~Fate

“Luek is missing?” I ask, looking at the father, his eyes dark and his face twisted with worry. I’m sure he’s spent the night searching in a panic, hoping to find his son hiding in the stables or some such thing.

“Where did you last see him?” The man asks me, much more terse with me than he was yesterday, but understandably so.

“The forest. He raced back into the forest saying that there was something he had to do.” I say, thinking back to that moment. The forest looked so warm and inviting that I was tempted to follow Luek back in. Whatever fanciful thing had caught his mind would’ve been fun, no doubt.

It seems that I probably should’ve followed him.

“The forest?” The father spits at the floor shaking his head. “I’ve told him time and again not to go into the forest, why won’t he listen to me, damn it! The forest is dangerous…

“I’ll round up the others, we’ll go out and look for the boy.” He shakes his head, spitting yet again. “When we find him, he’d better be limping, or I’m going to wallop him till he is.”

The old innkeeper leaves his inn unkept without a second glance as he rushes out into the village. A few other guests show their faces upon hearing the commotion, but most return to their own business.

“Did Luek tell you where he was going?” Sara asks, twisting her little hat in her hands. She looks like the sweetest little thing as she bites her lip in worry. I can almost understand why people would still want to have a child, even now.

“I don’t know.” I say.

I’m not about to tell her that he was preparing something for her, which I’m almost sure he was. The boy shines a little brighter whenever he talks about his crush. Who knows what the two would grow to be like if given the chance…

No, it’ll be fine.

Everything will be fine, in the end. I’ll save everyone, and we’ll all have happy endings, broken from the curse of imperfection. That’s how the religious people put it, at least.

“Do you think he’s okay?” Sara asks, looking up at me with her bright round eyes.

“Let’s go search, too.” Hope says running down the stairs with her gear gathered on her back. “Every second we waste is a second he could be out there dying.”

“Really?” The girl asks, shocked at how easily Hope can say something so awful.

Hope meets the girl’s eyes and nods firmly.

“Yes. There is a good chance that he’s dying right now.” Hope says without hesitation and no good sense. I lean down and wrap Sara in my arms before she can start crying.

“It’ll be fine. We’ll find him, and we’ll save him.” I say.

“I’ll come with you!” Sara shouts, her voice cracking with panic. “He’s fine. He can’t… I’ll find him. You don’t know the forest like I do.”

“You lead the way, then.” Hope says, checking over her short sword, and the rest of her gear. She carries more waterskins than is reasonable, a blanket, and all sorts of other things. She’s also carrying that same leather bag as always, I want to try taking a peek inside, but she’s always watching over it.

“I have everything we’ll need.” She says, catching my glance at her bags. She nods happily as she finishes checking her gear, before pressing the young girl to lead us out into the street.

The villagers are chatting loudly as they walk down the street, out towards the edge of town where the forest grows thick and tall. The whispered conversations surround us, Luek and Sara the centre of all the talk.

“If they couldn’t look after the kid-”

“-wandering the forest. It’s not surprising that-”

“Kid’s wandering the forest, what is-”

I shouldn’t be surprised, but the snippets of conversation that I catch in passing aren’t as hopeful, or as nice as I’d want to hear. They still do gather together to help, as the innkeeper calls for their aid.

“You’re joining the search?” Asks the lovely woman in charge of the tavern, Luek’s mother. She doesn’t seem nearly as worried as the boy’s father, a small, sad smile on her lips, as if she’s already given up hope.

“We’ll find him.” I say, with as much enthusiasm as I can squeeze out of my small voice. It still comes out a little squeaky.

“I’m glad to have you here then.” She replies, “Do be careful in the forest, there are dangerous things lurking, and not just in the shadows.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Alright, gather up!” The innkeeper shouts before she can reply, with a little wave she heads off towards another group of townswomen.

“Why isn’t she sad?” Sara asks, watching the missing boy’s mother leave.

“How do you know that she’s not?” I ask. “Everyone handles sadness differently. Let’s just focus on finding Luek, okay?”

“I understand.” Sara says, turning her eyes back to the forest.

“We’re searching through the forest for my little boy.” The innkeeper shouts over everyone. “You should all know what to do, look around the roots of trees and around fallen trunks, anywhere he might’ve hidden to survive the cold.”

