Ennis,” Elsa said. “That must be why he was able to cross over.”
“Yes, that must be it,” Lili said, trying to convince herself, even though she still drowned in her fear of the black wolf. Tears welled up in Lili's eyes, and Elsa could see she was about to lose control of her emotions again.
“Mommy?”
Little Ennis stood in the doorway again, his innocent smile radiating compassion for his mother's fear. He walked over to her, his minuscule bare feet pattering on the wooden floor. He placed his tiny hand on Lili's cheek, pressing down to make small impression. She looked up at him, her chest still heaving from her sorrow, and smiled at her son's attempt to make her feel better. Then she hugged him. Elsa watched from the other side of the room, her heart warm for the scene presented before her, however tinged by a dark and ominous anticipation of some unforeseen tragedy waiting for all of them in the not too distant future.
CHAPTER 6
The clerics sent out word for an emergency announcement at 7 o'clock in the evening. The crowd of townspeople filed one by one into the church, as the teenage girls searched the pulpit area for Father O'Grady, who was nowhere to be seen. The middle aged couples anticipated the subject of the announcement would involve the mysterious blond man from the Forest, whom the town decided would watch over in him in his damaged state. While several members of the community had fallen into the clutches of the forest, and fewer than that had even made it back to the safety of their tiny civilization, never before had any magical stranger emerged from the weeds and wild tree limbs of the Forest.
The congregation waited longer than was comfortable for the majority of its participants, their compassion tethered not far by the weight of their hungry stomachs and falling energy levels. The crowd began to murmur after several hours, nearing the verge of leaving the town hall, knowing such a scarcely decorous action spoke volumes in the eyes of the other members of the community. But then a door near the podium shuddered, and three men walked through, the third being Father O'Grady himself. O'Grady reached the pulpit and the members nearest him on the first few rows of pews could see the shakiness of his hands and the sweat forming on his brow. They wondered if he was upset or excited. He unwrapped a piece of paper, crumbled from his pocket, and began reading a prepared statement.
“This afternoon, as we all prepared our Sunday meals, the chief medical leader of our village informed me that the man who entered our borders six days ago…” Father O'Grady stopped, taking a deep breath, preparing himself for the aftermath of the statement, as the rest of the audience listened with open ears to his every word. There was speculation amongst the crowd in the time since the announcement spread throughout the community that the man had succumbed to his injuries, expired into the afterlife, dead. Those rumors permeated the minds of the older members in the cast of something resembling hope, as the strange blond man threatened their sense of safety and structure, which they so desperately needed in the waning years of their lives. But for the younger members, particularly girls the age of Sarah and Chloe, and to some degree Elsa and Priscilla, they worried that this man, who symbolized the magic and spiritual creativity they so longed for in their community and which their minds flirted with at night, as they dreamed, might give them confirmation of all that had been missing in their lives. His death, therefore, would destroy the great excitement and hope he'd brought with him when he crossed over from the forest.
“The man has awoken,” Father O'Grady finally said, as the crowd erupted into turmoil. “Please keep your voices down, as the other clerics here have laid out a plan for his eventual assimilation into this community.” There was more turbulence with
“Yes, that must be it,” Lili said, trying to convince herself, even though she still drowned in her fear of the black wolf. Tears welled up in Lili's eyes, and Elsa could see she was about to lose control of her emotions again.
“Mommy?”
Little Ennis stood in the doorway again, his innocent smile radiating compassion for his mother's fear. He walked over to her, his minuscule bare feet pattering on the wooden floor. He placed his tiny hand on Lili's cheek, pressing down to make small impression. She looked up at him, her chest still heaving from her sorrow, and smiled at her son's attempt to make her feel better. Then she hugged him. Elsa watched from the other side of the room, her heart warm for the scene presented before her, however tinged by a dark and ominous anticipation of some unforeseen tragedy waiting for all of them in the not too distant future.
CHAPTER 6
The clerics sent out word for an emergency announcement at 7 o'clock in the evening. The crowd of townspeople filed one by one into the church, as the teenage girls searched the pulpit area for Father O'Grady, who was nowhere to be seen. The middle aged couples anticipated the subject of the announcement would involve the mysterious blond man from the Forest, whom the town decided would watch over in him in his damaged state. While several members of the community had fallen into the clutches of the forest, and fewer than that had even made it back to the safety of their tiny civilization, never before had any magical stranger emerged from the weeds and wild tree limbs of the Forest.
The congregation waited longer than was comfortable for the majority of its participants, their compassion tethered not far by the weight of their hungry stomachs and falling energy levels. The crowd began to murmur after several hours, nearing the verge of leaving the town hall, knowing such a scarcely decorous action spoke volumes in the eyes of the other members of the community. But then a door near the podium shuddered, and three men walked through, the third being Father O'Grady himself. O'Grady reached the pulpit and the members nearest him on the first few rows of pews could see the shakiness of his hands and the sweat forming on his brow. They wondered if he was upset or excited. He unwrapped a piece of paper, crumbled from his pocket, and began reading a prepared statement.
“This afternoon, as we all prepared our Sunday meals, the chief medical leader of our village informed me that the man who entered our borders six days ago…” Father O'Grady stopped, taking a deep breath, preparing himself for the aftermath of the statement, as the rest of the audience listened with open ears to his every word. There was speculation amongst the crowd in the time since the announcement spread throughout the community that the man had succumbed to his injuries, expired into the afterlife, dead. Those rumors permeated the minds of the older members in the cast of something resembling hope, as the strange blond man threatened their sense of safety and structure, which they so desperately needed in the waning years of their lives. But for the younger members, particularly girls the age of Sarah and Chloe, and to some degree Elsa and Priscilla, they worried that this man, who symbolized the magic and spiritual creativity they so longed for in their community and which their minds flirted with at night, as they dreamed, might give them confirmation of all that had been missing in their lives. His death, therefore, would destroy the great excitement and hope he'd brought with him when he crossed over from the forest.
“The man has awoken,” Father O'Grady finally said, as the crowd erupted into turmoil. “Please keep your voices down, as the other clerics here have laid out a plan for his eventual assimilation into this community.” There was more turbulence with
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