Liquid Hood by VITA ANNA
The elders swore they heard this tale from their mothers. The mothers swore they heard it from such old-lived women, that even times of well-spoken animals seemed recent to them. Meanwhile, from whom those old women heard this story, unfortunately, remains a secret.
Either way, regardless of origin, the tale went as follows…
There once lived a woman that was blessed with two beautiful children. She was so lucky, in fact, that it was not uncommon for people to praise them out loud. Her son, however, was praised particularly often.
“Ah, how beautiful he is!” they all said.
“What a kind soul he has!” they all proclaimed.
“It is so rare to find someone as honest as he is!” they all thought.
The woman, however, loved her children equally . And so when she fell ill - she called for both of them.
Little girl appeared right away, but for some reason her brother was nowhere to be found.
“My dear child, I wanted to talk to both of you, but I get weaker with every passing moment. It seems that in the end I won’t be able to say my goodbyes to the two of you equally,” said the mother.
“Dear mother, do not say such scary things. My brother would’ve never ignored your call, so I am certain that he is gonna be here soon!”.
And so, the little girl convinced her to wait some more. But the wait was too exhausting for the dear mother, so she soon fell asleep. Hour passed by, then another, but the brother was still nowhere to be found.
“Ah, something certainly must have happened to him! I need to find him before my dear mother wakes up!” thought the little girl and sneaked out of the house with just a cloak and a lantern.
The sun was already gone and the moon began to reign over the sky. Although any search for clues was dreadfully difficult in a dim light of the moon, and of the even dimmer lantern, the girl managed to notice a road of pebbles that lead to the forest. “I heard once people used to throw pebbles like that so as not to get lost. As there is no one else that got missing, it might be the clue”, the girl thought.
To say that woods did not look welcoming would be an understatement, however, there were neither other clues to the brother’s whereabouts nor the time to be scared. And so the girl followed the pebbles that were leading deep into the forest. The time was flying by fast, the trees were becoming more and more dense, and the little stones were harder and harder to find.
And just when it seemed that the girl lost the trace, she heard a squeaky whining.
“Ah! It’s all useless! I’m gonna die here and it’s all because of that horrible-lying beast!” cried the voice. An old fox was tied to the tree by her tail and desperately tried to bite off the heavy rope.
Without a glimpse of hesitation the little girl rushed to help the complaining animal. Careful, to not damage the already suffered fur, she carefully untied the rope. And right before the fox was about to fall, the girl gently catched and put her on the ground.
“I am so sorry, Ms.Fox, but I do not know how to provide any more help to your tail. Besides, I have to hurry and find that pebble road that I lost”, sincerely apologized the girl.
“Oh, child, you already helped me a lot. For your kindness, allow me to help you”, said the fox and dived into the tall grass and bushes. In just a moment she came back and proclaimed, “I found the road you were looking for, but I can’t let you go! It leads to the way that that terrible beast went. He tricked me with no hesitation and he might hurt you too!”
Although the words of Ms.Fox were quite frightening, the girl couldn’t just come back. What if her brother got caught by the beast? How can she break her mother’s heart with news like that? So, determined, although pretty frightened, the girl begged the fox to show her the road. She told her of the dear sick mother, and of how much she loves her. And, if the fox will not help - the girl will search for the road on her own.
Ms. Fox tried to persuade her three more times. But the girl was quite stubborn, and the fox was too old to fight with the child.
“Is there anything I can do for you then, sweet girl? After all, just leaving you like that is absolutely terrible and ungracious!” worriedly said the fox.
The girl stopped to think just for a moment. There was only one thing that she was worried about the most, after all.
“Please run to my mother and check on her, Ms. Fox. She would be terribly worried if she wakes up in the middle of the night and won’t find me”.
Such a small request was not a problem at all, so the old fox said her best wishes to the girl and disappeared in the tall grass.
The girl followed the newly found pebble road. But just as before, despite the hardest efforts not to lose the track, she found herself lost in the wood depth again.
So she hastily searched for it. She searched even though the branches were scratching her, and the tears were starting to form in her eyes. But she only got lost even more. The night wasn’t young anymore and the fear of not coming back on time was crawling up her spine. And in the moment of her desperate attempt to save composure, the sobbing sounds filled the space. It was not her sobbing, however.
