Cotton and Honey

Past Stories

Ezra was right I remembered the story all to well. As a young boy the regular teenagers high off of nostalgia would tell me all sorts of stories. I dreaded the day I had to go to the market when Father was way to drunk. Those boys would rough me around and oh those stories. I would never admit it to anyone and I will deny it if asked, but those stories were worse than any beating from them. After Harlow was killed I was told many horror stories. I think they fed me all the crap and knew I would believe it after witnessing my brother's murder. One story though in particular always stood out in my mind. It was one in our small village's history told generation to generation. This story had never scared me just for some reason it always stuck with me. The story of the demon.

A very long time ago our village was even smaller than it is now. Still it prospered very well for it's size. It was because people from other villages brought resources to us in exchange for medicines and women. Yes, I did say women. Not just women, also girls! Ten and older sold to men for sheer enjoyment or sold to anyone else for work. The woman were said to be very beautiful, which I find weird. They all looked average to me. Like I said, medicines were also a major resource from us. We had many herbs and great fields and weather to plant. With such small population and a lot of land. Everything seemed so great for the village of Herbage.

That is until the wolves appeared. Massive packs of all different colors. Not just black ones or gray ones. Assorted colors all together! White, blonde, auburn, brown, black, gray. Packs of fifteen to thirty. They started killing the deer in the forest. That's when people caught site of them. Then it got worse, they made their way into the village. Killing chickens and eventually people. Small children then full grown men. Villagers worked exceptionally hard to kill them off but the more they killed double came back.

A girl named Cecilley never hated the wolves that were destroying her village. Wolves had killed her brother Pipkin. Yet she still adored the wolves. People complained saying Cecilley was delirious and saw these wolves as some kind of comforting symbol. She thought they had her brother kept safe. Truthfully, Cecilley was just fine! It's just she felt these creatures had a purpose. Every night Cecilley went out into the woods and waited to see them. Others heard her talking to them and laughing. Sometimes even dancing. The villagers wanted her to get killed by the wolves. To stop her insane sinful acts. There wish came true...they thought.

Cecilley went to the well to get water for her mother. After a while she didn't come back. Lucian, a boy who secretly had feelings for her went to look and only found the water bucket. She was dead they all knew.

A week her so after her death strange occurrences took place. Rumors were going around that they saw Cecilley in the Cotton Fields. She was nude and looked half wolf. You know how rumors go correct? No story is ever the same. So, stories drifted around. People believed what they had saw or chose to see.

Everyone knew the truth on the night one year after her death. Everyone was most likely asleep when a howl rang through every house. It was talked about the next morning. The howl wasn't regular, it held a girlish tone to it. Like Cecilley. No one could really figure it out. Yes, she had right to be mad. Other than that they thought she loved all of them. She didn't. The howls held until Archer came along. A young handsome boy. He went exploring and found Cecilley wounded. Archer lovingly healed her and promised to keep her secret. Instead of staying in the forest she wanted to leave with Archer. He knew it would hard to take her in but he loved her dearly and promised to come get her the next morning. Archer never returned. Lucian found out the secret and killed young and naïve Archer. Cecilley was angered like anybody would be. She placed a curse. Every cotton field died. Cotton was the most precious and without warning it died. All of it so suddenly. Why Cecilley was cursing the village? Her love had died because of her own curse.

I will always remember this story. Maybe cause of the cotton field part. I never personally had liked it. Everything was so cliché and unrealistic. I wouldn't fall in love with a demon dog.

It was very dark outside and I only had a small candle in my room. I lifted up to blow out my light when I paused.

The moon held it's place in the sky. It seemed so close! My eyes drifted down. She was there! Right below the moon was the wolf.

Was I really going out to see her now?