A Ring

While walking through the woods, Thomas and Anna stumble across a mysterious circle.

The delicate sounds of wind-chiming laughter and melodic lutes awakened his sleeping senses. The soft voices were distant and foreign to his ears, yet he couldn’t help but feel enchanted by their alluring sounds.

Thomas…

He felt the cool rush of colorful winds against his exhausted face. The trees swayed their branches harmoniously to the chilly breeze, adding a tranquil tune to the musical air. The forest felt alive.

Thomas…

Crisp autumn leaves brushed gently across his features, leaving small specks of earth on his chapped lips. He quickly swiped them away, and with great reluctance, he opened his tired eyes.

Staring down at him was his younger sister, Anna. Her hazel orbs appeared to be mixed with both fear and impatience.

“What Anna?” Thomas asked in an annoyed tone. He took a swift glance at the sky and noticed it was still dark out. He didn’t understand why she thought it was necessary to wake him up.

“Thomas I’m scared,” she whispered as she nudged closer to her brother. “There’s a full moon out…”

He sighed audibly, rising up to a sitting position. He took his sister’s hand in his and said, “I promise there won’t be any boogie men or vampires or werewolves out tonight, okay? I’m going to protect you. I promise. Just try to get some sleep.”

“But Tom, I just want to go home…I don’t like it here…I have bad feelings,” she spoke quietly. She hastily peered over her shoulder, making sure that the woods didn’t hear any of her words.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Anna, we don’t have a home. Don’t you understand? We’re searching for one. A better one.”

He grinned at his sister as the images of freedom and endless playtime played across his mind. He envisioned a large two story house painted pure white with a matching picket fence. A playful puppy bounded across the endless yard, right into Anna and Thomas. They screamed with laughter and happiness as their newfound parents watched lovingly and caringly…

Anna’s lips barely twitched in response.

“Mr. McCormick isn’t that bad you know-“

“WHAT?” Thomas yelled, his face red with flaming rage. His loud pitch echoed across the air, disturbing the eerie silence that the forest emanated. Anna looked scared out of her wits.

“Shh! Shh! Thomas please!” she begged before he could continue.

“Mr. McCormick…,” Thomas began with quiet intensity. “…is practically a slave driver! He made us work on that farm all the time and wouldn’t let us do anything else. He didn’t mind using his belt on me all those times either.”

“He was nice enough to take care of us after Mom and Papa died…” she whispered.

“Only because he got free labor out of it,” he retorted. He rose quickly and pulled his sister up beside him without much effort.

“We’re going to keep walking for a little longer.” He heard his sister whimper slightly, but he was in no mood to care.

Thomas started walking again much to Anna’s dismay. She tried her best to resist his insistence, but it was to no avail. She settled with keeping her head facing the other direction while Thomas dragged her along. She feared that if she turned around that the whole forest might envelop them with its hungry jaws. The thought alone scared her to pieces. She tightened her grip around his fingers.

Thomas, on the other hand, didn’t appear to be phased at all. His face maintained a serious and determined look; it couldn’t be changed by the threatening glares issued by the dark, foreboding trees. Hell, if they tried to come after them, he’d face them like a man.

A wolf’s long howl echoed on the still air. The sound clung to their skin like a wet tissue. Anna immediately dug her heels into the ground, forcing Thomas to stop. He quickly spun around to regard her.

“Anna, there aren’t any wolves around for miles so you can stop your-“

He noticed that her eyes were widened to their fullest extent. He followed the direction of her gaze and saw that they lingered on a circle of little brown mushrooms. He looked back at her, completely perplexed.

“Anna, what is it? You’re freaking me out.”

“That.” She said, and pointed at the ring of spotted toadstools.

“The mushrooms?”

She nodded slowly.

He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“If you step in them…they’ll get you…” She shivered slightly and drew closer to him.

“Who will get you?” He said in an annoyed voice rather than a curious one.

“The faerie folk,” she whispered, and then ran behind him.

Thomas burst into a loud laugh, allowing the volume to carry through the air. Anna looked as if she might cry any second.

