Red Within The Forest

Chapter Four: The Tears Of A Witch

Asena was making her way to Lieve's home with a basket of freshly made apple pie and picked berries. It has been about two weeks since she last seen Lieve and her grandmother so she thought she might surprise them with a special treat. She shook her head when her eyes caught the sight of mud painting the wooden flooring of the porch. To her, it looked as though someone took a broom, dipped it in a bucket of mud, and painted the floors with it. Asena chuckled, "Ah, Lieve must have made this mess last night." she mumbled to herself. She will admit how odd Lieve was starting to become. 

For example, Lieve was becoming more interested in nature and she caught her using some mud by smearing it on her skin for some reason. It also didn't help that Lieve was also looking into some new religions. So maybe this was a religious practice of spreading mud all over the front porch. A bit sloppy in Asena's opinion but maybe that was the purpose, who knew? Asena saw the door slightly open but she just shrugged it off, thinking that Lieve must have accidentally not closed the door all the way. It wouldn't have been the first time. She reached the door to knock on it. Asena hummed a small tune while she waited for someone to answer. A few more minutes passed and she knocked again. She tried to hear if there was any commotion; she heard nothing more but the rustling winds.

A sudden crow cawed at her, making her jump. She snapped her head to the left to see a single black crow perched on a tree branch. Its pure dark eyes pierced into her own. Asena narrowed her eyes at it and some winds pushed the door slightly open. Her nose caught a whiff of something familiar to her. Asena carefully shifted her head down to see some strange canine mud prints leading inside the cottage. The crow cawed at her again, daring her to go take a peek inside. She looked back at it and it just flew away, leaving only a single black feather gently landing a few feet away from her. A whisper caressed her ears and the winds brought her attention back to the door. The whisper called out to her, "Come to me my child..." they would say, followed by another language she couldn't recognize. Asena's feet had a mind of their own and she stepped closer. Asena's hands shook when she opened the door a little more and she took a single step inside.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and scoffed at the smell. The whisper called out to her again, "Come to me my child..." they continued. She swallowed down the lump forming in her throat and followed to where the voice was. Now that she realized it, Lieve's grandmother wasn't there. This was becoming more and more strange. Where could the old lady be? Asena didn't see her in the garden where she would normally tend to her flowers. Nor was she even cleaning the front porch or windows. And the fact that the curtains were covering the windows was even weirder. Not once had Lieve and her grandmother ever closed the curtains. 

Even when they were children, Lieve's grandmother insisted on always having the curtains open. Asena glanced down to see claw marks scratching the surface. Her feet followed where they led. Did a wolf by chance come in? The marks curved into the kitchen. She peaked over the wall. Her eyes widened from the scene. The candelabra was knocked over on the small dining table. It's wax hardened against the wood. Food was decorating the floorboards while broken plates were displayed all over. The whole place looked like a tornado came in and just destroyed everything without a single thought of caring what it did.

Asena continued to walk and saw a hand on the floor. She walked some more and her scream was caught in her throat. She placed a hand to her mouth. The grandmother's eyes stared up at her. Her throat was torn apart and her beige apron was stained in red. The grandmother's cold eyes were empty with fear. She glanced down to see that Lieve's grandmother was holding a knife in her other hand. Given the situation, it appeared that the knife wasn't enough to save herself from whatever it was that killed her. What could do something like this? Where was Lieve? Was she hurt as well or worse? Just the thought itself made her stomach turn. Asena needed to get out here and fast before someone else did. The last thing Asena needs is to be caught in a scene at the wrong place and time.