The Fallen Silk

pearl

Tossing and turning and thrashing against her sheets and comforter, Effie struggled against the dreams that were holding her mind hostage. Just barely, as if through many layers of glass panes, she could hear the soft mewling of Nimbus trying to wake her. She wanted so badly to answer those cries, to open her eyes and assure the feline that all was well and she needn't fret – but she could not force her eyes to open.

Pain. Searing pain shooting down her spine, through her arms and legs – she jolted upright in her bed, her breathing laboured. Nimbus sat on the edge, near her feet, her head cocked to one side as if to ask Effie what was wrong.

'Just a bad dream, Nimbus. Nothing to be worried about.' Effie confided, running her hand over the kitten's head and down her back. 'I'm all right now.'

Nimbus mewled in response and jumped off the bed, stopping at the doorway to look back as if to say are you coming? Effie laughed under her breath as she stood from the bed and pulled her robe on over her night clothes.

'Yes, yes, Nimbus – I'm coming.' She followed the kitten down the stairs to the kitchen; she filled the kettle, stoked the embers, and waited for the water to boil. Nimbus watched from the doorway, following Effie back and forth as she moved around the kitchen. When the water was boiling, she prepared a cup of tea, scooped up the kitten, and snuggled on the couch.

The soft sounds of the night reached her ears through the glass – the chirping of crickets, the rustle of leaves, even the howling of wolves far in the distance; the beautiful symphony of the forest stirred something deep within her chest. She placed Nimbus on the couch and her cup on the table, then went to dress herself in something warm.

***

The woods glowed with a strange blue light, cast by the moon above. It was dark and mysterious, and vaguely threatening as Effie turned her torch on and pointed it into the shadows. She turned and waved at Nimbus, who was sitting in the window watching her as she walked into the trees. Something about the way the kitten's eyes blinked, perhaps their half lidded state, made Effie turn back around once she reached the tree-line. She blew a kiss at Nimbus, who jumped off the windowsill as if catching her affection. Smiling, Effie pointed the torch back to the shadows and took a few steps into the forest.

She walked for what felt like hours, following the twists and turns in the pathway – she passed the meadow where Nimbus had led her, where she had found the strange trinket box, and continued down the path, deeper in the forest.

The rustling of leaves, the screams of an animal, the wet sound of flesh being torn – Effie was drawn off the path, deep into the thick bushes and tree trunks. A deer had fallen to the ground, its throat ripped, its blood soaking the earth around it, causing each step she took to sink lower into the dirt, covering her shoes in the bloody mud.

There was a figure on the other side of the animal, bent over its corpse, white shirt stark against the dark backdrop of the trees. The figure raised his head as she neared, alerted by the sounds of breaking twigs and crunching leaves and the paludal soil. Blood smeared across his face, dripping from his lips, staining his chest and his arms and his hands. Effie covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a scream and keeping herself from vomiting.

He rose from the ground, arms dangling at his side, blood dripping from his fingers, his eyes wild and hungry. She blinked, confused at the scene and horrified by the gore – but he was not there when she opened her eyes again. For a moment she was comforted by the thought that she was alone again in the woods, but as she turned to leave the deer carcass behind, a pair of hands gripped her shoulders and spun her in place.

'You will not remember seeing anything here tonight.' The man said, his voice low and resonating. She stared into his eyes and nodded. 'You will not remember seeing me, you will not remember the deer, you will remember nothing. You went for a walk, then decided to head home because your legs were tired and it was getting chilly.

'I got tired, so I went home. It was very cold out.' Effie mumbled, nodding her head. The man let her go and she found her way back to the path. For a moment, she was confused as to how she had gotten there, but remember that she had gone for a walk. Realizing how cold it was, and how tired her legs were, she turned down the path and continued home, her torch shining a light on the trail before her.

***

The early morning sun shown through the lace curtains, and the smell of petrichor lingered in the air. Effie opened her eyes to Nimbus purring, kneading the blanket. She reached her hand out from under the cover and stroked the kitten's ear as she stretched her legs.

'Did you sleep well, my love?' She asked the kitten as she stood from the bed and stretched her arms over her head. The kitten mewled in response, jumping down and rubbing against her ankle. 'I slept well. I had a strange dream though, I'm not quite sure what to make of it.' She wrapped her robe around her shoulders and tied it about her waist. 'I need some coffee, Nimbus. Care for some milk?

Nimbus raced to the door in response, leading the way for Effie down the stairs and into the kitchen. She sniffed the air, confused as to the coppery scent that lingered. The smell was coming from her hiking boots, which sat by the back-door. As she leaned down to examine them, her dream flashed in her memory and she took in a deep breath.

'There was blood, a lot of blood. She whispered, scooping Nimbus away from the boots. With her free hand, Effie opened the door and tossed them onto the back porch, promising herself she would clean them later. 'A dead animal.... And a man. How odd, to have such a dream and wake to find blood on my boots.'

Placing Nimbus on the floor in front of her bowl, Effie pulled the milk from the freezer box and filled the kitten's bowl half way. She went to the living room, where most of her luggage and boxes still sat, still packed. In one of them was a French press, ideal for making small amounts of wonderful coffee. She placed it on the counter near the stove, and filled the kettle with water. She stoked the coals, added a new log and some paper, and blew on the embers until the paper caught. It would take a while to heat the water, she knew, so she returned to the living room and sat at the desk.

'I'll go ahead and write down what I dreamt of last night – you never know what your dreams will reveal.' She mused entirely to herself, knowing that Nimbus was in the other room, and that the kitten couldn't actually understand her. She opened her notebook – titled Dream Journal – and wrote down the key elements of the dream. Just for added measure, she also noted that her boots had been covered in blood. It was an odd coincidence, indeed, but perhaps she had stepped somewhere that had been the dining place of a predator.

The kettle whistled and she stood from the desk, closing her journal. She poured the water into the French press and pushed down on the plunger, releasing the oils from the ground beans, filling the kitchen with the sweet aroma of fresh coffee. She took in a deep breath and sighed, feeling comfortable and at home for the first time in months.

Back in the living room, creamer in her coffee and her mother's book in her hands, Effie lounged on the couch and listened to the soft sounds of the forest waking up. Her dream well behind her, she was ready to start a new day.

***

She pulled a small, shallow box from the back of the drawer she was filling with clothes and sat back on the bench of the vanity. Another hidden treasure her mother had saved, most likely forgetting it existed during her stays at the cottage. Effie lifted the lid and found the contents sparse – a single, small key sat on a bed of white lace.

'I wonder....' She found the small chest she had brought home from the clearing and placed the key in the lock, turning it gently – the mechanism clicked and the lid popped open. 'Oh, mum....'

Within the chest sat a silver chain adorned with a single tear-drop pearl. She remembered the necklace from her childhood – it had been her mother's, and before that her grandmother's. According to tradition, the necklace was passed down to the daughter on her wedding day (something old); but, her mother hadn't given it to her, stating that it wasn't a proper marriage. Effie hadn't understood her mother's meaning, and Theola wouldn't explain it to her, but she had the feeling that it was due to her choice in husband.

Effie held the necklace up to her neck and looked in the vanity mirror; she clasped the chain around her neck and touched the pearl, feeling her mother's presence surrounding her.