It felt so good to lie on the grass on a warm early summer day, lazily gazing up at the towering oak canopies swaying ever so slightly above me. If I stared long enough, it started to feel like the trees weren’t moving at all—instead, it was the ground beneath me that rocked gently. Like the invisible waves of a hidden sea, nudging a small boat back and forth...
The day was simply gorgeous. The clouds didn’t hang low over the earth but drifted high above as a delicate silver haze, glowing from within as if lit by some inner light. It lent everything around me a vivid clarity—the fresh green of the grass, the tender young leaves not yet faded by rain, the scattering of red wild strawberries across the clearing surrounded by fragile rosehip bushes, and beyond that, the white clusters of elderflowers with their dizzying, heavy scent. Truth be told, that’s why I’d come here—Grandma had sent me to gather elderflower and rosehip blooms for medicinal tea to treat colds in winter, and as a sweet bonus, those delicious strawberries. Picking them was a bit tedious, but Grandma’s jam was worth every bit of effort. I still had work to do since my basket was only half full, but lying under the woven canopy of green leaves felt so peaceful, so soothing to my soul. The nearby stream babbled calmly in the ravine, and my eyes began to close on their own. Hazy images and shapes swirled in my mind, as if forest fairies had cast a spell of sleep over me, now fluttering playfully around...
Suddenly, I jolted awake, my eyes snapping open. Something wet and rough brushed against my hand, once, then again.
“Coal, go away!” I said.
The shaggy black dog, who looked more like a bear, licked my palm again, then grabbed my sleeve with his teeth and tugged—once, twice...
“You’re gonna rip my shirt, you dummy!” I snapped. “Get off! Go chase mice or squirrels!”
Coal let go of my sleeve but gave me a reproachful look from under his bushy brows and let out a low growl.
I sat up, a strange drowsiness wrapping around me. It felt like all of this was happening to someone else, like I was still dozing on the green grass. Maybe it was the spring nearby—on its banks grew fuzzy sleep-grass, known for its sedative effect...
“What’s your deal?” I asked the dog.
He sprang to his feet and growled again. He darted a few steps away, sat near the path, and glanced back at me, sniffing at something in the air. This wasn’t like he’d caught the scent of game. He seemed confused, even scared.
We’d grown up together, roaming this forest far and wide, understanding each other on that instinctive level that forms between beings who spend so much time side by side. I knew this wasn’t a joke or a game—Coal was genuinely alarmed by something. But what—or who—had he sensed? A dangerous person? A large beast? A ghost? I didn’t believe in the last one, though the villagers often spoke of a young woman in white who wandered among the trees, searching for something. But those sightings happened in the evenings, on gloomy days when fog crept up from the marshes. Even the most superstitious person wouldn’t imagine a ghost appearing in the middle of a bright summer afternoon. Still, something was off. The air above the path seemed to shimmer faintly, shifting and changing color... Coal let out a hoarse bark and looked back at me.
Mimicking him, I glanced around and took a deep breath. Yes, it was the smell of smoke, growing stronger, overpowering the fragrance of forest flowers, the freshness of spring water, the resin, and the greenery of the trees. Forest fires were rare here—constant rains usually prevented them—but the past few days had been unusually dry, so anything was possible. Maybe loggers or hunters had left a campfire burning, with dry brush or last year’s deadwood nearby, and then a wind kicked up... I needed to figure out where the smoke was coming from and run the opposite way, but I couldn’t see much through the dense wall of mighty oaks blocking my view. So, I decided to trust Coal and hurried after him. He raced down the path, and I realized he was leading me home. We passed a fresh clearing, crossed a larger stream on a narrow footbridge, and plunged into a thicket of bright green alder... But the smell of smoke, as far as I could tell, only grew stronger. Could it be that something near our cabin was burning? I had to warn Grandma!
Coal burst into a meadow overgrown with yarrow and clover, barking angrily and hoarsely once more.
I stopped dead beside him, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of my chest. There was no doubt now—our cabin was on fire. Not just burning, but blazing like a torch. I’d never seen anything like it... Flames shot up higher than the crowns of the old linden trees on our property, and the heat-driven wind swayed the trees as if they were wringing their hands in silent despair.
Where was Grandma? Had she run to the village for help?
I glanced around nervously, searching for a container to fetch water from the stream and douse the fire, but all I had was my basket of herbs and strawberries. Even if I’d had a bucket or a waterskin, it wouldn’t have made a difference. By the time I reached the burning cabin, there was a loud crack, and the roof collapsed, sending a shower of bright sparks into the sky.
Again, it felt like I was dreaming, caught in some bizarre nightmare. Or maybe I was still asleep in the forest, drugged by a poisonous berry or bad water? I dug my nails into my palm hard and felt the pain. So this was real—Grandma always said you don’t feel anything in dreams. But where was she?
I wandered around the smoldering remains of our home in a daze, looking everywhere. It was as if a hurricane had torn through the yard—shards of broken pots littered the ground, feathers from pillows clung to the trees, and in the small shed where Grandma kept her medicinal herbs, the door hung on a single hinge. The shelves, lined with jars and bottles just this morning, and the beams where bundles of fragrant herbs always hung, were completely empty. Had we been robbed and our home set on fire? Maybe Grandma had stepped out and would be back soon, and we’d figure out what to do together—I clung to that thought.
