The Forest is My Cage

A soft hand on his cheek stirs a farmer awake. He opens his eyes to see a woman with soft blue eyes leaning over him. A basket laden with clothes sits by her side.

“Excuse me sir, are you alright?” she asks. The farmer’s right eye twitches. He slowly sits up and looks around. They sat in a sunny forest full of trees laden with emerald green leaves. Birds chirped, rabbits and squirrels squeaked and chittered, and a group of nearby doe grazed on a flower bush. 

“Uh, I believe so, yes.” he says, “I confess, I don’t really know how I got here.” The washerwoman smiled.

“The forest is quite enchanting sir. It’s quite easy to get lost.”

“Yes, quite easy…” The farmer looked around the trees. There was no indication of a path, not even untouched grass, “If you don’t mind, could you point me to the path out? I’m sure my wife must be worried, I don’t remember telling her I was leaving.”

“Of course.” the woman said, “Take the path behind you, near the tree with that yellow bird.” The farmer blinked. There was a smooth dirt path behind him going down the hill.

“... Thank you.”

“Of course, be safe on your journey!” With a wave and another smile, the washerwoman picked up her basket and walked away. She took another smooth trail near the grazing deer that definitely wasn’t there before. The farmer shook his head and stood to begin his journey. Perhaps the sun got in his eyes and he couldn't see the paths proprely. He started walking, smiling at the yellow bird napping in their nest. His eye began to pulse lightly until he rubbed it away.

The pulsing got worse as the farmer continued. He walked and walked and walked, but the path never seemed to end. The farmer looked around for a sliver of the nearby countryside, but he was surrounded by a cage of trees. The faint sound of running water met his ears. He continued walking until he reached a waterfall spilling into a lake. At the water’s edge, a little girl in a red cloak sat in the soft dirt. She hummed to herself, floating flower petals and leaves in the cerulean water. A basket laden with cakes and fruit teetered dangerously on the lake’s edge.

“Excuse me miss, will this path get me home?”the farmer asked. The girl turned, her face full of freckles and her mouth of cake. She shook her head, wiping her face clean.

“That path? That’ll get you nowhere. Take that one on the right.” Once again, another path appeared. The farmer thanked her and started walking.

“Wait, before you go.” The girl grabbed a gold apple and pressed it into his hands, “The trip can be long, you’ll need your strength.” With a gap toothed grin, the girl skipped back to the waterfall while the farmer continued down the path. He whistled and bit the apple, but immediately spat it out. The delicate, golden flesh hid a colony of squirming worms and maggots. The pain behind his eye bloomed as he threw the apple aside. As soon as it touched the ground, the forest went suddenly silent. The farmer tensed and glanced up at the trees. Every single bird stared down at him, their beady eyes peering into his. The deer, the rabbits, the squirrels, every animal was standing stock still, staring at the farmer. The farmer hurried away, hand over his eye, heart racing in his chest.

The animals didn’t chase him. It was much worse. They slowly walked after him, breaking sticks and crunching leaves under their hooves and paws. The pain behind the farmer’s eye was becoming unbearable. Tears kept pouring down his face as he hurried down the suddenly overgrown path. With each step, he tripped over branches, stumbled over stones and cut his legs on bramble bushes. 

The sunny path was darkening rapidly. The farmer gazed at the sky. Gray clouds were overtaking the sun, like spilled ink spreading on a page. Every tree the darkness touched began to rot, their bark flaking off and crumbling beneath the animals’ feet. The farmer broke into a run. What would happen if the darkness touched him? Would he crumble apart like the trees behind him? Would his home crumble? Would he even reach his home?

A flash of white caught the farmer’s eye. A man and woman in flowing white robes laughed together as they walked along the road. The farmer hurried over to them.

“Please, can you show me the way out?” he asked frantically, “Something’s terribly wrong, I need to get home.”

“My dear man, why would you wish to leave?” The man asked, “It’s beautiful, it's wonderful, stay with us!”

“Don’t you see what’s happening?” The farmer insisted, “Look around you!” The sky was now full of ugly, red, undulating clouds, reaching their tendrils out to the farmer. The animals were still walking towards the group, their flesh beginning to rot like the trees. The woman smiled and grasped his hand.

