Hidden Past
1974 Words
They had not managed to get to far before they setup camp. The fire blazed throughout the night as Canta watched Fowler stare into its depth. He was deep within thought as he gripped his hands tightly. She like him was also the same, her thoughts that had been quiet in the day plagued her mind. Beside her moonlight had curled himself up lightly touching her body and Akuji had long fallen asleep on her left. The moon was hidden in the clouds as she stared up and the cold breeze blew softly upon her body. Her legs itched her as she got up from lying down on the bare grass and Canta came even closer to the fire.
“You’re still up Canta,” Fowler asked without taking his eyes of the fire.
“Yes, I couldn’t sleep, my thoughts just keep racing.”
“Mine does too. Are you worried about your family?”
“Yes, I am. I miss them a lot, even though I shouldn’t. I am angry with them for letting me go. My mind feels conflicted.”
Fowler nodded his head. “I can understand that, tell me more about them; if you want to get it off your chest. I won’t say anything, I’ll just listen to you.”
Canta said nothing at first before she looked at the fire.
“It all started when…”
#
The birds chirp loudly as their playground was seemingly disturbed. Canta wondered if they view them as monsters as they sprung from the trees flapping their wings into the sky. The sound resounded over the forest as pieces of sunlight littered her face. She had not moved from this position since she had gotten here. She sat on the tree branch while her legs dangled on both sides. She wanted to stand, but her body refused to go any further. It was like it was fully aware of the limit of Canta’s potential.
“What are you afraid of Canta? One day we both will be adventurers and then the whole village would have something to be proud of.”
“Slow down Alistair, I can’t climb like you, Randall can’t keep up either,” Canta said.
Canta watched her brother climbing, and moving from one tree to the next. His actions were so quick her eyes couldn’t keep up with him. He was always like this, he was always this adventurous. There was a glee in his face, realizing that his brother and sister couldn’t keep up.
“What, you’re supposed to be my back up? How are we going to slay monsters if you’re this far away?”
Canta hanged on to the first tree for dear life while her brother at the bottom had not even bothered to climb. She didn’t want to be outdone by her brother in the trees. He could not be beaten and she knew what he was waiting for. He wanted to hear them give up so he could gloat and tell them to try harder next time, don’t give up. She knew those words were coming. She bit her lip and resigned herself to it.
“Alistair, we give up!”
“What?!” her younger brother below hollered.
It was no use Canta thought they were both tired and it wasn’t like she would get past this first tree. She looked down to the ground, noticing how high up she was, it would be a slight challenge for her to get back down.
“How could you just give up without giving me a chance?!” her younger brother Randall shouted.
“You couldn’t even get up the tree,” Canta replied.
The tree Canta was in shook slightly as she felt another person land on the thick long branch. Looking up from her seated position she saw her brother. He stood on the branch looking down without the slightest difficulty. He was covered in leaves, dirt and mud resided on his tunic. It even smeared most of his face. He turned his head towards Canta and gave her a smile.
“So you both give up?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Then come up here, then Randall. I will wait, once you don’t take until nightfall to get up the tree.”
She couldn’t make out the image, but she knew her brother was giving a very stink face.
“Canta, you need help getting back down?”
Canta merely nodded.
Her brother extended his hand to her and from the time she took it. He pulled her to him. He moved so briskly down the tree despite holding her, that Canta almost felt like she was flying rather than climbing down the tree. Until his feet touched the ground, they were now before their brother.
“Don’t give up, I couldn’t get it done before. If you keep trying at it, eventually it will come to you,” he said, placing his hand on his brother’s head. “Next time don’t let Canta get so far from you.”
“I won’t,” his brother said his eyes filled with determination.
“Well then Canta what’s the menu for today, I am starving, and are you going to sing us a song again today?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
“Yay,” Randall said.
Canta took out the items out of her basket and lay them down on the ground. Water, food, and the flute she was still trying to carve. There were many of them and most were failures.