His shouts easily overwhelm the conversations that die out as he takes charge of the situation, and the response from the villagers is quite enthusiastic, for the most part. A few others, here and there, are more quiet and resigned, like the boys mother.

If the world is ending anyway, what does it really matter?

I’m sure that’s what they’re thinking, the thought came to me too, but I refuse to accept it.

“Sara? What are you doing here?” A woman approaches us looking at our little guide. “Head back home this minute.”

“Mum, Luek is missing, I’m going to help find him.”

“No, it’s too dangerous. You’ll head back home right this second.” Sara’s mum says, looking up to the two of us.

“I apologise for whatever stupid thing she’s trying to get you two into.” She says, trying to grab Sara’s hand while the little girl backs away. “Sara!”

“Mum!” The girl shouts so loud she gives her mother pause.

“I’m going into the forest, and I’m going to find Luek!” She shouts, turning and running towards the forest. Before she can escape, Hope dashes ahead and grabs her by the waist, pulling her off the ground.

“We’ll go together.” Hope says, turning around and bringing Sara face to face with her mother. “With the whole village searching, I’m sure it’ll be safe.”

“But-” Sara’s mother starts, but is stopped short.

“We have a better chance of finding the boy if we look together.” Hope says to Sara, looking down at the girl in her arms. “It’s not easy to find someone lost, but it’s very easy to become lost yourself.”

“Luek.” Sara whines, tears building up in her eyes as Hope lets her down to the ground.

“We’ll find him.” Hope promises, her voice firm as she speaks with confidence. “If it takes all year, we’ll find him.”

Sara sniffles, rubbing at her eyes, as she looks up at Hope. Unable to squeeze out any words, she nods her head up and down quickly.

“It’s not safe.” Sara’s mum insists.

“Then come along with her and keep her safe.” Hope says, offering the older woman no other choice.

“Fine.” Sara’s mum says, backing down as she takes her daughter’s hand.

“We’ll be staying in a line,” The innkeeper says, looking over the crowd and staring at us in particular. “Shout loud enough that the others beside can hear you, and make sure that you don’t lose the rest of the search teams.

“Now, let’s go find my boy.” The villagers erupt in passionate cheers as they follow the innkeeper out towards the forest. We move together too, Sara and her mum staying with us.

Sara has dried her eyes and is looking into the forest with her chin raised high. Her mother looks down at her daughter, her brows knit with worry.

We find our place in the formation, the innkeeper directs us to stand near the centre, near to his group, and we walk into the forest shouting for the missing boy to hear us.

“Luek!”

Dozens of voices call the boys name, sounding almost like a new bird call, added to the countless already filling the forest. Hope surprises me as she raises her voice, louder than I’ve ever heard her speak before. She cries out the boy’s name, her eyes burning with a desperate passion as she glares into the surrounding forest as if trying to burn away the trees that impede her sight.

Sara calls too, but her voice is quieter and she takes longer breaks between.

“Hope, I didn’t know that you cared that much about Luek.” I say, seeing the motivation energizing her every footstep. It’s clear that she wants to race ahead, just the same as Sara, but maturity and understanding keeps her walking in pace with the group.

“I don’t.” She replies simply and honestly. “But I can’t ignore this.”

“Have you experienced something similar before?” I ask. She was quicker to react than I was and by a good measure, too.

“I have.” She replies, freezing for a moment before she shakes her head and smiles, though the look in her eyes isn’t happy at all. I can’t find it in me to ask anything more.

We continue through the forest, and I expect the boy to appear any second now. We’ll find the boy healthy and fine, or perhaps suffering a mild cold from staying the night out.

I’m sure that’s all it’ll be.

All morning the search drags on and as time passes the voices around us grow more weary, but we keep moving. The thick forest seems unending and unchanging, no matter how far we walk. The air cool, and pleasant, though the exercise is still enough to make me sweat.

“Do you guys hear the others yelling?” I ask, looking about the thick forest, as Hope and Sara quiet down to listen.

The birds sing, some better than others, but who am I to judge. The trees rustle in the wind high above us, and a few insects chirp noisily, but none of this is loud enough to cover the voices that should be calling out Luek’s name. Yet, I don’t hear a single voice.

“How long since we last heard them?” Hope asks, her hand resting on her sword as she looks around the forest.