“Ah, what a poor-poor soul I am! That disgusting monster ripped my beautiful fur off, and now I am cold and skinless! Even my own children would not recognize me now!” the voice wailed.
The voice like that was hard to ignore, but the creature itself was nowhere to be seen. It was quite easy to figure out that it was hiding somewhere in the tall grass to cover the horrible injury. The girl felt very sorry for the creature, so she wiped her tears and slowly sat on the ground.
“I wish I could help you find and get your skin back, but I can’t even find the road I was so eagerly following. I can, however, offer you my cloak, miss. It’s nice and warm so you won’t be so cold”.
And just like that the girl took off her cloak and put it on the grass. Right after, the sobbing stopped. Just a few silent seconds. Then hop. The beautiful rabbit with luscious fur jumped out of the grass and started twirling around.
“Ah, this new coat is even better than the old one! Thank you, thank you, young lady!” The rabbit twirled a few more times and gracefully hopped right in front of the girl, “Dear, is there any way I can repay you for such a beautiful gift? Except for helping you find your silly road, of course. I would’ve done that anyways”.
Predictably, the girl gave the same request as she asked of the fox. And just as the Ms. Rabbit was about to propose to simply bring the girl home, the child told her about the missing brother and sudden sickness of her mother.
“Oh, what a poor thing you are! It must be so scary to worry about your mother! We will figure something out, child, there is no need for you to risk your life searching through the forest while there’s a scary beast around. Come on now, let’s take you home.”
But the girl stood still. She had to find the missing sibling. Or at least that’s what she thought. So she once again politely asked to help her find the road. Ms. Rabbit objected a few more times, but after arguing with an anxious child for a while- she softened. The pebble road was pretty easy to find, but, instead of saying so, the rabbit started convincing the girl to go back home again.
“The road leads to the same place that terrible monster went, I will not allow you to go there. Absolutely and most definitely not!”
The rabbit was even more determined to lead the girl out of the woods now. On every opposing word of the child she would hush her abruptly. The intention was undeniably pure, but the situation nevertheless distressed the girl. The tears that were so hard to control before, used the opportunity to roll down her cheeks.
“Oh, Miss Rabbit, please show me the road. I can’t go back yet, and the time is running out! I have to return home before my mother wakes up in the morning, but returning without my brother might distress her too much!”.
The rest of what the girl tried to say was impossible to understand, as the poor thing was already choking on her tears. Such a pitiful picture hurt Ms. Rabbit and, although reluctantly, she agreed to show the road under the condition that the child will be very careful.
And so, the girl and the rabbit separated. One followed the trail; and the other hopped to the girl’s mother to both complete the given promise, and to scold the poor woman for allowing her child to run away like that.
The path that the girl had to follow was surrounded by sharp dark bushes. Without her cloak there was no chance to be left unharmed by the thornes. But the cuts were not the most challenging problem the child had to face. There was nothing to protect her from the bitter cold.
“At least the freezing air means it’s still the night”, the girl comforted herself. And it was indeed a quite comforting thought, as it has been long enough since the trees around her got so dense that not even a patch of sky was visible.
“Besides, my lantern provides some heat, so it is not that cold at all", the statement was not a complete lie. The candle indeed warmed her hands. It was not that much for a whole human child though.
The road of pebbles disappeared again. No, the girl didn’t lose it this time. It just stopped. It stopped abruptly and completely shattered the bits of self comfort that the girl gathered. “Now, there is no chance to find my brother”, she thought. She still had some hope that the road might appear, but no amount of search gave any result.
It is only a way forward, or a way back. And she couldn’t just go back. Forward it is.
The time was passing by as the girl was going straight ahead. She tried to rush herself, but it was pretty obvious that the helplessness prevailed over her mind. For a moment she even thought about just falling asleep right on the ground.
“How silly, I can’t fall asleep here. That’s too cold and I might freeze to death if I do that. Besides, dear mother and Ms. Bunny will be worried sick if I just died in some dark woods…maybe even Ms. Fox would be upset too”, thought the girl in a sleepy daze.
