apron.
“It’s an easy mistake to make,” I offer, pocketing the mushroom to prevent further harm, “especially when you’re hungry.”
She rests a frail hand upon Anna’s arm. “These eyes of mine fail me all too often. I am desperate for us. If you had a husband to provide for you, I wouldn’t worry,” she says to Anna, which brings a weary sadness to the younger woman’s eyes. “I only wanted to believe in the magick for a little while.”
“Magick? Mama, you don’t make sense.”
“The girl told me the mushroom came from the forest,” then the woman lowers her voice, “near the cottage.”
“Did you say ‘cottage?’” I interrupt, and the look on their faces is more than fear.
“Who are you?” the woman asks me. She rises to her feet, but I can’t tell if she’s about to attack me again or not.
“Forgive me, my name is Laurentz. I’m traveling through your village, and I heard cries coming from your home. I never meant to intrude.”
The old woman nods a subtle gesture of forgiveness. This surprises and relieves me, and I stop looking over my shoulder in expectation that I’ll be removed from her house.
“But what of this cottage?” I continue. “Is it the small cottage just outside the village?”
The look in Anna’s eyes is soon guarded, revealing to me that I shouldn’t know of what goes on in the woods just outside their home. I’m a traveler, after all, and certainly not a familiar face.
I watch the older woman’s expression change. “The very one. It’s the only cottage in the forest. No one else would live there but Matilde, and that girl.”
“Girl?” My interest is piqued, and suddenly, the back of my neck tingles with excitement. Perhaps there was a reason I was drawn to step inside this decrepit building. The smell surrounding me is unbearable. It is thick and heavy, but I can’t seem to excuse myself to be on my way, not with the mention of the cottage and the possibility that the girl they speak of is the very one I’d met today.
The older woman eyes me curiously, and then seems pleased to tell me what I apparently don’t know.
“The cottage has been there for years. If you’re brave enough, you’ll go there,” she adds cryptically.
“And what might I go there for?” I ask. The bishop’s words nag at the back of my mind, but it is the woman’s reason I want to hear now.
“To know things, of course,” she tells me. “To know whom you will love, or if you’ll become rich.”
At this I can see she eyes my clothing, and I realize I am more than an outsider to this village. She is wondering who I am, where I’ve come from, why I ask what I do, and why I do not know these things already. I can’t help thinking how Eltz is so different from this place. The people here are dirty and starving, protected by a wall of green that is so deceiving. Then there is the seemingly lonesome cottage that sits away from it all, protected by stories to keep everyone away. Only a few who are eager to know the future cross the hedge for the chance to believe in something unreal. The girl who crossed the hedge today was surreal. Is Rune part of the illusion? I certainly felt under a spell the moment I looked into her face.
“Who exactly is Matilde?” I ask.
Anna clears her throat. “She’s the crone who lives there.”
“In my day,” the older woman interrupts, “they called someone like her a Hedge Witch.”
“Hedge Witch?”
“Mmm,” she nods, reaching for an unlit pipe she stuffs into her near-toothless mouth. “She lives beyond the border to the village, some say beyond the border to the Other World.”
“Mama!” Anna whispers harshly.
The older woman turns to her, “It’s all right. No one else can hear us.”
“But can we trust him?” Anna asks, her voice low and strained, and as soon as she does, she appears nervous.
“He just saved your life! Of course we can!” She turns back to me, “I was the fool who traded the handkerchief
“It’s an easy mistake to make,” I offer, pocketing the mushroom to prevent further harm, “especially when you’re hungry.”
She rests a frail hand upon Anna’s arm. “These eyes of mine fail me all too often. I am desperate for us. If you had a husband to provide for you, I wouldn’t worry,” she says to Anna, which brings a weary sadness to the younger woman’s eyes. “I only wanted to believe in the magick for a little while.”
“Magick? Mama, you don’t make sense.”
“The girl told me the mushroom came from the forest,” then the woman lowers her voice, “near the cottage.”
“Did you say ‘cottage?’” I interrupt, and the look on their faces is more than fear.
“Who are you?” the woman asks me. She rises to her feet, but I can’t tell if she’s about to attack me again or not.
“Forgive me, my name is Laurentz. I’m traveling through your village, and I heard cries coming from your home. I never meant to intrude.”
The old woman nods a subtle gesture of forgiveness. This surprises and relieves me, and I stop looking over my shoulder in expectation that I’ll be removed from her house.
“But what of this cottage?” I continue. “Is it the small cottage just outside the village?”
The look in Anna’s eyes is soon guarded, revealing to me that I shouldn’t know of what goes on in the woods just outside their home. I’m a traveler, after all, and certainly not a familiar face.
I watch the older woman’s expression change. “The very one. It’s the only cottage in the forest. No one else would live there but Matilde, and that girl.”
“Girl?” My interest is piqued, and suddenly, the back of my neck tingles with excitement. Perhaps there was a reason I was drawn to step inside this decrepit building. The smell surrounding me is unbearable. It is thick and heavy, but I can’t seem to excuse myself to be on my way, not with the mention of the cottage and the possibility that the girl they speak of is the very one I’d met today.
The older woman eyes me curiously, and then seems pleased to tell me what I apparently don’t know.
“The cottage has been there for years. If you’re brave enough, you’ll go there,” she adds cryptically.
“And what might I go there for?” I ask. The bishop’s words nag at the back of my mind, but it is the woman’s reason I want to hear now.
“To know things, of course,” she tells me. “To know whom you will love, or if you’ll become rich.”
At this I can see she eyes my clothing, and I realize I am more than an outsider to this village. She is wondering who I am, where I’ve come from, why I ask what I do, and why I do not know these things already. I can’t help thinking how Eltz is so different from this place. The people here are dirty and starving, protected by a wall of green that is so deceiving. Then there is the seemingly lonesome cottage that sits away from it all, protected by stories to keep everyone away. Only a few who are eager to know the future cross the hedge for the chance to believe in something unreal. The girl who crossed the hedge today was surreal. Is Rune part of the illusion? I certainly felt under a spell the moment I looked into her face.
“Who exactly is Matilde?” I ask.
Anna clears her throat. “She’s the crone who lives there.”
“In my day,” the older woman interrupts, “they called someone like her a Hedge Witch.”
“Hedge Witch?”
“Mmm,” she nods, reaching for an unlit pipe she stuffs into her near-toothless mouth. “She lives beyond the border to the village, some say beyond the border to the Other World.”
“Mama!” Anna whispers harshly.
The older woman turns to her, “It’s all right. No one else can hear us.”
“But can we trust him?” Anna asks, her voice low and strained, and as soon as she does, she appears nervous.
“He just saved your life! Of course we can!” She turns back to me, “I was the fool who traded the handkerchief
Similar Books
