Husband of the forest

Day one

There is a forest not to far from our village, where the living do not stray. whispers of a monster, a beast that lives there, Ravenous human flesh. My kinsmen warn me to not wander after dusk, to keep my doors locked. They fear being spirited away in the night and devoured whole. I am a bit different I suppose, I do not fear the things that live in the night. Nor does death make my knees tremble. On nights I cannot sleep, I walk through the village and along the edge of the forest. It might be foolish, but my curiosity drives me. It calls out to me and wishes I would wander into those dark woods.

One moonless night, I was plagued by nightmares. Unable to sleep I decided to clear my head by stepping into the night. I took with me a lantern, some bread, my journal and some charcoal. I did not intend to go further than my usual route, fate had other plans. I walked to the forest border, unable to pierce through its midnight veil with my eyes. something from beyond the boundary beckoned me. The trees whispered amongst themselves wondering If I would enter their dark sanctuary.

I could not take it any further. What pair of eyes watched me from the brush, what creature longed to feast on my bones? The first few footsteps I was not myself, Instead I was a madman, driven wild by the unknown. I'm not sure why I continued beyond that, trudging into the forest. The village lanterns light no longer able to reach me. even my own lantern seemed choked in the thick mist that befell rather quickly.

I wandered for hours, having no sense of direction home. I felt the trees closing in on me, my last little light, the lantern, had grown so weak, I feared it would go out soon. I look back at the series of choices I made, the string of decisions that brought me here, and cursed my foolishness. Why had I been so obsessed with this forest? Walked into a trap so willingly?

I held my lantern close to my face, savoring the last little bit of warmth upon my cheeks. Its tiny flame flickering as the last of the oil burned up, and like the last of my hope, the light extinguished. leaving me there alone. I sat there on the root of an old tree, accepting of my fate.

It was not long after before it approached, it had specifically waited for my light to leave before coming near. It did not need to stalk anymore. I was helpless to do anything, I had now become apart of its territory. I could see it come for me, its crimson eyes cutting through me, predatory and hungry.

There was no need to run, I had accepted what was to come. it stood quite taller than me, simply watching gazing down into my very soul. "Good Evening" I spoke towards it. "Have you come to take me home?" The last thing I remember, those two crimson eyes descending upon me. The flash of the sharp teeth within its maw. I simply closed my eyes and let the beast take me.

I woke as the sun rose, laid in the grass of the forest's edge. The morning dew clung to my skin, and I sat up suddenly shivering. Before me, the path to my village, which lay just beyond the next hill. I craned my neck confused and dizzy, looking back into the treeline behind me. For a second I saw something move, a flash of crimson. But in that same instance it was gone. Was last night just a dream? or did I just meet the beast of the forest?