“You’re still trying to make one?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see,” Alistair said.
“Okay.”
He took one of the pieces of wood and tried his hand at carving it with his knife. When the first one failed to go the way he liked he tried again. This time he used another smaller piece of wood and the knife.
“Alistar, can you do it?”
“I saw Randall do it, it might take some time, but I will get it done.”
“Okay,” Canta said.
“You’re so amazing big brother.”
“Where do you learn these songs from?” Alistair asked as he pushed one stick into the next.
“I don’t know, sometimes listening to the bird's chirp. The wind, mother nature, and my feelings. The words, they just come to me. I guess it’s like how you’re so good at everything physical that you make Dad sometimes look like a little child.”
Her brother laughed. “Dad just pretends to not be able to.”
Canta shook her head. “No big brother you’re strong, everyone in the village think’s so too and looks up to you in some way. I believe that you might be destined for more than you know.”
“I think I am destined to eat some of these sandwiches.”
The younger brother laughed.
“Here Canta, this is for you,” Canta looked at it noticing her brother had managed to make the flute for her.
She took it in her hand it was perfect. She went to blow on it before her brother stopped her.
“I have to carve in some of the holes when we get home,” Alistair said
“Can I see it?”
Canta handed it to Randall.
A smile etched on Alistair’s face as he got up from the ground. “You’re done, let’s go home before father starts worrying.”
#
A cold breeze greeted her, Canta’s body shivered in response as she heard the wind whistling through the trees. Canta got up slowly from the ground, her body ached, her clothes were soaked. She felt something dripping from her body. It was too dark for her to make out what it was.
“Where am I?” Canta asked, her head hurt as she gazed around unable to make out anything near her.
She stumbled forward and her leg connected with something on the ground. She tried to step over it and found her foot landing in a puddle of water.
She wanted to shout out for help but was afraid of whom she might draw in. She stepped forward again as her foot stumbled against something. This time she fell over, her hand reached down and felt small hands upon hers.
The touch shocked her as she scrambled back.
Splash! Splash!
She heard a noise; she heard something in the dark. Something was watching her.
“So it seems I missed one, you managed to live,” the voice said, “how strange.”
Canta’s body shook as she went to where she believed the voice to be coming from but it seemed like everywhere in this eternal darkness.
“A quick snack before I go then.”
Canta screamed loudly.
“Over here, I heard noises over here.”
“Over there!”
“Tsk. Maybe I will get to taste you another time. I will always be watching.”
Canta through her screams saw light appeared and for a moment she saw the creature as it disappeared into the dark. Canta looked around in horror at the many bodies that lay on the ground. Her hands were covered in blood and her clothes reeked with it.
One light came, then another and another lightening up the bloody m******e that had occurred and Canta sat in the centre of it all.
The villagers screamed, cursed, shouted, and talked to the dead to no avail. Her parents were among those there and that was when Canta saw them, her brothers. The life from their faces had looked as though it had been drained out and taken from them. All of the bodies looked the same like empty vessels.
What first started with a concern for her safety had changed, the villagers seemed happy to know someone had live but why her. That question was the first to go around. Why only Canta and no one else, not her other brothers and what exactly had happened? Why was she the only one seated in a pool of blood that everyone else didn’t have?
The village was consumed in whispers in telling tales and Canta’s own family avoided her. She spent most of her time at that point by the trees looking up to where Alistar use to climb and hearing his words to her that he would say all the time. “Don’t give up!” It was only here that she was allowed to cry. She imagined him hugging her here, along with Randall, and that they would try to climb this tree again. Her eyes were closed as her thoughts took her, but when it was getting near closer to dark she left to head home. She couldn’t remember what had happened that day or how she ended up there. It was like her memory had been wiped clean. She gripped the flute in her hand tightly as she got inside the village. She saw everyone gathered around the elder as he relayed them new news from today. They would be having a seer take over.
It was that day Canta bore the full hate of the village. It was that day she became known as a witch.
- Writer