“Do you really believe in that stupid stuff? Who told you that--one of your little friends at school? Well, let’s see if they’ll come out to play then…” He forcibly let go of his sister’s hand and stepped toward the mushrooms. Just as he was about to place his foot within the circle, he felt someone throw themselves around his legs. He glanced down and saw his sister with her arms encircled around his limbs. He sighed.

“Anna, will you stop? I just want to show you that faeries don’t exist.”

She buried her head against his calves. “Please Thomas! I can’t let you do it! Please don’t go in there!”

He rolled his eyes at her useless pleas. He reached down, broke apart her linked hands, and quickly jumped into the ring. He smiled at her triumphantly.

“See?” He said, raising up his arms and spinning around slowly. “No faeries here. Now let’s go.” He moved forward to leave the area, but some invisible force prevented him from doing so.

“What the"?” he asked out loud. He pushed his arms outward and they smacked against some concealed wall. Anna sank into petrification.

Thomas endlessly tossed himself toward the outside of the ring, but he continued to be thrown backward by an unseen energy. He cried aloud as the stings of panic attacked his alarmed form. How could this be happening to him?

“Anna!” He cried. “Anna, just run! I can’t get out! Go find help!”

But she didn’t run; she just stood there, helpless in her dilemma. A part of her wanted to flee and return to the familiarity of home and safety; but a much larger part, a more sisterly part, couldn’t abandon her sibling no matter how scared or clueless she was. She stared determinably at the ring, and came to her decision. She began to bow her head…

“Anna, what are you"” he cut himself off, realizing that his sister was bolting right toward his direction.

She didn’t stop even though her brothers pleading screams echoed in her mind. She didn’t cease her movement even though she felt pure dread fill her small form. Sheer determination was the only guiding force in this mindless attempt: both Thomas and Anna knew the outcome before it even happened.

Just as she planted her foot across the magic barrier, strange, tingling sensations wriggled across her body. They seeped through her veins, tickling her bloodstream and numbing her mind with puzzlement. It almost slowed her down; but a second later she crashed head-on into her brother’s soft stomach. A large grunt issued from his mouth, the force of the collision causing him to fly backward. For a brief millisecond, Anna could have sworn he made it across, and she experienced small licks of victory and relief. But that was all quickly erased when they both smashed against the wall, tumbling to the ground in breathless and bruised heaps.

Thomas groaned audibly. For the first time in his life, he admitted to himself that he wouldn’t mind being at Mr. McCormick’s right now. He’d rather deal with Mr. McCormick’s quick temper than this frustrating conflict. Waves of desperation and worry struck him. Now both his sister and he were stuck in this…this unexplainable happening. How could they get out of here? No one was around for miles…

They were doomed.

Anna began to cry softly next to him. He silently cursed her for being so stupid, but he admired her brave, yet thoughtless attempt. She was a good sister to him. Despite only being nine years old, she showed a lot of maturity for her age. He inched his fingers across the grass toward her hand. She deserved some comfort at least…

Hmmmm chirrrppp hmmmm

Soft, humming noises filled the air; it sounded like a mixture of birds singing and bees humming. It was an unfamiliar noise to their human ears. Anna and Thomas immediately sat up, eyes flicking over the dark woods to find the source of the mingled tunes.

The noise changed; now a subtle sonant of playful flutes and chiming bells danced into the air waves. Thomas found himself entranced by the attractive melody. His peripheral vision informed him that his sister was equally transfixed. Without realizing it, a small smile crawled onto his lips. He took his sister’s hand, and they slowly swayed together in unison to the enticing tune.

The beat switched again. This time, it was a faster and more violent song. A rapid drum pattern mixed in with the previous melody, causing tickling waves of excitement to flow through Thomas and Anna. The siblings immediately sprang up and began to wildly dance along to the seductive music. Anybody watching them would have pointed out how ridiculous the scene looked, but they didn’t care. They just wanted to dance, and dance, and dance"all day and all night if they had to. An unexplainable bliss took over them, and they never savored the effects of such happiness in all their lives.

