The Faire Folk
Don't Eat Their Food
It was as if night fell in the blink of an eye, suddenly the only light was the dim illumination of the moon above the tall trees and Jenny was getting frightened.
“It's already dark!” She called ahead “You promised I'd be home by now!”
The man in front of her was getting farther and farther, beginning to fade into the night. He did not reply, just kept walking. Jenny started to spot little things in the dense brush.
There was a wallet laying discarded in the tall grass, a small stuffed bunny looking as though it had been there for years. A baby's blue blanket, faded with age.
But Jenny didn't pay much mind to these things, because the world around her was becoming quite enchanting. The trees, though becoming closer together and more startling, were gnarled and old looking. The grass was taking on a beautiful dark green hue and it seemed almost as if the wind were carrying music, beautiful flute music that was faint but almost hypnotic.
There were fireflies out, dancing among the tall blades of grass. It's strange, she thought, that they're out and about this late in the year
“You know...” She called out towards the stranger, hoping to strike up a pleasant conversation. “When I was really little, mom says I thought fireflies were fairies! Imagine.” She laughed “But you never know!” There was a laugh up ahead of her and the honey-sweet voice hesitated only a second before replying. “Children and their imaginations.” Jenny didn't think to be offended, she thought of herself as very grown up and very worldly. Why, this certainly wasn't the first time she'd wandered off and gotten herself in a predicament...But she always found her way home, even if someone had to help-
Something occurred to her, something that made her stop dead in her tracks and made her little tend year old heart nearly stop beating. How did he know where she lived?
“I think I need to go, I'll find my own way-” She spit the words out hastily, but not in time. The man had vanished.
“What have I gotten myself into...” She mumbled to herself miserably, looking around the moonlit wilderness. The man was gone, which would normally be a good thing. But Jenny had no idea where to go from there.
“Hello?” She called out into the darkness, answered only by the hint of flute music. The music was beautiful, or at least she thought it was. It was so faint, it was possible that her mind was just playing tricks.
Still, if perhaps the music was real then it would have to have a player! That meant people, who could direct her out of this terribly enchanting forest. She walked tentatively towards the music, feeling her eardrums tingle happily. The melody was quite lovely, she thought.
It was soft but loud, slow but fast. Sad yet elating. With all her heart, she wanted to dance.
But Jenny kept her mind occupied, horribly occupied with how tired she suddenly was and how even though it was like something out of a fairytale, the forest was awfully dark. It was strange how she was so frightened that she neglected to notice the most frightening thing of all:
Bones. Lots of bones. Big bones, small bones, jaws and ribs and spines. All shoved carelessly into the underbrush. But her young mind was focused on one thing, finding the mysterious source of the music.
But one thing did get her attention. And perhaps if it hadn't gotten her attention she would have made it out. But standing in the distance, plucking up wildflowers in the moonlight, was a girl. The girl was young, perhaps three or four. Her hair was fiery red and stuck out wildly, framing her small chubby face.
The girl stopped when she spotted Jenny, who looked horribly concerned at such a small child being alone in such a large forest.
“Hewoo!” The child called, waving her small hands happily and giggling. “What's your name?”
Jenny didn't know what to make of this, but told the girl her name. However, every time she tried to approach the girl, she would just dance away before she could get close enough to scoop her up and find an adult. “Are Wu Hugry, Jenny?” Jenny hadn't thought about it until she had to decipher the girl's attempt at the English language. “I suppose a little, but right now I really have to find a way out of here-” The child dug something out of the pocket of her green dress and tossed it far in the air, farther than Jenny thought a child of her age was capable of. She caught it though, stumbling a bit so it would never hit the ground.
It was, strangely enough, a chocolate chip cookie. Even in the dark night, it felt warm and gooey and fresh. The smell of chocolate was overcoming, sweet but not sickly sweet.
“Go on then, eat it. You must be just be so hungry you could just die” Jenny did not notice how quickly the girl's English had improved, she was too busy stuffing the small treat into her mouth.