“I don’t know.” I reply.

“It wasn’t long ago.” Sara’s mum says, holding her daughter close.

“Can anybody hear us?!” Hope shouts into the forest, her voice quickly dying as the thick air consumes it.

“We should go back.” Sara’s mum suggests.

“But Luek…” Her daughter complains, trying to break from her mother’s grasp.

“Do you know the way back?” I ask, looking through the forest. I lost my way only shortly after we entered. The voices around us were all that was keeping me from getting lost.

“We’re not like you city folk, the way back is…” her voice falls off as she looks at the forest around us. She spins about on the spot, trying and failing to find her bearings.

“This is wrong…” She finally says, breathing fast before shaking her head. “I don’t…”

“It’s fine.” Hope says, interrupting her. “If we go downhill, we’ll get clear of the forest.”

Sara’s mum eagerly nods her head, while Sara pouts.

“We’ll keep searching.” Hope says, “But we can’t risk getting lost ourselves, or who will find him?”

Her words are enough to calm Sara as we begin our trek downhill. The forest here, on the side of the mountain, rests on a gentle slope covered in uneven hills, when we stumble upon a small stream we follow it down.

There are flickers of movement in the corner of my sight, but when I turn to see what’s there, whatever it was is gone already. A faint glow and a shimmer, tempts my eyes again to a bush or a flower just outside of clear sight.

The forest whispers to us, but it’s more than just the leaves rustling in the wind, words nearly recognisable whispered in childish voices. I turn my head to hear it more clearly, but they quiet again the same instant.

“My head is playing tricks on me.” I say, shaking my head, trying to focus on the forest around us. The sweet scent of flowers is almost overwhelming, to the point where it feels as if someone is shoving an invisible bouquet into my face.

Faint mocking laughter carries on the small breeze, something alien, yet familiar; distant, yet so very close. A faint bell rings, and the voices quiet, leaving only the leaves to rustle in the wind.

Though the voices are gone, I can still feel something watching us. An audience that’s both jeering us and cheering us at once as if there’s no difference between the two things.

“Hope, I think something strange is-.”

“Blood.” Hope says, her voice a whisper, though it carries loud through the forest as if we stand upon a grand stage. My own words and worries fade as I look towards the mark that she points out.

A bloodstain on wood in the shape of a handprint, the size of a child’s hand.

“Luek.” Sara whispers, her eyes tearing up as she touches at the bloody mark. Her mother holds her tight staring wordlessly at the red mark and trail of the same, that we’re soon to follow.

“This way.” Hope says, fearlessly striding along the path set out for us.

“Sara.” I lift my voice to get her attention. “What dangerous things live in this forest?”

“Wildcats and bears.” She replies, “They’re big and mean, and could eat me up in a single bite. That’s what my mum says, but I’ve never seen any around… but Luek…”

“They are around…” Her mother says, “There are all sorts of dangerous things in these woods. I’ve said it before that you shouldn’t come out here.”

I look at the dirt at our feet, but there are no footprints that I can see but our own.

“This wasn’t an animal.” Hope says, leading us further on. In a small clearing, where the sun shines through the trees, a copper sword drenched in blood sits with its blade pressed into the dirt. It stands there like a set piece at a play, but the dense smell of the blood that stains it proves that it’s more than that.

There’s too much blood.

“One of the bandits had a sword like this.” Hope says, trembling slightly as she steps nearer. Her hand reaches for the copper blade, stopping only a few inches short.

“Where did Luek go?” Sara asks in a panic, looking around the bloody field for the next step in the trail of the murderer.

Hopes attention soon turns the same direction, her eyes are piercing, but she’s more familiar with the desert than the forest. It was a miracle that she even saw the blood trail.

I look down at the copper sword, poking at its blade and watching it tip over. There is so much blood covering the ground that it soaks into my shoes as I crouch here. This entire scene feels so fake.

“Over there!” Sara shouts, pointing out through the trees, and breaking from her mother’s arms. She races into the forest and her shocked mother takes a moment to give chase.

“Ah, little girl! Wait for us!” Hope shouts, running after Sara.

“Sara! Her name is Sara.” I say, as Hope runs off ahead of me. Thankfully, Sara isn’t very fast, and I catch up fast.