Blood & Bone
I found a short story that I wrote two years ago and thought I would share it.
Blood & Bone
By: Arcanexfemme
There is a mystery here. She just knows it, something about the air, the look of the trees, and the demeanor of the animals. It nags at the back of her mind and sends her out searching through the woods. Willow Larkin would soon discover the mystery even if she didn’t believe it herself.
It all began one day when Willow was out playing in Onyx Wood. She saw a big lovely raven perched on the branch of one of the trees surrounding the glade where she was currently resting. The raven’s eyes seemed to follow her as she moved around the glade. She was fascinated by it; she had never seen a raven such as this one. The raven could have been almost human to her. Suddenly, the raven took flight and headed towards the center of Onyx Woods and poor Willow merely followed completely enthralled. She ran through thistles, thorns, bushes, trees, and through a stream. The cold water brought her back to her senses with a shock. She laughed then, feeling utterly ridiculous standing in a stream and chasing ravens. Climbing out of the stream she searched the banks for a large warm rock. Rock found, she laid on it to dry in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t long before she dozed off.
Willow awoke about an hour before sunset. Realizing that it would soon be dark she began to head back toward what she thought was home. Before long she stumbled upon a barely visible path which she decided to follow on the assumption that it would lead her out of the woods. The path would have if only she had gone in the opposite direction. As it was, she was headed directly to the center of Onyx Wood and its mystery.
She came to a secluded grove about fifteen minutes down the path. The air was heavy with a strange, yet not unpleasant, odor and the trees seemed to be alive. Through the green leaves of the trees she spied a flash of red and set off to discover its source disregarding all else. At the center of the grove she saw a huge tree. She stopped and stared at it in absolute amazement and awe. It was a tree unlike any she had ever seen or heard of. The trunk was smooth without any bark and gleaming white which was offset by branches adorned with deep red leaves. She thought of bones and blood. She knows that without a doubt she had found her mystery and the heart of Onyx Wood.
Suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket and she jumped in surprise having forgotten the real world in her adventure. It was her mother wanting to know when she was and when she would be home. After giving some vague answers, she hung up and ran back down the path towards home. As she ran she paid close attention to the specific details of her surroundings so she could find her way back. She spent the rest of the evening a complete daze and had strange dreams that night which left her in morning.
Willow ate breakfast in a rush, said a hurried goodbye to her parents, and ran out the door. Instead of going to school, she headed back in the forest to find that tree again. She figured the school was going anywhere and she could easily catch up knowing wouldn’t be able to concentrate until she had more time to investigate. Soon enough she was back at the heart of the wood. She ran her hands over the smooth trunk and climbed through the tree’s branches in search of other mysteries that might be lurking there. After this somewhat disappointing search she began to talk to the tree and even sang it a song once or twice. She had a lovely voice. Her voice carried and its faint echoes reached a man walking down the path in her direction.
The man slowed and diverted from the path in order to come up behind the trees on the opposite site of the glade from Willow. He gazed at her devouring every detail of her person. He waited until she departed before he slipped out in the glade and began to follow her. He trailed her all the way back to her home. He then walked away with a smile on his lips that caused anyone that saw it to shiver and edge away. He continued to stalk Willow waiting for the night of the full moon.
Willow kept up her visits to the tree throughout the next four days. Other than the occasional feeling of being watched she noticed nothing unusual. Her fascination with the tree has only increased. She could not figure out the mystery even though she searched the glade and the tree thoroughly. Even the raven was nowhere to be found. So that evening, she sat and compiled a list of her visits to the tree hoping to figure out the mystery that still eluded her. Looking at the list gave her an idea. She always visited the wood during the day and never stayed until full dark. Anxious to figure out the mystery she decided to go into the woods that very night. She waited until her parents went to bed then snuck out her window and made her way to the heart of the woods.
The forest seemed to be alive in a very different way at night. The glade was bathed in the light of the full moon when she arrived. Filled with the conviction she would figure out the mystery tonight, she approached the tree. Standing in front of the tree, she placed her hands on the smooth bark and looked up into the rustling leaves. So absorbed in her view of the tree she failed to notice the lack of any wind to blow through the leaves and that the moon had been covered by a dark cloud. The man, taking advantage of her distraction and the cloud cover, crept up behind her and drug his knife across her throat. Her blood slid down the pale smooth bark and soaked into the ground. There it remained only for a moment before being absorbed by the tree. The man simply watched as her life blood ran out and the tree’s roots rose up and pulled Willow’s body deep into the ground.
Willow’s desire had been fulfilled and surpassed. She was now a part of the mystery that she longed to find. However, that wish came with a high price which she unknowingly paid.
One might wonder how I came to know this story. I am the tree at the heart of Onyx Wood and all the stories of those killed at my base are mine to bear. I am full of their memories from the first poor soul murdered beneath my branches to the very last. There may never be an end to them for the man will pass on his twisted ritual just as it was passed down to him. I take them into myself so that they will be remembered and have peace. Their bones become my wood and their blood my sap. Their stories live on inside of this old tree in the heart of Onyx Wood.
