The Moonlight Boy | Ferry's Tale # 1

Hag of the mist

The mornings were getting chillier and, as autumn settled in, the fog covered the town as if it was a wet blanket. Which was very unpleasant for Ferry. He hated cold and moisture. Although his mother bundled him up every morning, he could feel the cold the moment he went out the door. The cold made him walk clumsily, with head hidden between his shoulders. He would mumble a faint good morning to Matilda when they met to go to school together. Then they walked along without saying a word. A few houses away, Ben would join them, just as silent and the three of them would head to school in silence. School days seemed longer now ever since the sun ceased to warm up the small town of Goodharts.

One of those mornings, when the fog was making everything almost impossible to see, the three friends met on their way to school, as usual. It seemed a quiet, cold morning like so many before. Only their steps could be heard on the wet slabs of the street. Suddenly, a terrible scream broke the silence. A frightening, horrible wailing, followed by strong claps.

Ferry stopped in the middle of the street. "Did you hear that?"

Matilda and Ben also stopped, listening, "Hear what?"

The wailing stopped. His friends shrugged and continued on their way. They've gotten used to Ferry's queerness. Ferry followed shortly after.

But then, that scream again. It sounded like a woman's wailing. This time, it was accompanied by the clatter of horses hooves. And then, out of nowhere, the eeriest, most frightening carriage came out of the fog. It had the shape of a black coffin and it was pulled by black horses. Only that... they had no heads. He couldn't believe his eyes. Right there, in front of him, ran a carriage pulled by four headless horses. Before he could say anything, the carriage sped away and melted into the mist. The woman's wailing continued for a while, then it was also swallowed by the fog.

"Did you see that? The carriage that went by?" Ferry asked his friends, barely breathing.

"What carriage?" laughed Ben. "I see carriages only during the summer fair. And the only cars around here are those going to the sawmill. And of course, Mr. Pride's car, but he doesn't drive around here too often."

Ferry didn't answer. At school, he couldn't pay attention, nor was he in the mood for playing during the break. He ate his lettuce sandwich, so delicious once, yet so tasteless now. Then he decided to wait patiently until the school ended, which was rather hard, considering what had happened. Not even May's smile could brighten up his day, as it usually did.

At home, time passed by just as slowly. The only pleasant moments were those when he was visited by his raven, for whom he always kept a piece of bread or a cookie.

He was now looking at the chocolate pudding in front of him without even touching it. The apparition had troubled him beyond words. He'd gotten used to all the creatures and beings populating his mind. He wanted to believe his mother and blame it on his wide imagination. But somewhere, deep inside, he knew those beings were real. He knew they existed somewhere else than inside his head, even though nobody seemed to notice them.

"Is it something wrong, dear?" his mother interrupted his thoughts. "Is everything all right at school?"

"Yes, Mum, everything's fine," he answered in a low voice.

"I hope you haven't been arguing with your classmates. Children can be very cruel sometimes, you know. But I'm sure that if they knew you, you would be the best of friends."

"I don't want them to know me," he said, staring at the plate.

His mother turned her full attention to him.

"Nobody really knows me," he added. "If they knew me, they'd be afraid of me."

Mrs. Donovan took his face in her palms and looked him in the eyes. "I know you better than anyone and I'm not afraid of you. Why don't you let your friends know the real you?"