Allegories of a Witch: Winter Shadows

♜I: Through the Woods♜

Winter has now visited the peaceful place of the Godfrics in the vast lands of Maine. Trees began to freeze from the lancet window beside the grand piano where Brian is playing one of his favorite pieces of Beethoven, the Moonlight sonata. Beside him was his sister Brittany who was sitting silently.

"Play another song, Brian. I've heard that for a hundredth time." She demanded.

"Alright. Okay, here." He replied as he played one of his piano instructor's original pieces.

"That's beautiful. Did Miss Watson taught you that?" She asked but he shook his head.

"Nah. I just heard her played this once and... well, I kinda remembered it well, so I played it." He answered.

"Oh. Pretty cool retention you have. Okay, teach me now."

"Whoa. I thought you dislike this whole piano thing?"

"Well, there are exceptions, and I kinda like this song. So, will you or will you not?"

"Sheesh. Girls."

Brian was at the left keys of the piano while Brittany was at the other side. They're quite jolly that winter morning. The breeze seemed colder and Brittany was preparing her soft vermilion coat to go to the Marauder's forest to pick up special herbs that only grows during the first weeks of winter.

"You sure you don't want company? You're like little Red Riding Hood in that coat. Looks silly." Brian snorted.

"I'm big enough, you know. Just look after mom and the house. I'll be back with some tea leaves before dark. Laters." Said Brittany as she strode out the snowy grounds.

"Jeez. I wanted to come with her and laugh at her outfit the whole afternoon. Right, Thomas?" He whispered to his fruit bat hanging upside down from the tree trunk beside him.

Brittany strode along the entrance of the Marauder's forest and made sure she won't enter too deep to avoid getting lost. She immediately searched for the remaining green and grassy grounds to look for the herbs. And when she found it, she knelt down to reach for it, but then, something she didn't expect happened. Several meters away from the field where she kneels was an unusual creature standing there. Its tail has white strands, its body covered with a fur of jet black, and its size was like the largest St. Bernard, which she can't believe to be even possible. Brittany opened her mouth from the sudden surprise. She slowly stand on her knees, mutters to herself not to panic.

The black wolf was drinking on an open creek that hasn't been frozen yet by the winter season. Suddenly, the wolf went cautious that somebody was standing some meters away. Its hairy face turned to Brittany, its eyes were fixed on her, and then it walked towards her.

Brittany's insides were in turmoil. Her head was spinning and her limbs were trembling.

Move! Run! Get out of here! That thing's gonna make you its supper! Her subconscious shouted at her. Suddenly, she breathed, calming herself, still staring at the wolf walking slowly to her.

"Okay... It won't hurt me. It won't hurt me. Wolves don't eat fifteen-year-olds, do they? And isn't this scenario like the ones on the Little Red Riding Hood story? But fairy tales don't happen in real life... and- and it doesn't even look like Granny?" She muttered to herself.

The wolf was now five meters away from her, while she's still petrified from where she is standing. Oh no Bri... It's walking fast. "It's walking... Run!" She shrieked to herself as she stepped aback and got tripped from the tree root on the white grounds. This is not the luckiest day of her life, she thought.

The wolf was now a meter away from her and when it started to come near her, there was a loud clamping sound and the wolf felt a stinging pain. An iron clamp covered in snow caught its left front arm and fell. It howled in pain and coiled itself like a worm. It was her chance to escape. She quickly stood and retrieved her basket, fled few steps away, but suddenly stopped. She can hear the wolf's cry and felt pity. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists, then looked back and went closer to the wolf's anguish situation. It was like dying in pain. She knelt down and unlocked the iron clamp. It was a quick moment and the poor fellow stopped from howling. Slowly, their eyes met.

"Here you go, it won't hurt anymore. D-don't you know that wild animals like you shouldn't loaf around here? It's very dangerous." She said who fished out her white handkerchief with its hand sewn initials 'BG' in calligraphy style and pink stitch. She folded it in triangles and wrapped it around the injured arm of the vulnerable creature. It stopped growling and licked the part where it was hurt. She slowly reached out her hand and gently strokes its fur, wanting to embrace it.

"I'm... I'm really not afraid of you, y'know. And well, it's weird." She said stuttering. "Hey, you hungry? I have some packed bread here, just in case." She slowly dropped a small piece of bread, and then the wolf rolled its eyes on her.

"Hey, did you just-? Yea, I know, wolves don't eat bread." She pouted and chuckled. "Y'know, you're actually cute and cuddly. What if I give you a name? Uh- Cuddy. That's your name. Cute, yea?" She smiled and stood, "It's getting late, I should head home now. Unfortunately, I haven't got any herbs. Cuddy, you should stay somewhere safe. I should go now." And she ran away from the forest without looking back.

"Really? Did it hurt you? What's it like? Did you tame it? Is it true that wolves can stand in twos?" Brian asked excitedly while preparing his bed. Brittany was too tired to tell the whole story so she switched off her lamp light and lie down to bed.

"No to all. Come on, Brian. Go to bed." She murmured.

"I wanna see it tomorrow! Can I come with you? Can I?" He pleaded.

"No."

"And why not? Weren't you scared?"

"Of course not, and besides, grown-ups like me can go to the forest, while you're not. Mom said you're not allowed to go unless someone is with you."

"C'mon, big sis. I'll behave, please. And after that, I'm gonna show you something more interesting. I just discovered it while you're away."

"I'll think about it."

The next day, Brian's four poster bed was empty as Brittany woke up and headed to the kitchen. She saw her mom and asked her brother. Her mom said she heard him play the piano half an hour ago. Brittany went to the living room and he wasn't there. Thomas was the only one there, hanging on one of the plant's branches. She walked to the grand piano and sat there. She tried to play the piece Brian taught her yesterday. Her heart's dancing with the beat while playing the song. And as she finished the last keys, her eyes wandered outside the window and saw a flock of birds flew away from a particular location, coming from the Marauder's forest. For a moment she felt uneasy, like there's something bad happened. She thought of Cuddy. She immediately went to the forest to check him, and not from afar, the view of the forest was now unrecognizable due to the white snow that covered it like thin veil.

As she was nearing the entrance, she can hear someone crying deep in the woods. She passed the place where she left Cuddy. The bread remain untouched, and the wolf wasn't there.

Few minutes of walking and mourning voices can be heard. She saw her family there, with her uncle and grandparents who just arrived that very morning. They were surrounding something. She heard her mom crying, and her dad was trying to comfort her.

Brittany moved closer, but her insides were drawing her aback. There she saw her younger brother lying motionless. His pale face and the white grounds were stained with his crimson pigments, bathing in his own blood. She loathed that day and that gray sky that winter.