Blood & Bone
By: Arcanexfemme
There is a mystery here. She just knows it, something about the air, the look of the trees, and the demeanor of the animals. It nags at the back of her mind and sends her out searching through the woods. Willow Larkin would soon discover the mystery even if she didn’t believe it herself.
It all began one day when Willow was out playing in Onyx Wood. She saw a big lovely raven perched on the branch of one of the trees surrounding the glade where she was currently resting. The raven’s eyes seemed to follow her as she moved around the glade. She was fascinated by it; she had never seen a raven such as this one. The raven could have been almost human to her. Suddenly, the raven took flight and headed towards the center of Onyx Woods and poor Willow merely followed completely enthralled. She ran through thistles, thorns, bushes, trees, and through a stream. The cold water brought her back to her senses with a shock. She laughed then, feeling utterly ridiculous standing in a stream and chasing ravens. Climbing out of the stream she searched the banks for a large warm rock. Rock found, she laid on it to dry in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t long before she dozed off.
Willow awoke about an hour before sunset. Realizing that it would soon be dark she began to head back toward what she thought was home. Before long she stumbled upon a barely visible path which she decided to follow on the assumption that it would lead her out of the woods. The path would have if only she had gone in the opposite direction. As it was, she was headed directly to the center of Onyx Wood and its mystery.
She came to a secluded grove about fifteen minutes down the path. The air was heavy with a strange, yet not unpleasant, odor and the trees seemed to be alive. Through the green leaves of the trees she spied a flash of red and set off to discover its source disregarding all else. At the center of the grove she saw a huge tree. She stopped and stared at it in absolute amazement and awe. It was a tree unlike any she had ever seen or heard of. The trunk was smooth without any bark and gleaming white which was offset by branches adorned with deep red leaves. She thought of bones and blood. She knows that without a doubt she had found her mystery and the heart of Onyx Wood.
Suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket and she jumped in surprise having forgotten the real world in her adventure. It was her mother wanting to know when she was and when she would be home. After giving some vague answers, she hung up and ran back down the path towards home. As she ran she paid close attention to the specific details of her surroundings so she could find her way back. She spent the rest of the evening a complete daze and had strange dreams that night which left her in morning.
Willow ate breakfast in a rush, said a hurried goodbye to her parents, and ran out the door. Instead of going to school, she headed back in the forest to find that tree again. She figured the school was going anywhere and she could easily catch up knowing wouldn’t be able to concentrate until she had more time to investigate. Soon enough she was back at the heart of the wood. She ran her hands over the smooth trunk and climbed through the tree’s branches in search of other mysteries that might be lurking there. After this somewhat disappointing search she began to talk to the tree and even sang it a song once or twice. She had a lovely voice. Her voice carried and its faint echoes reached a man walking down the path in her direction.
The man slowed and diverted from the path in order to come up behind the trees on the opposite site of the glade from Willow. He gazed at her devouring every detail of her person. He waited until she departed before he slipped out in the glade and began to follow her. He trailed her all the way back to her home. He then walked away with a smile on his lips that caused anyone that saw it to shiver and edge away. He continued to stalk Willow waiting for the night of the full moon.
Willow kept up her visits to the tree throughout the next four days. Other than the occasional feeling of being watched she noticed nothing unusual. Her fascination with the tree has only increased. She could not figure out the mystery even though she searched the glade and the tree thoroughly. Even the raven was nowhere to be found. So that evening, she sat and compiled a list of her visits to the tree hoping to figure out the mystery that still eluded her. Looking at the list gave her an idea. She always visited the wood during the day and never stayed until full dark. Anxious to figure out the mystery she decided to go into the woods that very night. She waited until her parents went to bed then snuck out her window and made her way to the heart of the woods.
The forest seemed to be alive in a very different way at night. The glade was bathed in the light of the full moon when she arrived. Filled with the conviction she would figure out the mystery tonight, she approached the tree. Standing in front of the tree, she placed her hands on the smooth bark and looked up into the rustling leaves. So absorbed in her view of the tree she failed to notice the lack of any wind to blow through the leaves and that the moon had been covered by a dark cloud. The man, taking advantage of her distraction and the cloud cover, crept up behind her and drug his knife across her throat. Her blood slid down the pale smooth bark and soaked into the ground. There it remained only for a moment before being absorbed by the tree. The man simply watched as her life blood ran out and the tree’s roots rose up and pulled Willow’s body deep into the ground.
Willow’s desire had been fulfilled and surpassed. She was now a part of the mystery that she longed to find. However, that wish came with a high price which she unknowingly paid.
One might wonder how I came to know this story. I am the tree at the heart of Onyx Wood and all the stories of those killed at my base are mine to bear. I am full of their memories from the first poor soul murdered beneath my branches to the very last. There may never be an end to them for the man will pass on his twisted ritual just as it was passed down to him. I take them into myself so that they will be remembered and have peace. Their bones become my wood and their blood my sap. Their stories live on inside of this old tree in the heart of Onyx Wood.