Once, There was A Library in my Closet

Witch of Fields

I awake standing on a long dirt road, surrounded by sky and wheat fields. Why am I walking? And... where? I turn in circles and see nothing around me, hear nothing but cicadas. I guess I was on my way to some place. Maybe I should keep walking.

What is that, in the distance? A barn, I think. It doesn't look at all familiar, but I want to go there. I have to go there. 

It was a long stretch of road, unkempt and narrowed from lack of use. The grass and weeds seemed to be taking over the edge of the fields, but the wheat didn't seem affected. It was lush and bright yellow. As I walked, I was sure I could see a few shadowy figures in the distance, lurking around the barn. They looked like they were playing. Perhaps I could join them.

I must have not seen the old woman as I passed her, although I wouldn't have thought her to be a woman in the first place. I only took notice when I heard her shaky voice stretch through the thick air.

"Would you like some help," she said. The old woman had a dark, sunken face, with large shadowed holes where her eyes would be. She wore ragged clothes with as many tears in them as she had wrinkles on her skin, but I did not think her poor. What was highly peculiar was the single wooden leg grown into the ground, the subtle lack of arms, and a small, twisty tree that grew from atop her head. It had beautiful golden leaves that shone in the light. The roots seemed to compensate for the old woman's lack of hair. It was strange, but I felt no threat from her. If anything, I respected her. No one could explain why. 

"It's only a little walk from here, but thank you," I said, then continued walking. A small fleck of orange caught my eye, then, and I smiled. "That is a beautiful tigerlily." The old woman nodded, a faint smile on her thin lips.

I approached the barn, and was immediately unfolded to a game of hide-and-seek. Three children greeted me and invited me to a game. They seemed friendly enough. I got a strange sense to them, however. Something unsettling. It made me fear the children, although I do not know why. A little boy started counting which started the game. One child was convinced that walking around and around on the edge of a well would make him disappear, and the other lowered herself into a deep hole. There was an empty coffin pushed into the brush, the perfect size for both. 

The seeker  slowly turned his head, just enough to peek at me. We locked gazes.

14...

16...

23...

36...

The boy did not look away. He was watching me. Waiting for me to hide.

No, I'd rather not.

I slid into the dusty stables and shut the door behind me. What an odd place.

"Hello," a voice said. I whirled around. There were two massive gray horses in the stable, as well as two people. They stood motionless with a dark expression and a lifeless gaze. I collected myself, walked toward one of the people, and held out my hand. They wouldn't shake it. They didn't move at all, not even to breathe. But the voice came again, and I was sure it came from inside.

"A new face. How lovely." I glanced at the horses. They towered over me, bigger than any horse I had ever imagined, and one of them was talking to me. I didn't say a word, but the horses knew what to say. They knew better than me the reason I was there.

"You may only stay if you help us find something," one said. It lifted its large head and swung it to the far wall on the other side of the stable. I walked over. Pinned to the wood was an old sheet of paper with sloppy handwriting. It seemed to be some sort of list.

One of the horses took a few steps toward me, seemingly reading over my shoulder. I could sense the lifeless person shuffle close to me as well. Its warm breath brushed through my hair and I could feel heat behind me. They were too close.

"You must find each of these items," it said. "After that, you must grind them up together and mix it in our feed. I looked at the list. Some of the items looked rather odd, and a few of them I was uncertain really existed. But there was one ingredient. Tigerlily. I had seen one just a moment ago on my way here. Right next to... 

I gaze up and stare between the little cracks of the barn wall. My eyes immediately greet the sunken face of the old woman. She was peering at me through the cracks, inches from my face. She gave me a look of pity, as if she were about to watch a daisy be trampled. There was no time to react. I felt a large creature encase me, drowning out my life and soul. The feeling in my limbs vanished and returned, and I suddenly had no desire to breathe. A brief sensation of falling overcame me, and I found myself reach out to nothing, somehow touching something soft and dusty. My body is numb again. Stable. I can't fall anymore. There is nothing in me, anymore. I am no one, anymore.

I am empty.