she stepped out of the caravan, her eyes darted around for the fashion in this town. Hair half-up. Dresses were ankle-long, and the neckline was trimmed with lace or ribbon.

After a minute of studying the people, Reve looked up at the silence. Nobody was talking, and for a moment Reve worried that she had missed the entire welcome speech.

But then, she realized that her father was shifting uncomfortably, and she knew something was up. They waited in silence for about half an hour. Reve knew this because she checked her watch.

At last the mayor-ish guy spoke. "Welcome to Allveggieandnomeat. We are extremely pleased to meet you."

So pleased that they left us waiting for a half hour, Reve thought crossly.

"We have heard that one of your family members, the elder female—must be in a condition that only our healer can fix," he continued. "Zoey, please escort them to the hut."

A woman of about fifty stepped forward. Her stringy blonde hair fell around her face, and her eyes were such a pale blue that Reve felt uncomfortable. Her dress was drab gray, but certainly in the fashion; the neckline was lined with cherry-colored ribbon, and the length was right at her ankles.

"Please come," she said, dully. "And bring the unconscious female as well."

Female, Reve thought sarcastically. Can't she just say 'woman'?

Her father scurried into the caravan, quicker than a mouse. Reve followed. She just wanted to get out of this weird, eerie place.

Reve helped carry the stretcher from the van to the "healer"'s house. It was one of the identical houses on the street; plain, boring white with perfect lawns, with flowers all exactly the same color and exactly the same size. Reve had this awful feeling that if she counted them they would definitely be the exact same number.

The fifty-year-old female opened the door, and Papa set Mama down on the wide table. Zoey then proceeded to choose a couple of herbs from multiple jars on the shelves on the walls.

Reve took her mother's hand in hers, watching Zoey mix up a concoction, which seemed pretty simple for a spell to heal her mother, if you asked her.

All went well until Reve's eyes flicked to Zoey, who was about to put some gray-green leaves inside the mixture.

"No!" Reve cried, frantically. Her mind whirled, trying to figure out where she had seen these leaves before and why she was reacting weirdly.

After Zoey put the leaves inside, she had edged closer to Mother and was about to spoon it into her mother's mouth—

—as Reve remembered what it was.

"No! Father, stop her! No! No!"

Reve took a flying leap and almost wrenched the spoon from the healer's grip if her father hadn't stopped her. Reve shrieked in frustration.

"She's healing Daria," he said, as if she was five. "You wanted this, didn't you?"

"That's not healing! That leaf is poisonous!"

Reve tried to lunge forward again, but Zoey tipped the contents in her mother's mouth.

Reve let out a cry of anguish.

Her mother was gone.