the witch forest6
The Witch Forest
Kim Yeon Jung
Korea University
The Witch Forest
. I'll bet that 'the day' was the most bizarre, yet unforgettable memory with a girl when I was alone in the forest.
It was completely my fault - ignoring the words of the adults to not go deep inside the forest - and anyways I had to return to the village. But it seemed that I totally lost my direction, or maybe I just returned to the path which I had passed by a little while ago. Somewhere above the sky the owls sounded creepy, and often the oddly-stretched trees waved like a kind of living thing. The sudden sound of the bird which was near a scream sent a chill up my spine. The twig grabbed with my palm was almost damp with tons of sweat.
And there I encountered the girl.
She was somehow weird - looked around twelve years old, just like me. A girl in the midnight forest, what a strange picture, I thought. Her pale, blank face was gazing at me without any agitation.
"The witches." I noticed my aunt Rose's words when she was warning me about the forest. "Living in deep dark inside the forest, bringing misfortunes to the village, cursing people with a creepy spell."
That's how she described the witches. she always told me that with anger, and I knew why. Her husband, uncle Joseph was died of an epidemic last year, and she believes that the witches of the forest cursed him to death without a doubt.
I looked up for her with a trembling hand, grasping the stick more tightly. She was just stuck there for a while, watching me with totally unreadable eyes.
It sounds a bit absurd, but I thought that I would be attacked by her at that moment. But the words that came from her mouth were totally out of my expectation.
" Are you lost? "
I was too astonished to get the words instantly. She asked me again, with such a tender voice.
" You are living downtown, aren't you? "
" Oh? .....Oh, yeah, " I merely replied to her.
" Follow me, then. " She approached me slowly.
I cowered a little when she passed me by, but she just walked away on the opposite side of the way. Her steps were steady and fast, and maybe even slightly faster than me, I guessed. With a small anxiety, I slowly walked apart from her. Would it be really fine? Does she have any intention in helping me? What if it's not the way to go back home? I kept asking a bundle of questions while going after her. I think there was an absolute silence.
But soon I realized that the thoughts were no use any longer. Suddenly, it was bright enough to look far, and there was a scene that I knew well. There she stopped.
" Maybe I should say good-bye here. " She turned around. I felt sorry for my thoughts to her.
" I can't thank you enough. " I almost murmured.
" It's a pleasure to meet you there," she smiled. " I never saw someone from the downtown for a while till now. "
I was somehow curious, but I didn't ask why. She looked lonely saying that, and I wanted to help her.
" I can come here tomorrow, " I said. " Since you seemed to know the forest well, maybe playing up here would be fine. "
" Will you do that for me? " She smiled. " Of course, I know it well. I can tell you everything I know."
It was dazzling in the moonlight, and that I was certain that she was not a witch or any kind of wicked human being. She was actually adorable, to be honest.
After that day, I went up to meet her at the same place where we said our farewell almost everyday. Since it was after harvest - that means I didn't have to work for the landlord with my family - we played together in the forest all day long.
I called her Enna, and it was the name which I saw in a tale. (In fact, I really liked the character of the book.) Enna knew almost everything in the forest as she told me with confidence. She knew the name of every single plant, some caves for the animals, the best spot to observe lots of stars, a puddle that we could splash for a whole day, and even the differences between the blackberry and a kind of toxic fruit only by their appearances.
Soon I realized Enna was just like other girls down there. The only strange thing was that she never said a word about herself. Maybe it was because she was a bit more mature than other girls in downtown, but sometimes she really looked like a childish kid. So I was no longer terrified of her anymore.
I enjoyed hanging out with her for those days, and I also got pleased with her calm smile when she was listening to me. We talked a lot, laughed aloud, and often sang a song while going straight down the hills. After all, we became best friends within a short amount of period.
The sudden dreadful, harsh winter seemed to have no end.
That winter, a disastrous epidemic swept many children away. Nobody knew where it came from, or why was it happened. Screams and wails covered all over the town. It seemed that the entire town got dead. And it was one of those nights that Mary, a loving child of Aunt Rose, passed away.
There an outburst of rage exploded. It seemed that everyone was seized with terror. Aunt Rose, who nearly got mad with grief cried out that the witches in the forest had taken her family away. Everyone agreed. Someone suggested to burn up the accursed forest. Agreed again. They decided to set fire all around there the very next day.
I noticed that something wrong would happen to Enna. When I overheard them, I ran ahead to the mountain without any hesitation. As I expected, she was at the puddle we used to play, dipping her feet in the water.
" Enna! " I shouted. " They will burn up the forest tomorrow. You should have to go down! "
" How come? " she replied, with a little surprise.
" The disease. They think the witches of the forest must have cursed the town, so they're trying to kill the witches with burning the forest. "
Enna paused for a while with silence.
" So, do you think the witches really exist? "
" Maybe yes, or not. I never saw them, anyways."
" I can't go down here," she said with a grief. " My mother. She's too fragile to go down. I have to stay for her. "
I noticed that her old lady was what people called 'the witch' immediately. But that fact didn't bother me to help my best friend.
" But otherwise you'll be in danger!" I claimed. " I'll help you to get down. Then you can go wherever you want."
" No way. " She shook her head. " We'll be executed if we're found. "
" Why so cruel? What the hell did you do wrong before? " I asked in panic.
" Nothing." she did emphasized with an accent. " Only the anxiety of the people about their society turned the weak into witches and enemies. "
She suddenly burst into tears. Her shoulder was slightly shivering, and I was about to make her calm down. Right at the time, she flinched and stepped back from me in a blink.
" They're coming here. I have to say a good-bye now. "
I turned around, and there was a bunch of people approaching in the distance. I guessed they couldn't see us yet.
" It was the best memory in my life to be with you, " she whispered. She really had a brilliant smile, I thought. " I will never forget every piece of it. "
Now I had something to say. But as soon as she finished her words, she ran above and disappeared.
I can't remember the very next day after the farewell, but there were flames all over the mountain. It was all orange - maybe a bit of yellow, or some kind of crimson-mixed. Later on, my mother told me that the mountain turned into the ashes, and there was no single trace of any human being inside there. Did Enna escape with her mother? Where did she move? Was she a real witch and spelled some magic words? I didn't hear a word about her from that day, and I often miss her when I recall my childhood. I've never seen such a gleaming smile since then.