The Dancing Hag

Deep within the forest, past all the bent trees, and the critters that called it home laid a small lake. It was filled with pure black water and when one looked down in it, it was impossible to see the bottom. It was dark. Darker than the night sky with no moon shining down upon the land. Pitch black. No fish could live in the lake. No frogs, no plant life, for if anything tried to grow in the lake they would become consumed by the darkness of it, and turn into the water itself. They would become nothing. Parents warned their children in the nearby village to never touch its water. For if you do, the lake will consume you. 

However, at the very bottom of the lake lived a young hag. She had such pale skin that you could see the veins traveling throughout her long spindly body. Her back hunched over. Her arms longer than her body itself, with the fingernails on her hands turning into claws. The Hags knees were brought into her chest, as she sat on the bottom of the lake. Her stringy black hair covered her entire face except for a pair of piercing blue eyes. Her eyes gazing up out of the lake. 

All around the hag was darkness. She could never tell if it was night or day in her home. It was only darkness. In her home, she would draw what she’d believe what the outside world looked like in the sand. Buildings with families living inside of them. Rolling fields that one could play in. A large ball of fire shining down brightening the world around them, and giving life to all. But most of all the dancing. Even though she could not see out of the confines of her lake, she could hear everything.

 Every now and then she would hear strange sounds coming from the nearby village. Beautiful noises that made her want to leap and twirl. It felt like these noises urged her to move. She would hear cheers coming from the humans as the noises picked up speed. Sometimes the noises were very high, sometimes very low. Sometimes very fast, sometimes very slow. However, every time she heard it, she wanted to dance. So while the music played The Hag would listen to the music, and move. She’d move however she pleased for it brought her joy. The only joy she had in her dark home. 

One day The Hag decided she had enough. She was tired of staying trapped at the bottom of the lake. She wanted to join in with the dancing. She wanted to meet people. She longed to see the great big ball of fire that lit up every corner of the world except hers. The Hag gathered all her strength and began to swim upwards. With every stroke, she could feel the pressure of the water trying to force her back down. But The Hag kept going. She could feel the aching of her bones, the pain in her throat as the water kept pushing down on her, but she kept going until-she broke the surface. The Hag let out a huge gasp as she breathed air for the very first time in her life. The world was so bright. 

The Hag felt the grass tickle the bottom of her feet as she stepped onto land for the first time and let out a small giggle. She looked up to the pastel blue sky, and the big ball of blazing fire shining down upon her. The sun. The heat of it burned for a brief moment, her skin not used to such light, but The Hag did not care. For she was free. She began to run through the forest seeing color for the first time in her life. The green leaves reminiscent of polished emeralds blew in a soft breeze that wrapped The Hag in a tight hug. The flowers soft to the touch bloomed towards her, letting their sweet scents invite her in. This was someone seeing the world for the first time, and it would welcome her. 

She continued to bound through the forest, laughing at every new thing she saw. All of her life it had been nothing but darkness, and the confines of the small lake. But now there was color with every step she took, and she could go anywhere she wanted. She could scale mountains, roll down hills, climb trees, and even dance. The Hag stopped for a moment and shut her eyes, trying to find where the beautiful noise was coming from. It only took a moment before she heard the plucking of strings in the distance. The Hag with a smile bolted towards the sound. Finally, she could dance with the music. 

The Hag reached the edge of the forest and from behind one of the trees peeked out to see the village before her. Small houses made out of a mix of stone, straw, and mud were scattered across multiple acres of land. The houses seemed dull in comparison to the colors of the forest, But it was the humans that lived in them that fascinated the hag. So many different kinds. Some of them were short, some were tall. Some had long hair, some had short hair. They all wore clothes that seemed to flow with every step they took. They held themselves up, not hunched over like her. Their arms just reached past their waist. They all smiled and laughed, and walked to the center of the town where there was a huge clearing.

The Hag looked and saw a few of these humans were holding strange devices. One with strings attached to it, and in their other hand a long piece of wood that seemed to play all the strings at once. Another human held a long silver cylinder with holes covered in it. The human would blow into it, and press their fingers down on certain holes, producing a sound similar to that of a bird. It was all so fascinating. The music began. The Hag was already tapping her feet along to the beat. The humans began to move, their skirts and shirts twirling with them as they moved. They held up their hands and clapped along as they wove in and out of each other. The Hag grinned. This was it. This was finally her chance. 

She leaped into the dancing circle, and began to move. She leaped high into the air almost touching the sky, she twirled so fast that it became hard to spot her face as she spun. Her long claw like hands clapped to the beat, but it did not last very long. For when The Hag revealed herself and began to dance the music came to a screeching halt. The humans stopped their dancing as they stared at the young hag. Their mouths agape. Mothers hid their children behind them, Fathers curled up their fists ready to fight the creature. They all stared at her as her twirling stopped and she gave a sheepish wave to the people. She didn’t understand their expressions, or why they were staring at her. All she wanted was to dance like them. 

The people began to scream and shout at the hag. 

“It’s the beast from the lake!”

“She’s here to steal our souls!”

“She’s here to eat our children.” 

“Kill her!” Their yells were overwhelming. It was not the beautiful noise of the music, these sounds were angry and shrill. They pierced through her head and she reconciled covering her ears. Trying to get the noise to stop. The people grabbed their pitchforks and torches ready to send her back from where she came from when a figure emerged from the crowd. 

Black smoke curled around the bottom of her long white dress trimmed with gold. Her honey-blonde curls traveled down to her waist, her eyes reminiscent of the twinkling stars gazed at the strange creature in front of her. The angry mob stepped out of the woman’s way, her feet barely touching the ground as she walked up to the hag. Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied the hag's strange form. Her clawed hands, translucent skin, and black hair that still seemed wet despite having spent hours outside of the lake. The eyes of stars met the eyes of vibrant blue that belonged to The Hag.

