Tales from the Woodfolk: A collection of short stories

Mahogany dust

"The road turns west, the road turns east, which will you choose...the road turns west, the road turns east...which will we choose..." 

Old Mr. Garingtuck sang his usual offbeat tune as he gently steered the large spines of the tarantula. Behind this old beauty trailed two more gigantic beasts of wonder that never failed to amaze the children from Parishtown; their basket-carrying backs ablaze with red-silver golden hues of the sun. 

Being a mould and mushroom farmer from the early 20s, life has never been better with this simple cycle of backbreaking work, truckloads of shrooms for barter, and three loyal friends to take care of at the end of every trade gathering at the Thornside bushes. Not to mention his crops were nearly sold out this time! A huge feat indeed. 

"Come on, Barley and Malt, we haven't got all day and I know you're tired, but we're reaching home soon!" He yells to his two beetles as he senses their slight foot-dragging. They've been at it for many oak miles now, I know, but we're getting back soon and we can't afford to be late lest the wild tarantulas come.

Too fast and too soon the sun would set, and these pesky, dangerous carnivores would hit the road with their gory mandibles. No one would want old Garingtuck dead ---- his mushrooms are the best!

"Ha!" Garingtuck laughed in cold sweat. Just when he felt on top of the world, time threatened luck with its game. 

However, nearing the bend in the road, something unexpected halted him in his tracks.

"Holy—-!" His eyes turned white at the sight of two figures, dark and muddy in the oak shadows that lay ahead. He cried in shock and pulled his tarantula back hurriedly. Sweat drenched his brow. Ghosts!!

"Please! We mean no harm!" The boy ran towards him, carrying a girl in his arms. His desperate tone and rash movements sounded all the alarms, but despite the scabs and wounds on his body, his skin emanated an illuminating glow akin to those of fireflies under the last glimmers of mahogany dusk. 

Something told him to give them a chance.

"Who are you and what are you doing out here?" He asked cautiously. Even the bristles of his tarantula began to stand.

"We...we truly mean no harm...we need some help...please" The boy said, his deep voice wavering as he stumbled nearer.

Surely, this young one has gone through an unimaginable ordeal, through thick and thin he must have endured. 

As he emerged from the shadows, a fluorescent light radiated from his ombre hue, and he was not a boy, but a man of stoic, chiselled features of royalty. 

An aura of honour he had despite his plight of sorrow. His clothes, a forlorn mess of what used to be, were evidently elaborate fabrics of high status, with gold and silver threading. 

The lady in his arms, a beautiful one at that, with short pixie hair and petite features amidst a sickly air, looked asleep, as though cast under an ancient spell in peaceful trance. The air around shuddered at the mere glow of her beauty as ripples do with the touch of sunlight. 

A chill went up his spine as he eyed the strange youngsters.

Who are these people and where do they come from? They might be small but they look otherworldly.

Curiosity brimming, Garingtuck decided to take a gamble, something he had never done before. Not in years. 

He would take them in.

"Well...I have no idea who you folks are and what you have gone through, but come on up and let's get you fixed."

The young man's eyes widened in surprise and grateful joy. "Thank you so much!" He gasped, and motioned towards Barley and Malt, carrying the woman in his arms gently as one would a fragile treasure of glass.

In terribly ill health, she is. She needs food and water, lest she starves before night hits the ground.

"All right, saddle up, the road is rocky and we must have our guards up, but we will reach my humble hut in no time!"

"Thank you, kind man, I owe you my gratitude, and pledge my honour to help you in the darkest of times", replied the young soldier. 

Garingtuck simply nodded, and, making sure they were well-seated, struck his reigns firmly with determination. There was no time to lose; the sun was setting.

And so they trudged onwards down the winding road into the shadows of the mahogany wood, wherein the path will lead them to a place no-one knows, a place that only fate will reveal in time to come.

"The road turns west, the road turns east...which will you choose...the road turns west, the road turns east..." he continued to sing, as his voice trailed off into the distance, merging as one with the silent trodding of beetle-hooves in the mahogany dust, approaching nightfall and the new world beyond.

~

"No! Where is the old man bringing them?" Lily could not help but cry out anxiously.

"Why, where else but his humble hut?" Replied Granny.

"But will they be safe?"

"What makes you think otherwise, dear?"

"This old man sounds strange, I don't like him." 

"Be careful to judge by appearances, my dear, you never know what a person is truly like. Even the kindest of people may look like beetles."

"B-but...what if Anita dies?"

Madam Tang sighed her long sigh. She reached out to her granddaughter's wide forehead and played with her gentle curls, fingers drawing circles on her pale skin. "We all will die someday, my child." 

"What matters is how we use the time till then."

"And before that moment comes, we meet all kinds of people, some good and some bad, some who turn for the better and some who turn for the worse. Which one will you be, which road will you take?"

Lisa curled into a ball, her eyes weary with thinking. "This is too much for a child like me, grandma...so much to think about!"

"Why, we all need to think about these hard things", her grandma chuckled, and pulled the covers over her head. "But right you are, dear, you are still just a child..."

A slight pang coursed in her heart. How young she is, yet she needs to bear such pain so soon...too soon...

Life can be so unfair.

"Well, you must be tired, my dear. It's time we put out the lights, and let you sleep."

"I still want to find out more! Where will they go?"

Granny gave her a quizzical look and tickled her under the covers, and a laughter as angelic as chimes echoed through the monsoon warmth of the room. 

"We shall find out tomorrow, sweetheart."

And with that, she blew out the lights.

~fin~

*Note: it has been a long while since I last wrote, so I look forward to all your feedback and comments! Thank you for reading <3