Just as the highs of ecstasy filled them up, the music stopped. The eerie silence stroked at their ear drums and it appeared to mock them. Thomas glared at the wavering trees; they were laughing at them. Disappointment and anger enveloped him as cries of protest started to rise in his throat.

And then suddenly, the small mushrooms encircling them split down the center, releasing radiating beams of energy into the black sky. Anna and Thomas quickly brought their arms up to block the intensity that threatened to hurt their eyes; yet, they couldn’t deny the beauty of the rainbow colored lights. After a few moments, the single rays began to widen themselves until they joined each other into one large halo of white light. Thomas briefly wondered if they had reached a portal to heaven. The brother and sister gazed at the illuminated barrier with intense admiration.

Sounds began to fill the air again; instead of skillful instruments, they were musical and enchanting voices. The words were foreign to their ears, but it carried an ancient and earthy tint to it. The siblings listened intently, waiting for something big and marvelous to occur. Without another second’s hesitation, large shapes began to form in the circle of light surrounding them. At first they were indiscernible objects, but eventually they took the shapes of translucent human bodies. The singing creatures stepped out of the illumination and presented their mystical forms to the children.

Thomas’s mouth literally dropped open; he felt electrified by their presence. He couldn’t describe the sort of beauty and perfection their strange naked bodies held. Their skin, although pale, glowed in the darkness like shimmering diamonds. Their faces contained a perfect geometric symmetry that could only be found in a master painting. And their eyes, oh their eyes! He nearly became lost in those deep, hypnotic orbs.

In addition to these admirable qualities, these beings possessed a certain accessory that boggled his human mind: wings. The opaque structures bloomed from their perfectly postured backs for nearly 3 feet, and they appeared in a whole array of colors. The texture was hard to determine"it looked both feathery and scale-like at the same time. It was as if a whole new world had opened in front of him. He looked upon them in awed wonder.

One of the creatures stared at Thomas until he felt completely captivated by her gaze. Her violet eyes struck him right to the core, and he stood still as stone. She glided forward, slowly but gracefully, and offered him her hand.

He glanced down at the offering and noticed how much longer her fingers were compared to his"they extended beyond his at least 5 inches. He shrugged it off though, what did it matter? She was still the loveliest sight to behold. He quickly placed his hand in hers and immediately released an audible gasp. Her form was both warm and cool to the touch, like encountering winter and summer simultaneously.

He peered at her alluring face. She was still singing and staring at him intensely; however, a new, yet persuasive, voice filled the voids in his head.

Thomassss…Thomassss…You will come with us…You will join the Fay…Your sister will move along as well…You will come home with us…come with us…Thomasss

The voice seemed reasonable; it appeared to make perfect sense. Why should he stay here and live the mundane life of a human creature?

Join us Thomasss…we need youuu

Of course he would join them. The Fay would certainly show him the way…

Close your eyes Thomasss

He heeded the command without a breath of hesitation. The response to his thoughtless obedience was nothing beyond magical. A rush of brilliant wind created a spiral around his body, lifting his spirits and thoughts to air which surrounded him. The strong breeze brought on the scent of autumn leaves and newly blossomed flowers; he embraced the multiple sensations and awakenings it presented him. With his eyelids tightly shut, a smile grew in blissful anticipation.

And just like that, they were gone.

Reviews

[DC Patterson]

In screen writing, they begin by convention with 'Fade In..." and what a shame because your first paragraph shows how great a missed opportunity it is to truncated even the act of waking.

I did trip over the phrase "But she didn't run; she just stood there, helpless in her torment" as torment seemed not to fit well - but opinions are like...well, I'm sure you have an original idiom to insert :) It's my problem really.

I like the neat little sucker punch you end with - all that expectation and then nothing. You tease us. And of course we are forced to beg you for more.

Great writing, decent characters and a great setup without being too obvious about your 'babe's in the woods'. I mean, it's one brief chapter, so I applaud your restraint in not drowning us in back story or unsubstantiated emotion.

It's dark - they are alone and scared - I get it! On with the pretty descriptions of what they are experiencing. I could learn some of that discipline.

I learn from reading your work, and I appreciate the time and effort you share with us. Keep having fun with this.