Crack.
The girl stamped on something. Not a branch and not a bone. It was a bunch of eggshells, in fact. The girl didn’t think that such a dark and cold place could be a home for birds. And the thought of seeing those excited her a bit. She started curiously looking around in hopes to see one. Ah, if the bird wouldn’t mind, the girl could also bring it home to ease mother’s grief. There are so many stories about wonderful songs that can be heard from the forests, that there is no way they wouldn’t help with sadness at least a tiny bit! But the happy thoughts didn’t last long.
“What am I even thinking? If there were any birds here I would've heard them by now”. And right when the girl was about to proceed with her walking, a quiet voice spoke to her from below, “Do not step on us, little child”.
This whole time birds were indeed there. One bird, to be exact. And what a beautiful bird it was! Just a dim old lantern was able to reveal so many colors that the girl was left speechless for a moment.
“Oh, you are absolutely stunning, Ms. Bird. But why are you sitting all alone on the ground?”
“I’m not alone. Not yet, at least’, quietly said the bird. Her words were spoken with so much grief, that the girl went pale. Now, the memory of her joy after seeing the eggshells was making her nauseous.
The bird noticed the child’s expression, “It is not your fault, hatchling. Do not shed tears over my kids any more than I already did.”
“What happened to them?” wanted to ask the girl, but the bird had already started to answer.
“The monster came while I was away. I will spare you the details of what he did, but just know that I can not bring them back to the nest. It will kill them immediately. I can not feed them one last time, either. They are too weak to cry and can’t neither see nor hear me. All I can do is warm them up on the ground until there will be no need to.”
How those words made the girl want to wail. She thought of her own mother. How she might lose her like that, and how much she wanted to go home. She cursed the brother for disappearing in some stupid forest. She cursed herself for not catching up yet. And, oh, how much she cursed that wretched monster.
But all that had to be put aside. The bird has enough to worry about, someone else’s grief would be completely inappropriate here.
So the girl put the warm lantern near the bird and patiently waited with her.
Just as the bird said, soon there was no need for any of that, but the girl didn’t dare to take her lantern away. She quietly stood up at the same time as the bird, bowed to her and prepared to go.
“I can lead you out”, said the bird suddenly. Unfortunately, just as before, the girl refused.
“I have to repay you for your kindness, little hatchling. Tell me what it is that you are looking for then.”
Hesitantly, trying to avoid the details, the child explained her situation. The bird, however, understood everything.
“I know where the pebble road begins again. I saw it when I was heading here. I shall show it to you”, the bird paused for a second, ” I will also check up on your mother for you even though you didn’t directly ask me for it”.
Just like that, the girl was once again on the road. Only this time the path was as straightforward as it can get. She wholeheartedly thanked Ms. Bird for such valuable help. The hope to finally end this journey was burning even brighter than the rising sun on the horizon.
“Hopefully you’ll find what you are looking for”, gently said the bird, as they were about to separate. Then she flew off. Filled with anticipation, the girl continued her way. Oh, how she hoped to finally find her brother and go back home together. She already imagined how happy the dear mother would be. She could almost taste the delicious pie the mother would bake for them when she'll get better. And she could almost feel the gentle warm hug the mother would give both of them.
Unfortunately, she indeed found him at the end of that road.
The Poison
Ms. Fox was running back to the forest as fast as her old paws could afford. She had to catch up with the girl as soon as possible, but the annoying rheumatism was forcing her to slow down way too often.
Just as the old fox was about to rest for a bit, the clump of fast fur jumped out of the bushes and nearly landed on her.
“You, cranky hag, don’t stand in the way! There is no time for you, I have a promise to fulfill and the woman to scold! Ah, can you imagine? She let the small child go to the forest! A smart and kind child, I must admit, but nonetheless! Atrocious, absolutely atrocious!” The fur ball turned out to be a Ms. Rabbit that had a lot of breath to spare. The old fox wasn’t thrilled about this encounter at first, but the words about the child immediately changed her attitude.
“If you were running to the house of the little girl’s mother - run back immediately. You are much faster than I am, maybe there is still hope to catch up with her!” spitted out the fox.
