A Call Into The Woods

Deep into the kingdom of Aurora lies a forest, untouched by humanity's unforgiving hand. It is protected by the Goddess who fell from her golden realm like a star she crashed into the earth. With time the cavity that was made had begun to fade magically, and all around it grew lush and verdant. Animals found new homes within her woods. However, humans would never be allowed to enter. The appearance from the outside was that of a typical forest. Nothing to be alarmed of—But those who entered never returned to tell the story of their adventures. 

None of that seemed to matter to Arielle, for she had never been familiar with the lore that surrounded the forest. She and her family had only been there for a few months, and she had not been allowed to leave too far away or make friends with the locals. It was the will of her husband. She felt foolish now, thinking back to how she always obeyed without question. As he deserved her loyalty after the pain and torment, he put her through. It was not until she became aware of her husband's abuse towards her son that she knew that she could not suffer him any longer.  So in the dead of night, she took her seven-year-old son, Benjamin, packed a small bag, and ran into the forest as a shortcut to the village to the north. 

All around her seemed to blur the moment she entered. Nothing had felt right, and before she knew it, she was passed out on the ground and awoke to the darkness of the woods. There was no one around, not even her son. She panicked and frantically searched around the forest for what felt like hours with no prevail. Her cries would fall on deaf ears and into the void of sound.

"Benjamin!" Arielle cried out once more; her voice was hoarse and desperate, "Benjamin, where are you?—Please answer!" Still, the woods remained silent to her call. Her body grew weary from wandering through the maze of twisted grey woods. She was never certain of which path she should take; the darkness made it even harder to traverse. The forest's aura brought her dread and left her feeling uneasy. The branches from the grey willows hung low and looked sickly in the light of the moon. They ghosted over her skin like fingertips as she hunched below their grasp. The vines of the trees coiled up around the tree; they came from the blackened roots. All around her, the forest looked as though it should be dying. A dank murky smell in the air made her stomach sick if she inhaled too deeply, and at some spots, she felt as if she were smelling death. A cold chill ran through her body after hearing faint laughter in the trees. She paused and looked for a moment.

"Benjamin?" She inquired softly, hardly above a whisper. "Benjamin, please… do not play games." Her eyes glistened from the wetness of her tears. She had not stopped crying upon the discovery of her son's disappearance. Her mind brought her no relief, for when she imagined him, she saw only him shivering from the cold, scared and crying for her comfort. These thoughts only made her heartache and grow heavy. She cursed each second; she could not have him safe in her arms. Her eyes began to grow weary, and she felt her body come to a halt. She came to a clearing below the moonlight; all around her was grass, healthy in an appearance but grey like the moon. Her last conscious thoughts were of how odd it was.