Wandering Moon - 7 page excerpt

The story of a strange girl in a strange world, who wakes in the forest with no memory of how she got there nor any idea who she is.

Slowly as though waking from the deepest of dreams she began to be aware that she was cold. As her awareness spread she realized she was lying on the ground. She must be outside because that was surely the breeze that blew so coolly against her.  Deeply, she breathed in the air of her surroundings. The grass smelt sweet and crisp and new. With effort, she opened her eyes. Looking about, she saw that she had been sleeping in the hollow of a great tree. It must be ancient; she had plenty of space around her to stretch out, which she did as the urge to rise suddenly came upon her. She began to move to a kneeling position and became aware that she was clothed.

Standing in the great hollow she looked down at herself. She was wearing a silver shift that reached to her knees. Beyond that she saw her bare legs and feet. Her toes were a bit long, though suddenly she was unable to think of a comparison. Were her toes long then, if she could think of no other toes to compare their length too? Her heart quickened as the truth dawned on her that she was alone in this grove, indeed alone in the world.  Rack her thoughts though she might, she could think of not one soul she knew, no names, no faces swam before her mind! Casting around for something recognizable, some reason that she was here in this grove, she stepped toward the opening of the tree and looked out. All around her were other trees nearly as ancient as the one she gazed out of. The grove was full of the sounds of the night, as various nocturnal creatures went about their lives. A winding brook emptied into a pond just a few trees down and to the left of her. Gingerly she stepped out onto the tangled network of roots and made her way along the clear flowing water. Once she reached the pond she knelt down at the edge and leaned over to stare into her own reflection undulating with the flow of the waters. Searching her face, she tried to recall anything about herself, what name might someone have called her? What reason might she have had for sleeping in that ancient tree? Why was she here alone?

Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, she looked over her shoulder at the wood that surrounded her so completely. It seemed a perfectly safe grove, there was no malevolent force threatening her, or any other human at all in the area who might be wishing her harm. ‘Why would they?’ she wondered aloud as she turned back to her reflection in the pond. Her voice sounded quiet and foreign to her ears. She repeated herself a little louder. ‘Why would they?’ hmmm. She thought to herself still looking at the girl she saw in the water. Her eyes reflected light back to her from the depths of the pool. They were grey, the same shade as her shift without the sheen of the silver material. Her complexion was pale, though it could be dark compared to some for all she knew. Curtains of long black hair framed her face and dipped down into the pool disrupting the natural flow of water as little ripples circled around the ends.

Her eyes went up to the shape on her forehead as her right hand echoed the movement. She felt no different texture of the skin, but quite clearly there was a difference in appearance. A silver crescent with both horns pointing up lay directly in the middle of her forehead. Though she could think of no one she knew, she was fairly certain that she would meet no one else with this shape upon them.

Taking her gaze away from the mysterious crescent she settled back and looked around the grove again. Everywhere the great trees stood, old, bent and twisted. Many with hollows like the one in which she had awaken. Above her, the branches interlocked creating a thick canopy which let only a few rays of moonlight fall through the leaves. She knew she could simply go back to that hollow and possibly live peacefully here in this grove for some time. The thought played in her mind for a few moments as she really had no where to go and no idea how to get there if she had.

No, she would have to move on. Surely she was not the only person in existence, and if she ever wanted to find out if she did indeed have a name or anyone who might be looking for her she would have to seek out other people and search for someone who might recognize her. She knelt forward again and cupping her hands she dipped them into the clear water and brought it to her lips several times as she drank deeply. Feeling thoroughly refreshed she rose to her feet and after taking a long look around at the only place she knew, she set off stepping along the knarled roots with one hand balancing herself against the trees, her fingers keeping to the soft green moss that grew along the twisted wood. In this fashion she walked and walked for what seemed to her like ages, as the great trees grew smaller and began to thin more moonlight came through the canopy to guide her on her way; which then gave way to the odd light of the dawn as the ground became more marshy, the mossy roots and hard earth of the forest giving way to patches of tall grass and sucking wet ground. Doggedly she continued through the mire though she had to stop to pull her legs from the muck time and again, finally resorting to leaping between the clumps of grass where the ground seemed more solid.

