Aftermath

Six months had passed since we met the woman in the woods, the egg had turned a faded red colour at the top and remained dark red at the bottom. We were woken in the night by a rustling sound. Callum lifted the bed to reveal the egg, it was shaking in the hole making the dried grass rustle. We speculated what was to come out of it, to our knowledge some lizards were born of eggs and birds. The shell cracked open and something fought to get out, Callum gently helped it along. We cried with shock and delight when we saw that inside was small baby, a baby boy. I lifted him out carefully, he was very small and fragile, we fed him goats milk when cried as this was all we had. We told the shaman and elders that we had heard a baby crying in the night and had gone to investigate, to find him crying alone. The elders accepted this, but the shamans gave us a knowing look and declared the child to be special, a miracle of the village.

Callum later made up stories about the woman in the woods and spread them around, rumors started about her burning down villages and stealing children. We knew the stories weren’t true about her, but we wanted to ensure she was left in peace, wherever it was she had gone. Offerings to her became more frequent and ritual sacrifices of animals, few though they were, were made in her name. Our crops that year were plentiful and rain came in the spring. The village gave thanks to the woman in the woods but warn that if you venture onto her land you will be spirited away or torn apart, and children dare each other to stand on the edge of the boundary and call out to her, they make it to the boundary, but none have ever called out.