Hidden in the mist

          Sitting deep in the earths caverns, I find myself thinking about how today is one of my darkest days. Note I know I’m thousands of feet below the surface, but……. This is one of the shittiest days that can go in the top ten and let me explain why…..         So, to go back just a bit to explain why I’m sitting in this cavern, I’m an archeologist and a professor at a local collage in Ireland, I took on a mission for what was supposed to be for a student of mine but turned into a dark adventure that only reminds me of my past and my reasons for becoming an archeologist, a teacher and many other things over the years. About a week ago I had a student come to me about some concerns, or issues, or however you want to put it, here let me give you a flash back.   One week ago: I had just finished my last lecture for the day, when Brigid, one of my best students came to me. She has always been top of my classes, sweet soft spoken young girl, clear but distinct gallic accent. A slim, short in stature, auburn hair, the prettiest dark red of natural red head you could have, pale and surprisingly no freckles, with soft green eyes. “miss McGrath? may I have a moment to talk to you?” I looked to her scared and sorrowed and pained face, I ping of pain hit me, all I wanted to do was walk over to her and hold her, instead…” of course Brigid, what can I help you with?” I motioned her to sit down and she did, very slowly, she took a breath and sat forward and spoke softly with a tremble like she was holding back tears. “miss McGrath, tonight in the lecture you brought up your newest project expedition and I was wanting to talk to you about it.” “sure, what would you like to talk about?” something seemed wrong with her, but I couldn’t tell, whatever it is, it’s sure eating her up. “well the area you will be starting in is an area I have some…history in, and I was hoping you could be so kind to allow me to come with… maybe to overcome some demons I have.” She whispered the last part and I almost didn’t hear it, my concern and interest has peeked and looking at her face I can tell there was something very dark she wasn’t informing me of, and before I could say yes, I needed to know what she was hiding. So, I explained that to her, I threw everything on the table. “Brigid, you are an amazing student, one of my best students actually…. But I know you more than you think, and I can tell you are hiding something from me and I feel as if it something I need to know, Brigid…. I cannot in my right mind say yes to you coming if I feel that there might be something that could go wrong from what you’re not telling me, so please Brigid, what’s really going on?”       Her eyes go wide, her face paled more, and a tear started to form in the corner of her light green eyes. She nodded her head after a moment and took a deep breath, then another, she was finally ready after a few moments and began. “your right miss McGrath, well my real reason for wanting to go on this trip is because I have history and that general area your exuviating…. My mother had mental health problems and when I was a child and my father went out of town for work is when she would have her episodes, she… she would take me places no child should go, she and others dealt with the occult, and the things that they did and said where beyond dark and twisted. No child should have been exposed to that. Well on more than one occasion I could have sworn what they were doing summoned things from the woods, the things I heard and saw in the shadows didn’t seem normal… but I was also a very young girl and was very scared already so the things I could have seen and heard was things that conjured from my already scared imagination.  I just hope this trip would help me clear that up.”        My mind was all over the place just from this bit of information, my heart breaking for her already. Poor child shouldn’t have gone through any of that, I did need more information, but my heart was breaking thinking of having to ask her more about her past and her poor mother. “Brigid, I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. I have some questions if your okay with that, but I will need you to answer them, so I can be more help, so I can also allow you to come and help you be stable on this trip.” “I understand, well what would you like to know?” she now seemed more at ease and she seemed she was really wanting help as well as go on this trip. “well I don’t want to sound like a therapist but let’s start with your mom, you she had mental health problems, how does that relate to this trip?” “well like I said it always happened when my dad went out of town from work, I assumed then and even now it was due to being alone, or feelings she may have had of her thinking he left us and then her thinking and stressing over feelings of being a single mom. I blamed myself a lot thinking I was a bad kid that’s why she brought me. But at the same time, she and her ‘friends’ would say I was the key, I was important, they said a lot of strange things.” My heart was breaking even more for this poor girl, but I need her to dig deeper I need more information, I know it will hurt, I’ve had my fair share of dark past and heart-breaking things. But one thing I can really relate to was f****d up parents….. my heart broke just thinking of it all. Back to now Boa… “well when did this all start? How old where you when your mother started all of this? Were there other signs of mental health issues?... oh, I’m sorry I’m rushing a bunch of questions on you before you can even explain.” She gave me a