As the sun rose into the sky and illuminated the surroundings she stopped on one of these clumps of solid ground to catch her breath and get her bearings. Looking back the way she had come, she could not even make out the trees of the grove she had left behind. Trying to fight down a panic that perhaps she should have stayed put, she looked around her. In all directions a vast bog stretched. She heard the sounds of birds calling above her and strange slitherings and the clicks of insects at ground level. There were few trees here, and those that had taken root in the bog were spindly and frail looking with few leaves on their withered branches. These brittle trees were a far cry from the masters of the grove she now missed desperately.

No, I must continue on – I have to continue on. She thought to herself as she steeled her nerves for another leap to the next clump of solid ground more than three arm lengths away. Taking a deep breathe she bent her knees and leapt. For a moment she soared though the air and knew she had made it, but all too soon she realized she was wrong as she landed just short of her mark, both legs sinking into the muck. Cursing her ill luck she reached out forward and to both sides as far as she could, but all she could reach with her legs stuck in the mud up to her thighs were strands of errant grass which broke off from their roots as soon as she had grasped them. She reached down into the sinking earth to try to free one leg at a time, but all she accomplished was nearly getting her arms stuck as well.

‘Ughhh!’ She threw her arms overhead in exasperation. Try as she might to free them, her legs would not budge by their own strength. Her mind began to whirl with all manner of dark thoughts. She would be stuck here alone until she died surely she would be attacked by whatever creatures made that ominous slithering sound through the grasses. As the panic rose and her heart beat furiously against her chest, her eyes looked back and forth across the sea of watery muck and grass as though she would be attacked any minute. Her ears strained for the sound she just knew would mean her end. So far only the clicking of the insects and the shrill call of birds above, but how long would it be before something more dangerous came across her?

After what felt like an eternity of further panicked attempts to free herself she finally let her arms fall limply at her sides, exhausted. As her reasoning began to return she took several deep breathes to steady her nerves and calm her heart to a more even pace. As her body quieted its frantic clamoring she became aware of a new sound making its way toward her. A rhythmic sloshing and a swaying in the grass was making it her way. Grasping for anything she could find to protect herself, she came across a stone half stuck in the mud beside the nearest clump of grass and after prying it free she bent as low as she could in the muck and listened. The sloshing sound came closer and closer until suddenly the tall grasses parted to reveal a ragged woman, her hair in a multi colored kerchief and a bag of what appeared to be packed mud slung across her shoulder.

Clutching the rock to her chest the girl with the moon on her forehead looked up at the strange woman now facing her.

‘Ya look like ya could use some help’ the kerchiefed woman said in a voice much softer than her appearance. Setting down the bag from her shoulder the stranger knelt down to the muck and reached out a hand. ‘Its alright, I’m not going to hurt you – come on, give me your hand.’

Looking down at her predicament stuck in the bog and then back into the woman’s rough but seemingly open face she cautiously set down the rock and leaned, reaching toward the unknown.

“Mmmmmm..” She warmed her toes before the crackling fire in the hearth. Looking up toward the woman who had pulled her out of the sink-pit with surprising strength the girl with the moon on her forehead smiled with gratitude. “Thank you.” She said as the older woman took off her kerchief to reveal lustrous auburn hair touched with grey, and hung it beside her odd flat netted shoes on the wall beside the door of this strange house.

The kerchiefed woman had pulled her out of the pit and together they had made their way toward this hidden mud dwelling. She had thought it a small hill until the woman had pulled aside some brambles to reveal a door hidden in the mound of earth. Upon the door were intricately carved spirals of varied size and in place of a door knob had been a knarled root which, unless she was mistaken, had twisted on its own to open the door when the kerchiefed woman touched it. That had seemed a bit odd, but as she didn’t know anything about…anyone…or it seemed anywhere, who was she to decide if a root acted strangely or not, so she put it out of her mind.

The now unkerchiefed woman turned toward her and returned the smile.

“Now that we’re all comfy and warming, why don’t we get acquainted a bit, hmm? My name is Zeenya, and this is my home. Who might you be and just why were ya out in the marsh all alone in naught but that?” the woman pointed toward the muddy shift she still wore.

