Jane Doe in a Picture Book

Prologue

"What is it?"

"Well, clearly, it's a book, dummy!"

"Hey! Don't call me that!"

"Or what? You're just a dummy." Hayden picked up the book, the cover a faded brown and the pages dusty with dulled colored pictures.

"Can you read it?"

Hayden squinted his eyes as he scanned the pages. "Uh... there's too many big words..."

Penelope stuck her tongue out at him. "Bleh! Now who's a dummy?"

"Shut up! We'll just get Zach to read it."

"He's on the playground with the other big kids."

"Alright, come on!"

The two children ran up the hill away from the small forest, kicking up dust as their little legs went. Coming over the hill, they spied their brother. He swung on the swings while he chatted to a blonde-haired boy leaning against the swing structure, sipping juice.

"Zach!" Penelope shouted.

Zach turned – a boorish-eyed boy with a freckled face, raven hair, and tanner skin than his siblings – with a frown on his face. "Don't yell at me! What do you want?"

"I don't think I like his attitude," Hayden mumbled. "We need you to read this to us!"

Zach smirked. "What's wrong, smarty-pants? Too little to read it yourself?"

Hayden glared at him. "At least I'm not too old to be wetting the bed."

Hearing this, the boy sipping juice spat in derisive laughter, coughing in his fit. "What?! You still pee your bed?!"

"Shut up! I'm only eleven!"

"I'm eleven too, but I don't pee in the freakin' bed!" His voice cracked as he rocked the chains on the swings. Red-faced, Zach stalked over to a smug Hayden and grabbed him by his collar, dragging him back over the hill near the woods.

"Alright, damn!" Zach exclaimed. "What's the stupid book?" Penelope handed it to him. Zach examined it, flipping it over in his hand. "This... looks old as shit. Where did you guys find this?"

"Don't know," Hayden said with a shrug. "Found it in the forest somewhere."

"Alright, fine. Sit around, boys and girls! Storytime!"

"Yay!" Penelope clapped, sitting next to Hayden, who laid his cheek on his hand with one eye open.

"One day," Zach began, "Kore was walking on the path to the berry grove. Usually, she walked through open fields, allowing her to enjoy the soft breeze and the simple colors of the grass. But the clouds looked dark, so she detoured through the forest instead. It was shadowy yet peaceful – a shorter path to endure.

"As she walked, though, Kore heard a mild groan somewhere behind a line of tall trees. She went to ignore it, thinking little of it, but then she heard the groan again, this time a bit stronger. Curious, she ventured through the bushes and saw, behind this wall, a smaller but wider tree with the face of an old man. The face was anguished, a rusty-colored bark and graying leaves for food.

'Who goes there?!' he asked.

'Only me,' she said.

'And who are you?'

'The girl of a village not far. My name is Kore.'

'O, Kore! Though my eyes nearly blind and cannot see, your kindness shines in darkness. Though my ears nearly deaf and cannot hear, your voice softens. Though my touch nearly numbs and cannot feel, your presence warms. Why are you here?'