“What are you talking about? I have a duty there. Understand?”.
Ms. Fox frowned and hissed at the rabbit, “I was in the house. The mother has been poisoned and I smelled the stink of the same beast that wounded me. The child is in danger, she runs right into his trap.”.
“Oh, dear”, could only say Ms. Rabbit before immediately rushing back into the woods. The fox followed, although not as fast.
Rabbit's paws were barely touching the ground, but she still felt like that wasn’t enough. The guilt of agreeing to let the child go by herself absolutely petrified her. If that nasty beast mauled such a clever lady like herself, what could he possibly do to the naive child? With such heavy thoughts, it was a miracle that she heard the sound of the bird’s wings.
“The bird can get to the girl much faster than I do”, thought the rabbit. So she tried her best to attract the bird’s attention. From yelling to tossing stones in the air, she tried it all. At some point Ms. Rabbit even attempted to climb the tree and make a big jump towards the bird. Luckily, there was no need for that. Ms. Bird started to come down right after the stone throwing stopped.
“Oh, finally! I need you to fly to the small child. It is approximately 7 rabbits tall and has a very sweet smile. It is very important to find her, you see”, the rabbit tried to explain.
“It sounds like the child that helped me. Why are you looking for her?” calmly replied the bird.
“Thank goodness now I won’t have to explain much and lose precious time!” exclaimed the rabbit and proceeded, “She might be in danger, miss. The same beast that mauled the fox and tore off my skin - has poisoned the girl’s mother. What if she’s walking right into his trap now!?? Oh, please catch up with her! For you are much faster than I am!”.
The bird didn’t need any more words, she already raised up into the sky and flew back to where she parted with the girl. After that, it was a mere second for the bird to reach the end of the pebble road.
The Trial
There she was lying, covered in mud. With a small body, just 7 rabbits tall, without her warm cloak, or an old lantern. And the face, oh, that beautiful sweet face, it was impossible to recognize. Disfigured and butchered, the poor thing was betrayed by the one she tried to save. All while the butcher was standing right there. The ugly, scheming and cruel beast seemed so uninterested and distant from what he had done.
The bird could not stand it. Is that how he killed her own kids? Is that how the poor child will leave too? Well, how could the bird allow him to be after that? So, ferociously, the claws have been pierced through his skin. The beak was ought to pluck out his eyes. And regardless of how much he would’ve tried to fight back - it is not easy to overpower something that is not scared of death. By the time he managed to attain the upper hand, Ms. Bunny was already there. She bit through his legs, tearing the tendons. And it was not all, Ms. Fox has come too. With a whole bunch of animals hungry to the bitter, cursed flesh.
The trial of animals had begun.
The wolves and the bears were keeping him down. Ms. Bunny was crying over the child, and the bird was gently wiping the clingy mud.
The old Ms. Fox stood up on the large rock and proclaimed, “My animal sisters, we shall judge his soul, flesh and bones. As soon as the witnesses tell their parts, there will be no doubts left in your minds. Before you is neither a human, an animal, or, gods forbid, anything else worthy of empathy”.
The fox stopped for a moment and threw a quick glance on the crowd. Then proceeded, “The monster in question severed my tail. My pride and my beauty were stolen away. To make things worse, if not for the child, I would’ve been dead. And let me assure you, there was no accident in what was done. He lied and he tricked me, and it was all just for my pain.”
The animals started to growl, but not raging yet. Tricking a fox might be good for a change, she is a trickster herself, and not at all saint. But then Ms. Rabbit raised her soft, furry head, “The ugly beast before you has skinned me alive. If not for the poor little child, I would've probably died. If not from the pain, then, for sure, from the shame. I think we should do to him what he has done to me and the fox. Then gifting his skin to the sweet little girl”.
The animals started to growl again. Just like the fox, the rabbit was hurt with no remorse. We certainly have to return to him all that he’s done. But before the sentence was decided, the bird spoke up too, “He severed my children, and now they are all dead. If not for the girl, the cold and the evil would be the last things that they had”.
“Oh, dear!”, the rabbit exclaimed, “Not just the girl, but your children as well?”. Ms. Rabbit was too shocked and upset to proceed.
