Revenance

Chapter 14

Mira was up early the next morning before anyone else was awake. It was just before dawn. The clouds were just starting to clear up from the storm the night before, and left over mist from the rain hung in the air.

She shook out the remaining droplets of water from her cloak and pulled it around her shoulders as she headed out of the house. Her boots were caked in dried mud and they only picked up more as she trudged along the path.

Mira took her normal path into the woods and followed her footprints from the night before. There were only her footprints and that of the chicken's on the forest floor, so she guessed that Tajo hadn't even been touching the ground the night before.

As the sun rose, dewdrops on the leaves and the branches around her lit up and sparkled in the morning sunlight. The sun beams broke through the trees, the leaves of which were all golden orange and red as autumn was just starting to creep in.

It had been a year, and yet it had felt like nothing had changed, but she knew things were different. Whatever it was, she couldn't tell.

Mira went to the river, but the sight of the water made her sick to her stomach. She pulled herself away from the river bank and took a few deep breaths. As she shut her eyes, the sound of the rushing water filled her ears and suddenly she was struggling against the current all over again. Her knees buckled and she wanted to retch.

Mira sank to her knees against the tree and she started to regret coming back into the forest.

"You don't have to wait for me."

She flinched at the sound of Tajo's voice over her. With great apprehension, she opened her eyes and raised her gaze to meet his. He wasn't as terrifying as he was the night before, which puzzled her. He looked like how she remembered.

"Tajo..." Mira pulled herself to her feet and looked up at him. "You're here."

"Of course I am." He tilted his head as he looked at her. "You've changed... but you're still Mira. How long has it been?"

"A year, I think," she breathed. "It would have been two in the spring."

"How old are you?" he asked, and she realised she'd never told him.

"Thirteen. Fourteen in a few weeks."

Tajo stared at her for another moment. "Did the river scare you?"

Mira nodded without thinking. "Yeah... yeah... I didn't think it would."

He nodded back towards the trees and gestured for her to follow. "Then come away. Let's go somewhere else, then." He started walking along the undergrowth, in that same familiar way that Mira could recognise as she walked alongside him. "I wonder..." he said, glancing down towards her, "Why is it that you stopped coming to see me? Without even so much as a goodbye, it was ... out of character for you."

She glanced down at the ground and held her hands together. "The people in the village, they know who you are. Or ... just an idea of you. The priest said you're evil and that your name is Tajonajek." Mira looked up at him, but he didn't bat an eye. "If I ever saw you again... I would have to be sent away. I'm sorry for not saying goodbye."

"There's no need to apologise. As far as I'm concerned, it's safer for you if you would stop coming here. Permanently."

Mira was taken aback by his bluntness. "What? Why?"

Tajo glanced down at her, quietly considering the answer he was going to give her, before he finally sighed. "I think it's time I be a bit more honest with you." Before Mira could say anything, he gently wrapped his hand around hers and started heading in another direction. She struggled to keep up with him, despite him having her hand.

Gradually, the golden morning light and the ambient sound of rustling leaves and life in the forest began to fade. It grew darker, with heavy clouds overhead as Tajo led Mira to a darker and less alive part of the forest. The leaves on the ground turned black and charred and the trees were sickly and white. Chills ran down Mira's spine, and her curiosity was starting to change to fear.

And then, they stopped. In front of them was a dead hollow tree, white, with black vines pouring out of the dark, void-like centre. Tajo's hand started shaking, and just as Mira noticed, he let go of her hand. She felt slightly dizzy, and it felt as though the energy was draining from her body, as they were standing there.

"That's the... that's the tree... I remember it," Mira said, suppressing a yawn.

Tajo nodded and placed his hand on the pale bark. "Yes." He glanced up towards the sky. "This is a dark place. During the day, it's mostly harmless, to you and other humans just like you. I assume you're feeling rather tired, just standing here?"

She nodded and pulled her cloak more tightly around herself.

"It's been here for as long as I remember. I don't know what put it here, but I know why it exists. It's a bridge, for the darkest of things to come pouring through. It eats up all life around it in order to keep breathing."

"Why hasn't it... eaten you?" Mira asked, her eyes half shut as she wanted to fall asleep.

Tajo paused again, looking at Mira, just as he always did. "Because I'm one of the things that came out of it."

Her eyes snapped open and she stumbled backwards in surprise, nearly falling over, but managing to catch herself on a tree behind her. "What?" she said, her voice just a breath.

He pulled his gaze away. "I wasn't always like how I am. I used to be just like the other monsters that came out of here, starving and looking for something to sate this unnamable hunger. Maybe at one point, I was just as mindless. But things change, as you know. I started to grow fond of the forest. The life that lived around here. So I decided to protect it. I banished all of the other monsters that lived here, the ones of darkness that came out at night. And life could thrive."

The tension in Mira's muscles started to fade as Tajo continued his story. Though she wanted to sit down, she knew that she would immediately fall asleep if she did. So she stepped closer once again, not knowing what else to do.

"But this... this... this tree has remained the same. At night, the monsters still come through, but not in the same way they used to. With the way I dealt with them, they're weak on their own. So they cling to me. They use me to fulfil their sick desires." Tajo looked back over to Mira. "It's best if you don't stay here. This forest is not safe, and neither am I."

Mira wanted to open her mouth, to say something or even protest, but there were no words. There was nothing she could argue for. It was obvious, and she understood it now, that Tajo knew far more than she did, and she had no choice but to trust him. So in silence, she nodded.

Tajo took Mira's hand. "Let's get you home. I'm sure your family is missing you."

"My family..." she repeated quietly as she walked alongside him. "You've never mentioned them before." He didn't say anything, so Mira pressed again. "Have you been watching? While I'm not here?"

Tajo still remained silent, continuing onwards, but his grip around Mira's hand tightened slightly. She looked away from him, acknowledging that she wouldn't receive an answer.

When they arrived back at the farm, it was late morning. Mira climbed over the fence and turned to look at Tajo, who was already turning to leave. She reached out and grabbed the hem of his cloak, before he could move any further. He turned to look at her. Another one of his pauses before he spoke.

"What?"

Mira swallowed. "I still want to see you. At least... for one final time. Tomorrow?"

He glanced between Mira, the forest, and her farm, before finally sighing and nodding. "One final time. Tomorrow."

She smiled slightly and let go of his cloak. "Tomorrow," she repeated.