The woman’s voice was soft and silky as she spoke. “Dear creature why have you left the home of the lake?”

The hoarse voice of The Hag spoke to another person for the first time in their life. “I wanted- to- dance.” She cleared her throat, all of the peoples eyes still locked onto her, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “I wanted to see the sun.” 

The woman shook her head, the curls in her hair bouncing. “Dear creature, look around you. These people do not want you here. You scare them. You belong in the lake, where no one can see you.” 

The Hag began to tremble thinking about the darkness of the lake. The frigid cold, and the small space. No room to dance. No room to be free. “Please, let me stay. I won’t bother the people.” A child began to scream as the hag continued to speak. It’s crying caused The H

ag to fall to the ground on her knees. It was so loud. So scary. 

The woman knelt down, her sparkling eyes smiling. “Dear creature, you do not belong with us. I will be sending you home.” The woman’s ruby red lips curled. “And I will make sure you stay there.” Before The Hag could respond, the woman traced a few sighs in the air, and with a clap of her hands, a bright light engulfed the hag. She could feel her skin burning as the bright light blinded her. She couldn’t see the village, or the people, or even the woman. Just the white light. As fast as it arrived, it disappeared.

The Hag studied her surroundings and she was back at the bottom of the lake. The cold biting her flesh. The darkness was all she was able to see. The Hag kicked up and swam to the surface. She was able to break the surface, but the moment she tried to leave the water itself, she felt a tug on her leg dragging her back under. The Hag let out a cry, but no one was listening. She couldn’t see what pulled her under, but every time she tried to leave, the same force tugged on her leg and pulled her under. 

For days The Hag repeated this process over and over and every time she was dragged back underneath the water. Eventually, The Hag settled back down to the bottom of the lake, darkness all around her. No more sun, no more color, no more dancing. It was all gone. Taken away because she looked scary to the people of the village. The woman’s words rang through her ears 

“You do not belong with us”. Over and over that sentence was repeated in the hags mind as she began to sob. Her tears adding to the lake, the hag living in her own despair. She will never leave this prison. 

She had peace with this fact, until one day The Hag heard something just outside of the water. The plucking of strings. It was- Music. The Hag swam to the surface only her eyes peeking out from the water. 

On the shore of the lake was a small girl. Her black hair tied back into two buns on the side of her head. She wore a red dress covered with multicolored patches sewed all over onto it, covering up its tears. The little girl was holding onto the device with strings on it, and the piece of woods in her other hand that plays the strings. The Hag watched from afar as the girl in bare feet played the instrument and began to dance with the music she was creating. Her leg extended past her head. She twirled, her hair staying perfectly in place. Her leaps reached for the sky. It was beautiful. The Hag could feel her legs began to move beneath the water wanting to join in on the dance. But she felt the tug pulling on her leg, reminding her of her place in the world.

The music stopped and the little girl turned to face The Hag. Her brown eyes grew wide upon the sight of the creature. The hag expected the girl to scream and run away in fear, but instead she waved. The Hag peeked her head fully out of the water, and stuck out her long clawed hand and waved back. The girl smiled and spoke her voice like a ringing bell.

“Hello! Do you want to join me?” The little girl asked

The Hag shook her head shouting back at the girl. “I wish I could, but I am stuck here” 

The young girl cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean you’re stuck.” 

“Let me show you.” The Hag attempted to step out of cold water, but once again she felt a pull in her leg dragging her down to the bottom of the lake. The little girl let out gasp as the hag swam back up to the surface. “Every time I try to leave I get dragged back under. A woman placed a curse on me so I may never leave.”

The little girl sat on the edge of the shore, crossing her legs. “But why would she do that?” The Hag was astounded by all the questions this child seemed to have, but more astounded that she was not frightened by the mere sight of her. 

“She said I don’t belong with you all.” The Hag held back her tears choking on the words she spoke. “That this is my home.”

“Do you like it there?” The little girl asked. 

“No” The hag said. “It is cold and dark. It scares me to stay in there.”

“Then it is not your home.” The little girl stood up picking up her instrument. 

“Then what is my home?” The hag asked. 

The little girl smiled. “Wherever you want it to be,” with those words the girl began to play another infectious melody. The beat consuming The Hag. All she wanted to do was dance. To stand on the surface, and leave this horrid lake. But the woman's curse still laid upon her, but there must be a way out. The Hag listened to the little girls music and began to dance under the water. She leaped, kicking up large waves that splashed against the shore. She began to spin. The little girl's song was speeding up, and every time a note sped up, so did the hags twirling. She twirled, and twirled, and twirled, She twirled so fast that a whirlpool formed around her. The whirlpool grew and grew, until it consumed the entire lake.

The hag felt herself spin towards the shore, but the pull was not there. The hag was so engrossed in the dancing that the curse could not reach her. She was filled with such love and passion that it did not have enough strength to pull her back under. Her feet landed on the shore, the grass tickling the bottom of her feet, and she stopped spinning. The whirlpool had spun so fast that the water of the lake began to spray all over the forest, and of the hag and the little girl. She glanced over. Her home. Her prison was dry and barren. It was no more. 

The little girl stopped playing and stared at the hag before her. “You did it!” She cheered. 

“But..” The Hag looked at the dried up lake that had been her home for so long. “Where will I go now?”

“Don’t worry.” The girl held out her hand. “You’ll find a new one.” The Hag smiled at the little girl, and then looked towards the forest. The Hag took the little girl's hand, and together the two danced towards a new home.