Now the animals were sure to aim for the kill. The trickster, the monster, the killer and a terrible threat must be gone.
“Do not kill him yet”, the fox started again, “the list of his sins is too long for us to just finish him here”. Once again the old fox had to pause, “Ms. Rabbit, please, be so kind as to tell us about the kid in your hands.”
And indeed Ms. Rabbit had spoken with all of her heart, “The child had shown nothing but grace, kindness and bravery of her heart. She started her journey to save her brother and ease the burden of her sick mother. But it all came in vain, when this filth of a beast ruined her life right before our eyes”.
Ms. Rabbit quietly sobbed, “Such a beautiful smile has been taken away”.
“Her smart and sweet eyes won’t be so bright anymore”, the fox added sorrowly .
“But the biggest loss here is her trusting, kind heart. The scars might stop hurting, but after such treachery she won’t be the same anymore”, the bird lastly proclaimed.
The animals felt sorry for the poor little child. It was too unfair. Too cruel. Too unjustified.
But the rightful rage of the crowd was disrupted once more. Mr. Rat came upfront, “Well, how is it fair that we only listen to them? What about the other side of it all? He could have a reason, or not be guilty at all!”.
None of the animals were having it though. Mr. Rat was devoured right there on the spot. How stupid it is, seeing proof here and now, yet denying it all for pretenses and pride. Did he feel nice objecting to the child's pain? Did he feel smart or better than us? Well, nonetheless, the rat is now gone. And those who were left, had their hearts in the place.
“We will eat him alive after plucking his eyes”, the bears had proposed.
“Shouldn’t we also skin him alive?” wolves had replied.
“He killed the bird’s children! We should be more cruel!”the squirrels had yelled.
But the fox raised up her voice once again to silence the crowd.
“Dear animal sisters, his sins are too many. You still have not heard it all .”
The crowd gasped as one.
“Even more? Can it be any worse?” the hedgehogs exclaimed.
“The filthy beast in question has poisoned his own mother, it seems. And far more, we tend to believe that the girl was lured in the forest by him. It is what a pebble road has been made for, in fact”.
Oh how loud the crowd has become after hearing such a thing. Before they were angry but now they were beasts. Killing own mother? Then hunting her child?
Just the death here would not suffice. There is only one punishment for such terrible sins. Cast by many, executed by all, the curse for his flesh. The one that will hurt.
So the final decision was set. The monster was cursed. His limbs are now munchy and weak. He can’t hurt anyone. His teeth are all gone. He can’t bite anyone. He has no face now, there is just skin that is soaked in his own blood and fuss. It looks like a hood if you stand far enough. Eternally hungry, but can only eat filth. And no matter who sees him no matter how kind, they will crave to spill his blood. There is no place for tricks nor for a good life. The one born to hurt shall be reborn to be hurt.
And just like that the filthy creature was left astray. Alone, with no hope, with no life straight ahead. And not even the mother, that he poisoned himself, would try to care. Now any woman that sees him will cast a stone, now any man who might hear him will ignore and despise.
So, remember, sweet child that might hear this tale, if you think it’s a monster - it just might be one indeed. But regardless of how scary it seems - it is harmless now. Be better beware of those, who haven’t been caught.
…
But what shall be with the girl you might ask. Her dreams have been shattered, her body’s now scarred. Dear mother won’t hug her nor soothe her pain. It is too brutal, too much and simply unfair. Justice alone won’t undo the end. And you will be right here, it is way too much. So listen to what has been done..
Together, the bird, the fox and the rabbit came up with the plan, “The child shall be sleeping until the scarring is gone. She won’t age, won’t feel pain, and will only see beautiful dreams. The ancient trees will shield her from weathers, and her bed shall be made out of the softest bird feathers. If we’re good at curses we might be good with at least one sweet spell.”
There is no telling when she wakes up. It might be soon or might be late enough. There is no rush. Ms. Rabbit, Ms. Fox and Ms. Bird will fall asleep too. They will wait for her there.
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- CREATIVE WORKS: FICTION & PROSE University of Alaska Anchorage Department of English