Rock Beats —

I woke with a headache that seemed to scream in my left ear. Holding a palm over the pain, I sat up. I would have expected to have died from that fall. Then again, I wasn’t sure if I was already dead and dropped in the bowels of Hades, so I suppose I was safe to assume I couldn’t be double dead.

They, whoever that is supposed to be, say pain is a surefire way to check if one was dreaming, and if so, this was most certainly no dream. I ended up closing my left eye as the pain radiated to it, and I did my best to loosen my clenched jaw. Everything hurt, and some black dots danced like flies when my left eye was open.

Pushing up, I surveyed the area. It was the bottom of the cliffside, for sure, with dense woods surrounding me on all sides. The way the branches looked, I bounced off one after another like a cartoon character to land safely on the ground. Or maybe less than safely, as the moment I was on my feet, my throbbing head became the least of my concerns. Pain seared down my back and across my limbs so intensely that I yelped.

After a few moments of heavy breathing, I guess I grew used to it enough to stumble forward, but it hurt.

“Just walk it off, just walk it off,” I muttered as I stumbled back into the woods. Perhaps I managed to trick myself enough since the pain eventually seemed to fade. I could be sure I wouldn’t spend more time on cliffsides, though.

The woods at the base of the cliff were no different than the top. Dense, endless, and filled with the feeling that I was being watched at every step. My pace was increasingly slowed, but I kept moving as fast as I could – my eyes peeled for more trouble.

Instead, trouble came in the form of a smell. A sweet smell, like freshly baked pastries, wafted through the tree lines, and I immediately stopped. It was apple pie, maybe, or perhaps some other fruit-based dish, but either way, it was out of place. My growling stomach urged me to get closer, but my throbbing head said no. The result was me imitating a statue in the middle of the dense woods like some kind of idiot.

Eventually, my stomach won the internal debate, and I trudged forward until what looked like a clearing came into view. I stopped behind a bush and pushed the branches to either side of my face to peer out.

In the center of the clearing was a wooden cottage, like from a freaking fairy tale. Smoke danced from a chimney, and some small birds hopped on the roof. A pie cooling in the window urged me to step out and get a closer look, but I held firm as I spied a girl standing out front. She wasn’t looking at me, so I could only make out long, blonde hair, a purple-colored dress, and the most ridiculous pointed hat to match it.

She backed a few steps away from a section of the woods further down, and what appeared to be a large, shadowy wolf lurked forward. The beast was too far away to hear but was large enough I could make out a snarling face. I had definitely seen enough to know I had no place here, but I found myself unable to step away. What would happen when a probably wicked witch and giant monster fought? The same urge that gets people to ogle car crashes compelled me to stay and see things play out.

A weak flash of light came from the witch’s hand, but the beast seemed undeterred. She took another step back and tripped over a rake, landing in a seated position on the ground. I certainly wasn’t cold-hearted enough to change my view of things. This girl was about to get mauled and was either too weak or too much of a klutz to do anything about it. That was a bit more blood than I felt like seeing, and I let the bush close the view in front of me. Trying to carefully step back, my heel bumped something hard.

A stone of perfect throwing size was budded from the ground. There was no need to be a hero, though; I had lived long enough to know how badly this would go in my own home; who could imagine how bad it would be in some creepy forest. Before I could take a quiet step away, I heard a muffled shout from the witch. It was too far to hear, but the message of fear was conveyed. She didn’t want to die either.

“I’m an idiot,” I said as I snatched the stone. My arm burned from my previous fall as I lifted it near my chest. Sliding my opposite foot forward, I let the rock fly.

The witch immediately blasted to the ground as I stood with a face that looked like a fool. In hindsight, I never had the best aim, but it was probably because I was sore. Yeah, I probably fell off a cliff after all, which was why I missed….

The shadowy wolf turned to me, and for a moment, it looked almost disappointed. Normally, I wouldn’t associate an expression with an animal, but this forest was already topsy turvey enough that I suppose I was prepared. The beast took a step my way before stopping and cocking its head like it was thinking.

Its eyes grew wide in a manner I would expect to be accompanied by a light bulb, and then I witnessed a chilling, toothy grin. The beast licked its pointed fangs as I drew my arms close to my chest and shivered. If it chose to lunge, I would be too frozen in place to do anything. Instead, the wolf turned away, flicking its tail to the unconscious witch, and disappeared into the woods.

This seemed like nothing but a bad idea, but I had little else I could do. Once I was sure the beast was away, I tiptoed out of the woods and up to the sleeping girl. Up close, her hat and dress looked as if they were made up of shifting starry skies. Her face was well-proportioned and seemed to blend a mix of mature years and young innocence. A red bump also comically protruded from her blonde hair where my attack had landed. Had she not seemed so otherworldly, I would have been surprised to see what seemed like peaceful sleep.

I just had to hope she wouldn’t be mad for beaming her on the side of the head. Or, at the least, if she turned me into a newt, she would end me before I got better.

I gently slid my arms under her and did my best to lift with proper posture. The girl was so unnaturally light I almost fell back, having prepared for a heavier load. Upon entering her house, I set her on the couch while trying to ignore the rush of smells. One second, it was sugary, another smokey, then fruity, and the cycle happened frequently enough that I could never get used to any.

The witch groaned and rubbed the lump on her head. She sat up almost as if she was trying to dance. Rubbing her head, crystalline eyes opened and looked at me, or perhaps into me, down to my very core of being. I took a cautious step back, but a friendly smile convinced me not to run away.

Her voice was smooth and sweet but seemed, at the same time, to vibrate like a swarm of bees, “Howdy, dear.”

She still seemed like trouble, and the door shut behind me on its own.