“ Um...well, I don’t really know. I..I..don’t know who I am or why I’m here. I just awoke in a grove of large trees and wandered into the bog…” She finished a bit weakly as she realized how that must sound; looking down to her now toasty toes she twisted a strand of midnight hair anxiously.

Zeenya knelt down closely. “You don’t know who ya are? What’s the last that you remember?” Looking back up, the girl with the moon on her forehead said “well that’s it. I don’t remember a yesterday...only that I awoke before dawn in the grove.” She focused her ash grey eyes on the woman’s brown ones in an attempt to convey her honest inability to recall anything else about herself.

It seemed to work as the woman straightened up and resolutely placed her hands on her hips. “Alright, you don’t know who ya are, but you’re here and you’re all covered in the muck o’ the mire, so why don’t we get ya cleaned up and fed a bit?” Zeenya reached toward a basket of what appeared to be freshly laundered clothes and pulled out a long white tunic with deep blue embroidery and a pair of matching blue leggings.

“I got some grey lace-ups around here someplace, but why don’t you give me that first and hop in the spring for a bath?”

“The spring?” the girl asked as she began to slip her muddy shift off her shoulders and work her way out of it.

“Yes, I built this here because its perfectly located next to a hot spring, tricky to find that out here in the mire-” Zeenya’s words died off abruptly as the silver fabric slipped past the girls torso to reveal three golden stars etched like birthmarks up along her side. With a sharp intake of breath, all thoughts of the spring seemed to be lost, and Zeenya made her way quickly to the girls other side only to exclaim, “I knew it!”  as she saw the same three stars repeated.

Too new to the world for modesty, the girl adorned in moons and stars twisted to look at her own body and was just as surprised as Zeenya had been to see golden stars clear as day upon her pale skin.

“I had thought the moon a tattoo perhaps, but now!” Zeenya seemed beside herself with glee and this slightly unnerved the girl. “And you say ya don’t remember a thing huh? Not before you woke ya say?” With Zeenya’s face uncomfortably close the girl backed up a pace and holding both arms before her she spoke as calmly as she could, even so she found her voice wavering under all the confusion. “Please, I thank you for helping me, but you’re scaring me a bit.” She continued “Do you recognize me by these markings? Does anyone else have them that you know?”

Perhaps realizing that she had reacted too strongly for this strange lost girl Zeenya reined in her enthusiasm. “Sorry, sweetling, to frighten ya so.” Zeenya sat down on a stool across from the hearth where the girl still stood, her shift upon the floor. “Why don’t ya go ahead and have a nice soak in the spring and put on these dry clothes and then we’ll have a chat over some hot food and safflower tea. Don’t worry, I mean ya no harm.” She gestured across the circular room to another door etched in spirals, this one without a root doorknob. “The spring is just beyond that door. You’ll find soft towels beside the pool in a chest.”

The girl with the moon on her forehead relaxed a bit, though still uneasy and confused she decided to trust this odd woman and leave her questions to wait for a while. She smiled weakly and agreed that a good soak and warm food would do her well. Taking the tunic and leggings from Zeenya she made her way toward the door. “Um...just how do I..?” She asked puzzled as how to open the knobless door. “Oh, sorry dear, just whisper something nice to it and it’ll open right up for ya.” Zeenya answered as she positioned a large cast iron cauldron upon the hooks in the hearth and bent to reveal a hole in the floor from which she pulled some white root vegetables and a basket of mushrooms.

The girl with the moon on her forehead turned back toward the spirally knobless door and deciding to speak to the largest spiral, leaned in close to it and resting her hand on the dark wood she whispered “You’re a very lovely door; you must have been the most magnificent tree.” Beneath her hand she felt the wood warm slightly and as a tingling sensation spread across to her fingers she had the distinct feeling that the door was smiling. It creaked open happily, and smiling back she thanked it.

She had entered a second smaller round room; this one was darker, only lit by candles in bluish orbs dangling from roots working their way along the curved ceiling. In the center of the room was indeed a bubbling hot spring. The room was saturated with comforting warm steam issuing up from the clear pool. Kneeling beside the bubbling waters she looked into the spring. The entire bottom of the pool had been filled with rounded blue stones.

Upon each was a spiral just like those on the door. Deciding it was safe, she sat the clothes Zeenya had given her on the packed earth floor and slid into the heavenly warmth of the spring.