Suddenly, I heard the crack of branches and rough voices. Two men were talking and laughing loudly. That laughter put me on edge. At first, I was ready to run toward them and beg for help, but it felt so wrong to hear laughter near a fresh fire. Were they drunk or out of their minds? Either way, my survival instinct told me to stay quiet, and I crouched in a corner of the shed where I couldn’t be seen from outside. But I also couldn’t see the men who’d emerged from the forest. I recognized one by his voice—he had an unpleasant nasal drawl, like he was speaking through his nose. It was Han, a drunk and a thief who always loitered around the village looking for something to steal, occasionally hiring himself out to one wealthy farmer or another. But no one put up with his laziness and insolence for long.
“...so he says to me,” Han was telling his companion, “‘What, you idiots, didn’t know the old woman wasn’t alone? There’s a girl with her, maybe kin, maybe just some stray... And the old hag taught that girl her tricks too. So you took care of the crone, but now the girl’s gonna get mad and bring an even worse curse down on you. That was just locusts on the fields, but now a black plague will strike the people!’”
The other man, whose voice I didn’t recognize, grumbled skeptically, “Maybe he’s just spinning tales so he doesn’t have to pay what he promised. Sent you on a wild goose chase while he hightails it outta here. You’ll come back, and he’ll be long gone!”
“You think I’m a complete moron?” Han laughed again. His laugh was grating, like the screech of unoiled door hinges. “I told him straight—cash up front, mister, then we’ll go after the girl.”
“And what’d he say?”
“Just like this—he made some weird gesture with his fingers, snap!—and a flame lit up right on his hand. I swear, I’m not lying! My hair stood on end. I’m thinking, Dark Forces brought a sorcerer instead of a witch! Not much of an improvement! But he just smiles real sweet and says, ‘Take it, take it.’ I blink, and the fire’s gone, but there’s a gold coin in his hand. He says, ‘Bring me that thing I told you about, and you’ll get another one...’”
“What thing?”
“Who knows? Some valuable item the girl’s got, stole it or something...”
“So they sent you on a fool’s errand—go somewhere, don’t know where, bring something, don’t know what!”
“But that gold coin,” Han sighed deeply. They were standing so close, right behind the shed wall. I huddled in the corner, wishing more than anything to become invisible. I was confused, terrified, and understood nothing—except that they were looking for me, to take something from me.
“So what’re you gonna do? Where you gonna look for the girl?” the unfamiliar voice asked.
“I’ll set up an ambush and wait. Look, she’ll show up eventually. Where’s she gonna go? Unless the old witch gave her some kinda sign—but I didn’t see anything like that. She didn’t have time for her hocus-pocus,” Han said, letting out that creepy, creaky laugh again.
“Well, you sit there then. I’m outta here,” Han’s companion said. “Look, clouds are gathering in the west. Probably a storm coming. You won’t get soaked, will ya?”
“I’ll wait it out right here in this woodshed. Maybe there’s still a flask of the witch’s brew lying around.” Hearing that, I froze. A shadow fell across the shed’s threshold. He was standing there—overgrown with a black beard, dressed in tattered rags, holding a heavy club in his hands.
“Oh,” Han said in a deceptively gentle tone, as much as his rough, drunken voice could manage. “Speak of the devil, and she appears! Come on over here, little one, let’s have a nice chat! Just leave your witchy tricks behind—I’ve got an amulet that protects against all spells.” He patted the bag slung over his shoulder.
I stared past him at the doorway, where I could see lazy smoke curling over what had been my home just hours ago. In the distance, dark, threatening clouds were indeed gathering, and thunder rumbled beyond the forest.
Just this morning, it had been such a beautiful day, with no hint of trouble. I’d always thought that before something bad happened, we’d get a premonition, some sign from fate warning of danger. And now, here was danger, standing right in front of me, and I was completely unprepared.
“Where’s my grandma?” I asked, surprising myself with a defiant tone.
“Where she was, she ain’t no more,” Han chuckled. He stepped so close that I could see his flat, dirty face right in front of me, smell the foul stench of sweat and booze. He reached out and grabbed the chain around my neck.
“Lemme see what you’ve got there! Bet this is it!”
In that moment, it was as if a black bolt of lightning streaked through the air. Something huge and terrifying lunged at Han from behind, knocking him off his feet. I stumbled and fell too, losing my balance, but I scrambled up instantly and bolted for the door. Behind me, the drunkard screamed as if he were being torn apart alive.
“Nechas, help! The devil’s got me! I’m done for!”
If Nechas hadn’t gone too far to hear those desperate cries, he had enough sense not to come back. At least, I didn’t run into anyone as I sprinted across the meadow, through the alder thicket, over the footbridge, only coming to my senses when I saw the spring where I’d rested just a few hours earlier. The grass, still flattened from my body, hadn’t even had time to spring back up, yet my life had shattered into pieces so brutally.
Coal emerged from the bushes silently, like a ghost. He was carrying something in his jaws, came over, rubbed against my leg, and looked into my eyes. I took what he held—it was the same patched-up bag Han had carried over his shoulder. Inside was something bundled and unappealing, maybe an old dirty cloak or a horse blanket, a fairly sharp knife, a flint, half a loaf of bread, a piece of dried meat, and a bottle of murky liquid that turned out to be moonshine (I quickly corked it, debating whether to toss it into the bushes, but some gut feeling told me to keep it). Lastly, I pulled out a strange object whose purpose I could only guess at. It was a round blue-black stone, about the size of a pigeon egg, with what looked like a tiny figure sealed inside, like an insect trapped in amber. I didn’t like the odd thing, but I figured Han must have stolen it from someone. Maybe I could sell it for a bit of money. So, I tossed it back into the bag.
Only now did the initial shock wear off, and I started trembling uncontrollably. I looked at the sky, streaked with lightning from all directions, at the forest that had suddenly turned dark and unwelcoming, and tears streamed down my face like a river.
Faithful Coal came over and sat beside me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his warm fur.