small smile and nodded, she was now seated a bit more back in her seat but still on edge, she still had some tears wanting to run from her eyes down her still very pale skin. “it’s okay, I understand this isn’t normal, by any means. I would ask many questions as well, I’m also very use to it in some ways due to police reports and therapist and my father asking similar questions.” “oh, you poor soul… wait police? The police were involved?” I saw the tears finally fall from her eyes and her lip quiver a bit, I stood and went to her, I sat in the seat next to her and gave her a hug. She broke down and all I could do was hold her tighter and say soothing things. That’s when I noticed zan (my new buddy, well only buddy. Long story for later) I shook my head and he nodded and walked back to I can only assume his classroom. Another few moments had passed before she could gather herself enough to sit up and speak. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to break down.” “don’t ever be sorry Brigid, I understand this must be very hard to bring up and talk about, more so with a stranger no less. Aside from you know…’ I left it at that, there wasn’t much else I could say. “I feel safer talking with you then I did with anyone else though, even my father. You miss McGrath don’t see me as crazy, I knew talking with you about this would be easier because of what you teach us, and I was right.” "Well I’m glad sweetie, I’m always here for you any time.” She nodded and wiped away her tears once again and started where we left off. “well I wish I could say and exact time when my world began to turn but to cant recall because it was something I recall from first memories, and I couldn’t talk about it with my father ever. My mom was known for spacing out at strange times and dad knew that, I knew it broke his heart to see my mom do that, he just said mommy was tired and send me off to my room or outside to play. It got worse as I got older, that was just one thing, her talking to herself in another strange language was another thing, she would even sing softly to herself in that language. The police was only involved when she tried to hurt herself, at first, she would cut her finger and begin to draw on the walls or counters and table with strange symbols. She a hand print on every door in the house and if my father washed it off she would only cut her hand again and put it back.” “hm, well that’s not quite strange at all….” I mumbled to myself, but it caught her attention she tilted her head with a strange questioning look. “what do you mean?” “well in ancient Celtic religion and even Norse and well many other religions for that matter. They would leave a hand print on doors or trees surrounding homes and villages to ward off evil, it was a protection spell. It wasn’t white nor was it dark magic, but it was still blood magic.” She looked as if I healed a wound for her, like a wall blocking her view to light was broken down and hope rose some. “so maybe my mom wasn’t as crazy as we thought?” “well no I don’t think so Hun, some of it may not have been that she was crazy. But she also seemed slightly traumatized herself.” “that makes sense to, but how does that explain going off to all those strange places while my father was away?” “well I’m not sure sweetie only she knows, maybe if we did a little digging we can find out more. Where did she take you?” she thought a moment and then began again with her story. “well I know some of the places were not local at all, it would take us hours to drive to those places and I can’t say much for signs and towns because I fell asleep in the back seat most of the time because how late it was. Some places where woods, I’m not sure if it was ever the same woods either. Other places were strange old ruins, some of those we did return to over time. All those places has the same thing in common though, they all had strange stones and some were old statues of creatures and symbols similar to what my mom would draw with her blood. What they did at those places varied but was still the same…. Dark twisted for me to see and the other things I thought I saw and herd.” “well you’re not alone in this okay, I’ll be here for you. May I ask why you chose this trip to say anything and wanting to come?” “thank you so much for everything miss McGrath…. Well I suppose something triggered this time, like it stood out, I feel like maybe the reason is because I’ve been there with my mother.  I looked it up online before I came up to you and the pictures were limited because it was newly discovered and not much was really uncovered about the area yet but a few pictures they had of statues right at the edge of the woods look like the ones I’ve seen in the past with my mom.” “Ballyboley forest is historically a very dark and strange place, and very unknown. There aren’t many brave souls willing to go in there, but my team enjoys a good thrill. If it is a place your mother has taken you, do you maybe know where she took you in and led you to?” “no miss McGrath, what I do recall is a small clearing we walked threw to get to this unmarked path that led some ways in, maybe twenty to thirty minutes of walking before coming across a path with stones and statues lining the path, in the woods…. I swear I saw glowing eyes staring back at me, but it wasn’t human, the eyes moved like the head they rested in swayed. The path went on for a long while before we came to a massive tree that was rooted around a stone door frame….. miss McGrath, this is where things get very strange, this was also the last night I had with my mother.”...…….