Dawning of a Seer

A Midsummer Night . . .

At the edge of the wood, Elizabeth leant on the gnarled bark of a tree to catch her breath. Thoughts were racing through her mind and she was finding it difficult to focus.

It was twilight. The woods looked dark and ominous, like the stories told about it. She was scared, but she felt she had no choice. Her heart thumped inside her chest as she resolved herself to carry on. Taking tentative steps, she hoped to pass quietly through the wood without disturbing or encountering its occupants.

Her skin tingled with goosebumps. She did not know if it was from the coolness of the air on her body, hot from running so far, or from the feeling of being watched. Foliage rustled and twigs cracked. She kept telling herself it was just coneys and praying that she was right.

Elizabeth's mother had once told her to avoid this wood and that if ever she had to enter it, to offer a gift to ensure protection from the spirits. She had nothing to give. This journey had not been planned.

She wished her mother was there with her, in body and spirit. Her mother would never have allowed her father to betroth her to that oaf of a man. Of that she was sure. Elizabeth knew if her mother were alive, that she would not be in this darkened wood on her wedding night, running away from a man she hated. She had thought she could go through with it for her family's sake, but she just couldn't bear for him to touch her.

The darkness of the wood seemed to envelop her with every step she took. Shadows danced around the trees. Yet, every time she turned to look, everything was deadly still. A musty aroma filled her nostrils, tainted by the smell of wild garlic. Her stomach churned. She was going to be sick. Tired and light-headed, she knelt down as her body heaved, bringing up what little food she had eaten that day.

Kneeling on the damp ground, she waited for the sickness to pass. Strange animal-like noises sounded nearby. She froze in panic, wondering if the retching noise had caught the attention of something that was best avoided. Not knowing if to stay still or flee, something inside of her made the decision. She started to run.

Her arms and legs stung as thorns ripped through her cotton smock and into her skin as she quickly ambled through the undergrowth. She heard the noises again. This time it sounded as if something was moving through the wood behind her. She ran as fast as she could, but whatever it was, was faster.

Her vision blurred from the tears welling in her eyes and her thighs burned as if begging her to give up and stop running. They didn't have to beg much longer. She careered into a fallen tree and flew into the air, for what felt like an eternity.

She landed with a thud. The trees looming above started to dance around her as if she were a maypole. Blackness descended and she felt herself sinking as if being swallowed up by the ground. She would have screamed, but strangely she felt calm and at peace. Leaves and moss caressed her and she felt the tiredness ebb from her limbs. The cuts from the thorns no longer throbbed.

There was silence. But not the eerie silence she had first encountered. It was reassuring that she could no longer hear whatever had been pursuing her. Lights appeared out of the blackness, flitting towards her and then moving farther away. The silence was broken by what sounded like faint whispers. The lights then disappeared and left her in the blackness.

She wondered if she was dead, but then the whispers resounded again. This time much louder and what sounded like the fluttering of a bird's wings.

The lights reappeared and moved towards her. She could not believe her eyes. Everything her mother had told her when she was a little girl was true. They were hovering just inches from her now. Delicate wings buzzing behind their perfectly formed bodies. Small pointed ears peeping out from long, flowing hair. Their eyes looked bright with wonder. With the light that emanated from them, like fireflies in the night, Elizabeth could now make out her surroundings. It appeared she was underground, as tree roots weaved their way through the soil above, holding everything in place.