The girl smiled, “Now come on, we have a party to attend and Gabriel says you're the guest of honor”
“It's already dark!” She called ahead “You promised I'd be home by now!”
The man in front of her was getting farther and farther, beginning to fade into the night. He did not reply, just kept walking. Jenny started to spot little things in the dense brush.
There was a wallet laying discarded in the tall grass, a small stuffed bunny looking as though it had been there for years. A baby's blue blanket, faded with age.
But Jenny didn't pay much mind to these things, because the world around her was becoming quite enchanting. The trees, though becoming closer together and more startling, were gnarled and old looking. The grass was taking on a beautiful dark green hue and it seemed almost as if the wind were carrying music, beautiful flute music that was faint but almost hypnotic.
There were fireflies out, dancing among the tall blades of grass. It's strange, she thought, that they're out and about this late in the year
“You know...” She called out towards the stranger, hoping to strike up a pleasant conversation. “When I was really little, mom says I thought fireflies were fairies! Imagine.” She laughed “But you never know!” There was a laugh up ahead of her and the honey-sweet voice hesitated only a second before replying. “Children and their imaginations.” Jenny didn't think to be offended, she thought of herself as very grown up and very worldly. Why, this certainly wasn't the first time she'd wandered off and gotten herself in a predicament...But she always found her way home, even if someone had to help-
Something occurred to her, something that made her stop dead in her tracks and made her little tend year old heart nearly stop beating. How did he know where she lived?
“I think I need to go, I'll find my own way-” She spit the words out hastily, but not in time. The man had vanished.
“What have I gotten myself into...” She mumbled to herself miserably, looking around the moonlit wilderness. The man was gone, which would normally be a good thing. But Jenny had no idea where to go from there.
“Hello?” She called out into the darkness, answered only by the hint of flute music. The music was beautiful, or at least she thought it was. It was so faint, it was possible that her mind was just playing tricks.
Still, if perhaps the music was real then it would have to have a player! That meant people, who could direct her out of this terribly enchanting forest. She walked tentatively towards the music, feeling her eardrums tingle happily. The melody was quite lovely, she thought.
It was soft but loud, slow but fast. Sad yet elating. With all her heart, she wanted to dance.
But Jenny kept her mind occupied, horribly occupied with how tired she suddenly was and how even though it was like something out of a fairytale, the forest was awfully dark. It was strange how she was so frightened that she neglected to notice the most frightening thing of all:
Bones. Lots of bones. Big bones, small bones, jaws and ribs and spines. All shoved carelessly into the underbrush. But her young mind was focused on one thing, finding the mysterious source of the music.
But one thing did get her attention. And perhaps if it hadn't gotten her attention she would have made it out. But standing in the distance, plucking up wildflowers in the moonlight, was a girl. The girl was young, perhaps three or four. Her hair was fiery red and stuck out wildly, framing her small chubby face.
The girl stopped when she spotted Jenny, who looked horribly concerned at such a small child being alone in such a large forest.
“Hewoo!” The child called, waving her small hands happily and giggling. “What's your name?”
Jenny didn't know what to make of this, but told the girl her name. However, every time she tried to approach the girl, she would just dance away before she could get close enough to scoop her up and find an adult. “Are Wu Hugry, Jenny?” Jenny hadn't thought about it until she had to decipher the girl's attempt at the English language. “I suppose a little, but right now I really have to find a way out of here-” The child dug something out of the pocket of her green dress and tossed it far in the air, farther than Jenny thought a child of her age was capable of. She caught it though, stumbling a bit so it would never hit the ground.
It was, strangely enough, a chocolate chip cookie. Even in the dark night, it felt warm and gooey and fresh. The smell of chocolate was overcoming, sweet but not sickly sweet.
“Go on then, eat it. You must be just be so hungry you could just die” Jenny did not notice how quickly the girl's English had improved, she was too busy stuffing the small treat into her mouth.
The girl smiled, “Now come on, we have a party to attend and Gabriel says you're the guest of honor”