The Place On The Other Side

Paths in the Forest

After losing her Ma, and now her Pa to a horrible woman, and their new family she felt as if she had nothing to live for. But then that strangle and missed feeling she had so long ago came rushing back to her like a bolt of lightning. It was time. Time to leave this life behind. She packed up her few belongings, wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, and set off toward the edge of the woods toward the pulling feeling she got with every step she took closer to the trees.

　　The entrance to the woods was small, only a few trails led into it from her family's farm. She chose a trail towards the middle of the field. As she walked forward into the dim light she could smell the morning dew on the leaves and foliage around her. She seemed to feel no fear, but instead excitement and curiosity. There was moss on every tree which was all facing due north. Except there was an occasional tree with a golden colored moss on it facing due east, which seemed odd to Dolyia at first, but she shrugged it off and continued on her journey.

　　The air felt light and every once in a while she'd catch a glimpse of what looked like sparkles fluttering from a tree side or off a mushroom. The deeper Dolyia went the more tired she felt. She was now looking for some type of shelter. She was beginning to worry that she may not be able to find a safe and warm enough place to stay overnight.

　　She was starting to think she'd made the wrong choice leaving her home. But just then she felt a tugging feeling at the hem of her dress. There was nothing there. She thought she'd caught her dress on a twig and kept moving forward. Again seeing the golden moss along the trees, she stopped at one of the trees and felt the moss. It was warm and very soft, unlike green or brown moss.

　　There was another and yet harder tug on the hem of her dress again, she looked down to see a very small funny looking chipmunk. The chipmunk had much larger eyes than an average chipmunk, and his feet were abnormally long, almost like a bunny's foot. His entire body looked to have consisted of three or four different animals in one. When Dolyia had finally stopped staring she blinked a few times and looked down again. He was gone.

　　She was now beginning to think she was going crazy from being out in the woods for so long. Dolyia began to now run east along the golden moss path. It felt like forever to Dolyia, running down this small tight path. Suddenly out of nowhere the trail opened up to a tiny meadow covered in beautiful wild flowers everywhere. In the middle of the meadow sat a tiny but adorable cottage fit for one or two people.

　　Dolyia couldn't believe her eyes, she thought she was imagining the little house as she slowly walked up to it. Judging by the sun's position Dolyia figured it was nearing supper time, so she decided not to linger and move on to the cottage.

She was definitely not imagining it, as she grabbed the door handle and slowly swung it open. There were only a couple light streaks coming in from the small windows on either side of the home and door. As she walked in she looked around and found that it was empty.

　　There was only one small bed in the right hand corner. There was a fireplace, with a few dry logs in it and a boiling hook for pots to hang. In the middle of the room, on the left side there was a table with two chairs and a small stove set up for cooking stove top meals, the pipe going through the side of the cottage. There was another door off to the right of the stove behind the dining table, which led into a very tiny but clean restroom/washroom.

　　To her surprise it was very comfortable and cozy there, she felt safe. In the cottage Dolyia began to set the fire in the fireplace. She found some old but still usable matches on the mantel and some old faded papers from the pantry area. After getting the fire in the pit and stove lit, she scavenged the pantry for food, not finding much she settled on canned peaches.

　　She put the fire on the stove to save the wood in it. She sat down at the table, opened the jar and ate. The peaches tasted so good she thought. How could these peaches have gotten here? How long has this place been left alone out here? How was there fresh dry wood in the pit and clean washroom, and blankets? Wouldn't it all be old, torn up and dusty like everything else here? None of it made any sense to her.

　　With her tummy slightly full, Dolyia decided to save some for the morning. She figured it would be ok to lock the door and try to get some sleep. She closed up the jar of peaches, and put the wooden lock over the sides on the door. Laying in the bed felt very good, it was warm from the fire, and soft as can be. Not even her bed at the farm house felt this good. Drifting to sleep she began to think about her Ma and Pa and the farm she'd left behind.

　　　　Dolyia was now staying in a safe and beautiful cottage in a small meadow somewhere deep in the woods. She awoke with a startle, from having a nightmare about losing her Ma again. Shaking some sense into herself, Dolyia stood up and poked the fire pit back to life. Praying she'd find more to eat or at least the fixings for tea in the pantry now that she had more light from the morning sun. She was lucky and found some black tea leaves and a tiny jar of sugar cubes in the corner of the cupboard. As she prodded the logs in the pit and brought the flame to a roll, she thought about the water. Where was she going to find water out here?

Dolyia took up her shawl and a bucket that laid next to the door and headed outside. The meadow was more gorgeous in the morning light. The dew shining off every petal and all the flowers fully bloomed soaking up the light and dew drops.