WormWood

In the town of Wormwood, there lives a small community, a very tight-knit community. The town of Wormwood has three rules you need to follow. The first is you can never sing or dance. The second rule is to never practice witchcraft. The last is to never enter Wormwood Forest, for you shall never return if you do. It is said that the Devil himself lives in those woods. Many children and drunken men who dared to enter would later be heard screaming in the forest. Their screams would end just as soon as they started and terror would again rip through the town. Although everyone in town fears this forest, there is one who does not. She’s intrigued by it and feels as if it is calling to her. She’s the daughter of the town's priest, her name is Iris Murtagh, and that girl is me. I’m not sure what draws me to the forest, but sometimes the pull is so strong I find myself right at the edge, daring myself to cross the barrier. The only reason I find myself not crossing is for my family’s sake, more so my mother’s. She’s been ill for the past eleven years, slowly she’s been losing control of her body. She can no longer stand and her hands shake uncontrollably. I find myself often taking care of her while my father is at the church. I’ve scoured through our town's library looking at every medical book and trying different herb concoctions and, if I dare say, potions to rid her of her condition, but so far nothing has worked. I’ve often thought of visiting the next town over, there’s said to be a witchdoctor there and I feel I could learn plenty to aid my mother, although I don’t believe my father would let me leave. “Iris” my father yelled. ripping me from my thoughts “I’m home, how’s your mother?” I stood from my desk leaving my thoughts behind in my bedroom and proceeded down the steps to greet him in the main living area. “Hello father, mother’s come down with a cold again.” I said warily. The stress of my mother’s health has taken its toll on my father, it's easy to tell by the way he’s aged. He took a deep breath, “Again?” he asked as he exhaled. I nodded, “I made soup, I already fed mother a bowl along with tea. She seems to be out for the night, she’ll be okay.” I said reassuringly. “Have you eaten?” my father asked with soft eyes. I shook my head, “Been waiting for you, I’ll serve us up right away.” I said as I made haste to the kitchen. I set the table with our bowls filled to the brim with my specialty soup, hearty chicken and potato. It was always my parents' favorite. My father sat in his seat and gave me a smile before digging in. As we sat in silence slurping our soups down, I felt the urge to ask his permission to go to the next town over for supplies. I didn’t specify what I’d be getting or who I’d be seeing, but I knew I needed to seek guidance from the witchdoctor. There must be something she has to help my mother. He looked at me hesitantly, “What do you need from Cedarwood that we don’t have here?” he asked suspiciously. I cleared my throat before speaking, “Well, I heard Cedarwood has Gingko and Echinacea, we haven’t seen either of those herbs for months and, last, I recall both really helped mother.” I said with pleading eyes. My father set his spoon down and clasped his hands together. I could see he was in deep thought. “How long would you plan on being gone for?” I sat up, “Just a day or two.” I said back enthusiastically. He nodded his head, “Fine you can go, but I have two conditions.” I nodded for him to go on, “First condition, you will not go to that witchdoctor. I know Cedarwood allows that behavior, but it is still not acceptable in our community. Second condition, Malcolm will go with you.” My shoulders slumped at the mention of Malcolm. “Why him, can’t you have someone else go with me?” I blurted without thinking. I quickly clasped my hands to my mouth, knowing my father would disapprove of my distaste for Malcolm, he’s been trying to set us up for years now. “Iris.” My father said in a warning tone, “Malcolm is a gentleman and I know he’ll get you back to me safely.” I breathed out a hefty sigh, “Well if we have to stay at inn for a night, I’d hope we’d have separate rooms at least, I mean who’s to say he’d be able to keep his hands from me, he could ruin my innocence and that wouldn’t look good for me especially being the daughter of you.” I said back in my own demanding tone. My father couldn’t hide his smile or laugh, “You’re just as fiery as your mother, of course I’ll give you enough coin for your own room, he will not deflower my daughter without marrying you first.” I smiled back victoriously, “Thank you father, if you notify him tonight we can be gone in the morning and hopefully be back for Sunday service.” He nodded his head and stood from the table grabbing his hat and placing it over his graying hair, “I’ll inform him now, go on and get some rest, you have a long day of traveling ahead.” he said as he left the room. I finished my soup and cleaned up before heading off to my room. Upon entering my room, I felt a cool breeze whip right through me. I hadn’t realized I had left my window open. I quickly went to it and latched it shut. I threw another log on the fire in my room to warm it up before undressing. When I felt the heat nip at my cheeks. I knew it was warm enough to change. I began undoing my corset and then slowly slipped out of the light green dress I had worn to match my blue and green-speckled eyes.The cold was quickly creeping back up on me, I instantly threw