Village Secrets

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I was trying not to breath heavily as my heart pounded against my chest. No one had lived in that abandoned cabin for as long as I could remember. Now the whole village feared it. They claimed a beast lived with in it. I knew better than to believe children’s rumors and stories. I just wanted to find my 13 year old daughter Caroline. She ran off again after disobeying her father and I. As I stand here behind this tree staring at the candle flicker in the window, I thought I saw an outline of a giant beast with horns in the shadows of the cabin.

“Ingrid, my darling, you can come home now. Caroline came back not long ago.” I jumped at my husbands touch. “Greg! You frightened me! Do not sneak up on me like that.” I looked over at the abandoned cabin and, nothing. No candle, and no horned creature in the shadows. Could have I imagined all of it?

“Let’s go back home, away from this creepy place and have a talk with our troubled daughter.” Said Greg. I was not looking forward to this.

“I should be allowed to do as I please! I’m not a child anymore!” My daughter, Caroline screamed and of course, the whole village heard her. As they did almost every night. On the daily, the other woman of the village would say my daughter was a bad egg. “How can a child be as horrible as Caroline, with a mother like sweet, Ingrid?” I didn’t want to believe she was a bad egg. She was just troubled that’s all. A child who has no understanding of who she is.

Two girls had died within a year from our village. They drowned in the river we all go wash our husbands and children’s dirty clothing. Each one of the girls being good friends with my Caroline. She was so devastated over each death, nothing I said or did would console her. Some children claim they saw my daughter, MY Caroline, push the first little girl Cindy, who drowned because the little girl would not give Caroline the beautiful purple scarf she wanted from her. I could never believe such a heinous accusation about my daughter. She did however, have the scarf still and treasured it saying, “It was a gift from Cindy.”

“Caroline, you are a child! You are only 13 years old. Yes, you are becoming a young woman but you are still a child with no idea of the real world!” Greg shouted back. “I will not let you go by yourself, wondering about with a young man we all don’t know!”

I stared at my daughters reaction and what I saw in her eyes was pure evil and hatred. It made me shiver. “Caroline, you will obey your father AND myself. You will listen to what we say. Tomorrow, you will join me at the river to wash early in the morning. Go to your bedroom before I say something I will regret.” I didn’t have the energy anymore or the will power to argue with my daughter. The hours of searching for her almost on a daily basis had drained me. At this time, my elderly mother, Lillian walked in to see all the commotion.

“What chaos have you started now, granddaughter? Haven’t you caused enough pain for your parents who have been nothing but good to you?”

“Oh grandmother, stay out of things that don’t concern you!” Caroline said nastily. “Mother, if you think I’m going to go help you wash after treating me like a child, you are very wrong.”

“Caroline, do you know what happens to bad children in this village if they do not listen to there parents?” Said Lillian. “Those stories about the beast and the cabin are all too real. I have seen it as a child and, I know what horrors await for the bad children who come across it. A little boy was turned into a rock! Another child’s bloody clothes were found inside the cabin, but no trace of the little girl. Worst of all, was when I walked in the cabin and saw a bloody heart on a stick over a fire. I was so terrified and in that moment I heard a monstrous voice behind me scream! I ran away as fast as I could.” Grandmother Lillian said, shakily. “We all love you, darling Caroline. Please listen to us and turn your evil ways to good, before it is too late!”

I looked at my mother with worry, hoping she didn’t scare Caroline too much. Or herself for that matter, my mother looked terrified and lost in memory.

“I will take my chances, grandmother!” I do not believe in the beast and the cabin anymore. These are silly children’s tales.” Caroline ran to her room.

“Mother, are you alright? Take a seat please. I’ll get some tea for us.” I said.

“Mother Lillian, I know you just wanted to help with Caroline but, please take it easy. Don’t upset yourself in this way.” Greg said with concern.

“Mother, I do wish you wouldn’t say such horrific made up stories just to scare, Caroline.” I said.

“They are not made up stories. I’ve lived with them my whole life. I need you to be strong and keep a very close watch on that girl, Ingrid!”

That night I was lost in thought, and could not sleep. I look over at my husband Greg and he is sleeping so peacefully. I knew my mother could be dramatic and she has always been a wonderful story teller but, I could not ignore her silly stories this time. She looked so worried and full of fear that a part of me does believe her. Greg of course, didn’t believe a word she said but thought maybe the scary tales would make Caroline think about her actions. I must have drifted off to sleep because I awoke sweaty and frantic from tapping on my bedroom door. I heard a terrifying low animal like voice whisper in my ear.

