Maternal Flame

The girl awakes as the sunlight beams through the tree branches. Rolling over, she nestles into her mother’s coat and closes her eyes, unwilling to brave the cold morning air. As she wraps herself deeper in the makeshift blanket, she feels the icy touch of a damp sanguine sleeve upon her face. She lifts her arms from within to reveal dried, gory skin and a distressing reality- she is alone. The forest echoes with an unnerving silence as the girl begins to cry. Before long, she had exhausted her energy and fell back to sleep.

The forest’s stillness had become deafening, even the birds had ceased to sing. The girl is awakened by the crackling of leaves and rustling limbs, complemented by the formidable inclination that she is being watched. She quickly shuts her eyes, hoping that her mother may be there when they opened.

Moments later, a tumultuous sound erupted in the girl’s ear as she felt a strange mist spatter across her face. As she runs her hands down her cheeks, her palms drip with fresh blood. She opens her eyes with hesitation to find herself staring into the stale and lifeless eye of a colossal buck. The girl stood abruptly, backing away from the dismembered deer; stumbling and kicking the innards at her feet.

The toddling girl tries to walk, a feat which she had only previously conquered with a guiding hand. It was just months before that she had taken her first real steps, proudly maneuvering the dining hall as her mother encouraged with a watchful eye.

The landscape proved to be tough terrain and she found herself falling to a crawl; slowly traversing the crisp, autumn leaves beneath her knees. She followed the trodden path of her mother, who had dragged herself through the forest before nightfall.

They had run from the devouring flame, the inherent and harrowing violence of the night before. The resounding explosion and the nightmarish screams rang in the girl’s mind like a song. Her mother had pulled her to safety and the two of them trekked deep into the decrepit forest.

“Your father will never find us here,” her mother contended as she frantically looked about, fearful and grief stricken. Tears ran down her expressionless face as she stared deeply into her daughter’s eyes, perhaps for the last time.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” she had sputtered through her dripping, crimson lips; kissing the girl on her forehead and wrapping her in the coat. The girl had never been alone before, but that was eclipsed by a more frightening notion- the girl had never seen her mother cry.

She had watched her mother struggle to crawl off into the sunset, slithering forward one arm at a time and gradually disappearing beyond the trees. Darkness fell, and the minutes stretched to hours. The peaceful eve was quickly suspended by petrifying screams from beyond the starlit horizon, falling embers fluttering throughout the sky. She listened as her mother’s desperate cries pierced the land then suddenly ceased, quickly replaced by the squeal of yowling canine. A flash of light illuminated the canopy as quietude consumed the forest, and the girl sat waiting; listening intently to no avail.

The deliberate pace of crunching dried leaves intently drew closer; the subtle sound decorated with the occasional twig snapping under foot. At the top of a hill, the wolves’ alpha stands beneath the solemn moon eyeing his prey. The girl’s tiny body permeated with fear as she frantically searched for anything to make sense in her world.

She felt the growl of a wolf ascend her spine with a paralyzing chill. The alpha howled staunchly at the moon, signaling the pack to extend downwards. She closed her eyes and cried, praying for her mother to save her. As the first wolf drew close, she fearfully cracked her eyelids open as the wolf was thrown clear across the forest. With a blood-curdling yelp, its limp body crashed to the forest floor before it sprinted off with a whine.

A second wolf flanked from behind, abruptly meeting the same fate. The girl turned to face the charging beast, welcomed with an unforgiving blackness. The stars were suddenly concealed by an enormous inky cloud; a specter which had sent two wolves soaring through the trees.

The wolfpack retreated, cowering and howling with fear. The girl looked to the mighty shadow as it fell to the dirt, quaking the environment. She watched the mysterious darkness slip through the forest, trees swaying and tumbling in its wake. The night fell silent again as the hungry toddler cried herself to sleep.

As the sun rose and glistened through the timber, the girl is greeted once again by the deadened eyes of a fresh kill. Before her, a cadaverous pile of forest creatures lay spread like a hunter’s banquet. Racoon, rabbit, deer, and birds spread across the blood-soaked dirt; accompanied by two elderberry trees ripped right from the ground, arranged as a bouquet.

The girl crawled to the berries and indulged her starving bones. She feasted ravenously until she fell asleep, her hunger satisfied for the first time in days. When her eyes peeled open again, dusk had fallen and the last glimmer of sunlight danced upon the treetops.

Her mother still had not returned, and the impending doom of the evening set upon the young girl. She peered off in desperation, unable to fathom her solitary situation. As the moon rose and lit the night sky, she heard the creeping Canidae surrounding her again. She spun around to see their wicked yellow eyes peering through the brush.

The pack swarmed decisively, advancing quicker by the moment. The girl longed for her safeguarding black cloud to emerge. She screamed inaudibly, shaken and incapable of producing any noise.

From beyond the trees, the cloud swooped down with fervor, spewing a brilliant flame from within. She felt the intense heat on her skin and watched as the forest became a smoldering clearing. Her eyes adjusted to the light as she looked to the source of the blaze, revealing a menacing entity.

The girl watched the mysterious, intrepid mass overshadow the world below. Its eyes were resolute, surveying the land and tracking the scattering wolves as they crisped. Its wingspan stretched across the sky, revolving around the girl; burning the surroundings to cinder. The wolves’ squealing yelps and howls reverberated through the forest, etching the agonizing sound into her mind.

The girl had not moved; her small semblance of home was now adorned with the scattered, lacerated remains of a sizeable wolfpack. Once more the forest falls hush, but for the faint resonance of hissing embers. At the heart of the torched clearing, the girl’s inhibitions rescinded.

The savage monstrosity descended upon the terrified girl with a thunderous crash, two large talons touching down at her side. The girl’s savior gently lowered its titanic head. She gazed into its prodigious eye, patiently waiting as the behemoth scrutinized her with acute curiosity.

She slowly inched forward toward the creature’s leg. She rested her head upon its giant foot, safe and comfortably dozing off to sleep. The dragon spread its tremendous wings and swaddled the girl, joining her in a dream.