on a white nightgown and grabbed the plaid green blanket from my bed and wrapped it around my shoulders. I grabbed the kettle I had filled earlier and filled the bowl on my vanity with warm water. I let it cool a bit before washing my face and neck from a day's worth of work. Next, I untangled my long mess of black hair from the braid I had kept it in. I quickly worked through the remaining tangles and gave myself a long look in the mirror. I looked so much like my mother. I only hoped that I would not develop the same illness she has. Suddenly, I was overcome with a tiredness that could only be remedied by sleep. I made my way towards my bed and tangled myself within the sheets and quickly fell into darkness. I slowly started to wake when a cool breeze tickled my feet. I went to pull my feet into the blanket when I heard a rustle of leaves and suddenly noticed I was no longer in my warm bed but lying on the ground outside. I shot up and noticed it was still dark, I was nowhere near home but surrounded by trees. Another cool breeze came ripping through me, almost paralyzing me in place. I quickly grabbed my blanket from the ground and wrapped it around my shoulders. I didn’t know which way to start moving but I knew I couldn’t stay there. I started running what I believed to be north. If the trees weren’t blocking the sky, I would have a much easier time finding my way home by following the stars. I started to panic. I was lost and I could only assume I was in the forest. I felt oddly scared to be here even though I usually felt a calmness from the forest. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, I felt like I had run for what seemed to be forever and yet I felt I made no progress in getting out of here. I started to move again when I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I went to run but a hand gripped my arm and pulled me back. Soon I found myself in the embrace of a man, calmness rushed over me and I tried to pull away to see who had me in their arms, but I couldn’t loosen from his grasp. “You shouldn’t be in here, Iris.” he whispered to me. How did he know my name? I didn’t recognize his voice, but it was smooth and laced with a bit of sulkiness. I finally wiggled my way from his grasp and looked at him. For some reason, I couldn’t see his face, it was as if darkness consumed it. Although the sight of him was frightening, something in me was pulling me back towards him, it felt as if I couldn’t bear to be without him. “Who are you?” was all I could mutter out. Even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I felt them bore into me. “I am Death.” he said back calmly. My heart began to race, not because I was scared but because of the emotion I felt for the man claiming to be Death. He began approaching me and the darkness around his face started to fade. Little by little, I could almost see him clearly, then I suddenly tripped over a rock and woke from my sleepwalking state. I noticed I was outside just inches from the forest. I contemplated what this meant, why is the forest calling out to me, why do I find myself here even in my sleep? I shook these thoughts away and picked myself up from the ground, I dusted off any grass and dirt now caked on my gown and headed back to my house. I knew I needed more rest, so I laid back down in bed and tried to get a little extra sleep. It only felt like I slept for minutes before a voice shouted, “Iris, wake up!” I jolted up, very confused by how much light was shining through the windows of my room. It then dawned on me that I awoke late. I hurried out of bed and quickly dressed myself, then pulled my hair back into a low bun. I rushed down the stairs to get breakfast and tea ready. I was rushing so much that I didn’t have time to realize someone was in front of me and I had bumped right into a hard chest. “Ouch.” I squealed out as I held my face that had been squished moments ago. “Oh sorry.” a gruff voice bellowed out. “It’s okay Malcolm, it was my fault.” I said as I made my way past him. I noticed Ms. Smith was in the kitchen helping my father get breakfast and tea ready. “Ah good to see you awake.” My father said sarcastically, still holding my face, I breathed out a hefty sorry. “ I’ll take breakfast and tea to mother if you’d like.” I said trying to smooth things over for waking up late. “Nonsense, I asked Ms. Smith to help out while you’re gone. She happily obliged.” I nodded my head and thanked her for helping. “Well, Malcolm is packed and ready to head off on your trip, are you also ready little darling?” asked my father. I nodded, “Yes I just have to grab a bit of coin and my cloak and say goodbye to mother, then I’ll be ready to leave.” My father came over to me with a large coin pouch, “Here this should be enough to cover your stay at the inn as well as any herbs you need, just remember our first condition.” I nodded my head and rushed off to my parents room. I entered to see my mom propped up in bed looking out the window. “Hi mom, I’ll be leaving for Cedarwood today.” She turned to look at me. She went to speak but nothing came out. “Don’t strain yourself.” I said as I rushed to her side. “Ms. Smith is here and she’ll take care of you while I’m gone. I’ll be back before you know it!” she smiled and raised her shaking hand to cup my cheek. I raised my own hand to hers and gripped it. I pulled her hand from my cheek to place a gentle kiss on the back of it. I stood to leave and wished her one last goodbye before I set off.