“she’s mine now, MINE! You will soon see.” It whispered.

I jumped out of bed, ran to the door and opened it to see Caroline standing there with a smile on her face.

“Caroline! Are u alright? You scared me.”

“Im fine mother, just fine. I just wanted to apologize for being so bad. I also have a confession to make. It was me, mother. I pushed Cindy into the river. She did not give me what I asked for so, I pushed her. I was just playing around but I never wanted her to die, mommy!!” “You forgive me right? You won’t say a word right?”

Caroline gave me the most evil smile. This wasn’t my daughter? She didn’t even look fully human. I looked back at Greg and he was still sleeping! He’s always been a heavy sleeper.

“Caroline, you just listen to me. I won’t say a word about the disgusting tragedy you have done over that purple scarf, you still have the audacity to wear. I will make sure you don’t hurt anyone else ever again. Let’s go to your room now so I can search it and see if you are responsible for the minor thefts that have been going on in our village.”

I said shakily. I was terrified of my daughter but trying so hard not to show it. Caroline had this smirk on her face that never left until I mentioned searching her room.

“You will not go through my things, mother!” Caroline yelled.

I was walking fast and as soon as I entered my daughters room, she was sound asleep in her bed.

“What is going on?” I said under my breath. I turned around quick to see no one else behind me just my daughter in a deep sleep in her bed. I walked back out slowly and saw dirty big animal like foot prints on the hallway floor. I let out a silent scream of terror when I saw a tall black beast with massive horns on his head and black and grey scaled skin. The smell was unbearable and I was gagging, trying to pull myself together. The beast had big red eyes penetrating into my eyes and a big ugly yellow toothed grin. I was frozen in fear.

“Mmm that daughter of yours will taste delightful. She’s mine now, MINE!”

In that moment I was able to scream as it vanished.

“No! You can’t take her! Shes my daughter! Never, I won’t let you! Never come here again, you hear me?! NEVER!”

At this point my shouts had awaken Greg, my mother, and Caroline. My mother was concerned and so was Greg. Caroline just rolled her eyes and said, “Stop being so dramatic over a bad dream, mother. Go back to sleep.” So careless she was. I was still trying to catch my breath and calm myself. I told Greg to go back to sleep that it WAS a bad dream after all and that I would be ok. He hesitated but gave me a big hug and kiss before heading back to our bed.

“You saw him didn’t you, Ingrid?” Did you look him in the eyes?”

She asked me with so much concern and worry in her eyes. I didn’t know what to say.

“Yes, mother I saw him and I’m so scared I don’t know what to do. No I didn’t look into his eyes.” I lied. I couldn’t tell her everything. My frail mother looked as if she would pass out at any moment.

“This is bad, Ingrid. Really bad. My granddaughter is evil. For only evil catches the beasts attention.”

“She is my baby. My only child. My only daughter!” I cried. “I will do everything in my power to help her become a worthy human being!”

“I’m afraid, it might be too late for that my sweet Ingrid.”

I woke up with the sunrise to make breakfast for Greg before he went to work. I couldn’t sleep well from all the horrors that happened in the night. I gathered all the dirty sheets and clothes and headed to the river. Before I left I checked in on Caroline. She wasn’t in her bed. I found this odd, for I am always arguing with her to get up early and help with the house chores. I had a sense of fear and dread in my heart. I walked down to the river and saw my mother weeping with a few of the other woman in the village.

“Mother! Are u alright? What’s going on?

My mother and the other woman just stared at me with pity.

“What is happening!?” I shouted. “Is it Caroline? Please tell me! She wasn’t in bed this morning!”

They all pointed in the direction of the cabin. From our point of view all I saw was some smoke but no more cabin. I ran as fast as I could with the woman trailing behind me.

Where the cabin once stood was a giant rock. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It had two large horns sticking out of one end of the rock along with a giant black tongue dripping blood. Two human eyes squished against the rock to form a face. Two human eyes that looked very familiar. A long black and grey tale at the other end of the rock. The limbs of my daughter sticking out of the rock covered in blood, and the purple scarf wrapped around the rock.

I screamed.

The End.

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