The Silence of The Woods

The cicadas had started to click, the silence was broken as they sang and chirped. The air started to grow warmer as the Sun passed the horizon. Yet despite the change in sound, the same dead atmosphere shrouded the area. The forest was a mere tenth of its size, almost all of it being burned for farmland. Over hunting and overgrazing by the farmers had also displaced every animal here. The silence of the forest quickly drowned out the clicking cicadas.

Before he could see it, the crashing and eternal racing of the waterfall could be heard; Saga’s ears picked it up immediately as he walked faster towards the graceful sound. He licked his lips, a pain seared from the several cuts, as his dehydration dragged him towards the much-needed water. The soil turned damp as the trees suddenly disappeared, the ferocious crashing of the water became deafening as Saga approached it. His arms gave way to the cauldron as he desperately knelt for a drink.

His lack of precaution proved deadly, however. A rock gave way under Saga’s foot, followed by a short yell he slipped and fell just inches away from the cliff, the waterfall rushing off right beside him. He gasped as he looked down to the ground below, his head growing dizzy just thinking about the height. Saga sat up carefully, his heart racing and his mind pounding with fear as he slowly crawled back to the cauldron. This time, he leaned down to the water and took quick sips, careful not to shift his weight too far into the fall.

After several gulps, the refreshed boy stood up and lifted the cauldron, placing it carefully into the river. It took Saga everything he had to keep the swift water from swiping it away. After what seemed to be an eternity for him, a few seconds passed as he lifted the full cauldron back up, tied the lid on, and quickly began the journey home.

Nearly an hour passed when Saga could finally see his home again. He was completely exhausted, his arms felt like they were about to tear off, yet his day had just begun. He could see his mother boarding the house with broken planks again, even though she knew that no amount of boards would keep the insects out.

“Mama! I’m here with the water!”

Saga’s voice rang through the empty plains, he could see Myra’s face pop up in his bedroom window, a bright smile on her face that instantly made all of the torturous work worth it. His mother turned around, facing Saga with a blank stare.

“Save the water, I've already baked the potatoes, there's one left for you… eat it.”

She quickly turned her face to the planks again, uninterested in a reply. Saga put the cauldron down as Myra came running at him, waiting for a hug. He picked her up and granted her request, as she welcomed him home Saga ignored the warm greeting and pressed his hands against her body. Her bones were nearly perforating her skin, her ribs could be outlined against the dress, her arms were much too skinny, and her lips seemed completely dry. He cursed himself silently for not being more attentive to his sister. Next week Father gets paid for being in the war, he should be going back to the guardhouse tomorrow. Just until then, we just have to hold out until then.

“Hey, hey, Saga!” Myra called for her brother’s attention once again.

“What is it, Myra?” Saga replied cheerfully as he put her down carefully and knelt down face-level to her.

“How was the forest? Was it pretty? Did you see any animals?” Her voice was cheerful, hopeful, an ignorant bliss Saga could never betray.

“Yes… yes there was Myra, there were many animals, even birds, cawing and chirping to each other all the time. And the waterfall… How pretty it was Myra.” Lies, all lies, the only noise I could hear inside that damned forest were the cicadas’ clicks, as if they were counting away the seconds the forest would remain alive.

“Really?! How about rabbits? Saga, were there any rabbits?”

“Of course there was, they all ran away from me though.”

Saga recalled the time when Myra had first seen a rabbit when she was just five. It was pure black, its fur so beautiful and pure that it seemed to radiate its darkness. Myra had chased it for nearly an hour, as it was the first time she had seen such a lively animal before.

“How lucky! Saga, will you take me there someday? Please?”

“Yes, Myra… Someday, when you grow old enough, I’ll take you to the forest, and you’ll be able to see all the animals yourself.” Saga hesitated with his reply.

He stood up and picked the cauldron back up, and walked towards the back of the house. Myra continued to tag along behind him, still excited and full of energy.

“The Sun shall grace the stars, and the moon shall look along, for those that soar the ground, shall never sing this song.”

Saga stopped in his tracks as he heard the tune from Myra’s mouth. A very puzzling and disturbing feeling rose in his chest.

“Myra… That song, what is it? Where did you hear it from?”

Myra suddenly stopped moving and looked to the sky, furrowing her eyebrows in thought.

“Hmmmm… I don't know… I remember there being more to the song… but… AH! I remember now! The rabbit sang it to me!”

The feeling in Saga’s chest disappeared instantly. Ah… I see… It was nothing after all.

“Ah, is that so? Did the rabbit tell you anything else then?” Saga continued his pace to the kitchen, and Myra revitalized herself and moved along.

“He did! He said that when I grow older, I’ll be able to help you much more, Saga! I’ll even work on the farm with you, and we’ll make enough money for meat again!”

“Right, Right.”

Saga replied cheerfully again, but in his mind, he continued to swear to himself. Never, I’ll never let Myra work on that farm… No matter how bad things get.

They made their way into the kitchen. The slight aroma of baked potatoes drifted through the air, he put the cauldron down and looked at his potato sitting on the counter, still hot. Without a second thought, he grabbed it and handed it over to Myra. Saga had seen what severe starvation looked like at the farm; he vowed to never see Myra like that. Her smile disappeared into a state of confusion.

“Eat it, Myra, and make sure you drink enough water from the cauldron as well, I'll be back before sundown, make sure to help Mama.” Myra didn’t say anything back.

A metal clinking of boots interrupted them as Saga’s father appeared, in his mouth a piece of dried meat, in his hand, a half-eaten loaf of bread, they were soldier food rations. His unshaven face and his distant eyes looked around until it settled on Saga.

“Saga, Myra, I’m not going to be back until next Thursday.”

His only words as he walked outside, his metal armor covered only his shoulders and legs, glistening a clean silver. The chest piece was only chain mail with a cross sloppily forged onto it, a short sword in its sheath was lazily tied around his waist, and his helmet was rounded with dents struck into it, the armor of a war grunt. He did not even look at his wife as he headed towards the opposite direction of the forest. Saga’s Mother returned the same gesture.