The Mute Wolf

Chapter 18

I walked along a dirt road, fields of sunflowers surrounded me on both sides and a tall, broken looking windmill turning slowly on the other side of a nearby river, sparkling and shimmering like diamonds in the sunlight.

A robin perched itself on top of a small tree stump, chirping loudly and dancing on the spot. I turned to admire how tall and gracious the sunflowers stood out against the blue cloudless sky and the lush green of the summer field. When I looked back, the robin had gone; appearing on a turning sail, almost beckoning me to follow.

I waded through the sunflowers effortlessly, like I was made completely out of air and hitched up my long, flowing white dress to paddle through the shallow river. The water was warm and a perfect reflection of the sky above. A family of grey rabbits sniffed away on the embankment, scurrying around for food and curious to their new visitor. Three tiny babies stood on their hind legs and sniffed the air, watching as I slowly made my way towards them. The robin, now at the base of the windmills wooden old door chirped loudly, before disappearing inside.
'Wait!' I cried out as I gleefully bounded up the embankment and rushed over to the foot of the windmill.

The door creaked open, revealing nothing but a empty circular room full of dirt and rubbish. The sun and all its warmth vanished, hidden by a dark black sky; a sudden chill now filling the air. Half broken stairs circled upwards; the sound of a bird echoing from high above. The robin.
I climbed my way further up into the windmill, fearing any step could be my last and I would be sent tumbling down to my death. The robins song echoed again.
I reached the last step which broke in half as soon as I stepped off of it. Nobody's dying today. The room was rotted and dank and a sickly feeling bubbled in the pit of my stomach. Something terrible happened here. I could feel it.

The robin had completely vanished. The only window overlooking the fields was completely sealed and encased in thick spiders webs. There was no other way out. I turned to scan the room when the figure of a woman in a peach dress stepped out from the shadows and into the glow of the moonlight. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see her face; her voice came as a cold breeze to my skin, the sound unrecognisable. I couldn't look around, my head wouldn't lift and everything was a blur. Except for her slim figure. She began to glow a pale white light but even then, my vision was still impaired. Her face still a mystery.

I soon found I couldn't speak, no words would form out of my mouth and all I could do was watch the glowing lady stand, basking in the dim light.
"Hello Ember." The glowing lady's voice projected around the room, sounding as though she was a million miles away. I wanted to ask her who she was. What she was doing here. But nothing would come.
"You're more beautiful than I could have ever imagined." Her next words settling uneasy in my chest. What did that even mean?
"I'm sorry, it was never meant to happen like this." Her cold, sad words vibrated into my ears and a droplet of water fell silently to the floor. A tear?

A strange gust of wind blew from out of nowhere and the glowing lady started to disappear. No! Please don't go! Who are you!? I shouted but only to myself in my mind.
"Never let them know who you are... Be strong..." She wailed as she vanished with the last rush of musky air. A sharp pain thudded inside my skull, my chest ached and I felt more drained than I ever had. I heard voices somewhere in the distance, like I was somehow hearing it through a tunnel. I shut my eyes.
                                     ***

My eyes drifted open at a snails pace. The thudding pain in my head and the heavy aching in my chest made me flinch, muffling groans into something across my mouth. It was taped shut! My eyes flung open as realisation hit me; I'd been taken. Again. Thoughts of the crash came flooding back. The cries of my mother, the fear on my fathers face. Slamming into a tree...