“You must be tired, dear. Have an apple.” She pressed a visibly rotten apple in the farmer’s hands. Maggots squirmed out of the soft flesh, crawling between the farmer’s fingers and up his wrists. The white robed man smiled sadly and pulled the woman close.

“I see, it’s almost your time, friend. I suppose we’ll see you soon.” The couple waved at the horrified farmer. As he backed away, the couple’s eyes turned milky white, their teeth turned brown and fell from their mouths, and their skin began to crumble. The farmer ran as the couple collapsed behind him, the rotting animals following in his path.

The path was now completely overgrown. The farmer forced himself over tangled vines and slapped branches out of the way. His eye was now so painful, he was surprised blood wasn’t pouring from his streaming eyelids. The sky was full of crimson clouds, but they gave space to a pitch black moon with a white ring around it. This was the sky of hell, not of home. Was his wife witnessing this? Was she experiencing hell too?

In the red gloom, a small cave finally revealed itself. With a relieved sob, the farmer dove into the cave, pressing himself to the side of the rocky wall. The animals outside stalled, walking in circles around themselves. It wasn’t escape, but a small reprieve. The farmer gasped, sinking to the ground.

“Please save me…” the farmer whispered to himself, “Anyone, please save me…”

“That’s the same thing my children said when you killed them.” A lilting voice remarked. The farmer hastily crawled out of the cave. What followed was a tall, gorgeous woman in an orange gown. She glowed like a candle amidst the hellish black foliage. 

“What are you talking about?” the farmer gasped.

“Exactly what I said. When you set my children ablaze after they denied you your precious fruit, they cried out for me to save them.” She gazed bitterly at him, her hands clasped tightly to her chest, “But you knew I’d gone to the village that day, that’s the only reason I didn’t kill you.” Her mouth curled in a terrible grimace, “And all for apples. You killed my family for apples!” She hurled an apple into the farmer’s stomach. He coughed as he gazed into the clear, golden skin. Memories began filling his head. Baskets full of apples being snatched from his hands, blinding rage, torches being flung against young trees, terrified screams, buckets full of water cooling off the skeletons of trees. The charred corpses of wood nymphs.

The night was silent except for the strolling animals. The farmer stared up at the woman, tears filling his eyes.

“My anger blinded me…,” he said faintly, “I overreacted, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone-”

“Don’t try to defend yourself!” The woman sobbed. She glowed brighter and brighter as she cried, “My children just needed to replenish their magic, they would’ve given you everything you wanted! Your greed damned my family, damned every creature in our home!” The farmer looked back at the colony of animals and trees, all of them his victims.

“Please… how can I fix this?” he asked, “I’ll do anything you ask.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” the woman sniffed, “I won’t abide by the greed of humans anymore. I’ve already gotten started at your home.” The farmer’s heart nearly stopped. He threw himself at the woman’s feet.

“Please, punish me all you like, but please don’t punish my wife-”

“Your wife? She’s unharmed.” A swirling orange ball of light grew in the woman’s hand. The farmer peered inside the ball to see his wife. She wasn’t in pain, and she still had the same crooked grin he’d fallen in love with. She was laughing with neighbors while pulling weeds from the garden. The sun played with her golden brown braids, and a pretty pink flush colored her cheeks. And the garden behind her was flourishing! Every flower was in bloom, and every fruit and vegetable was plentiful. She could get barely more than sprouts and shriveled produce for months. That was until the farmer planted the golden apple seeds in the soil. Now they had enough crops to last for years, much to the village's delight. They’d had happy customers for months, the farmer and his wife even bought a bigger house to celebrate.

“You spared her?” the farmer asked.

“She’s done nothing wrong. No one else should be punished for your greed.” The woman smiled at the ball of light, “She’s delightful to be around. I’ve had a wonderful time with her.

“Are you…” The farmer stumbled over his words, “Are you living in my house? What are you doing with my wife?”

“Helping her care for your farm. My remaining children and I have been with her for quite some time. It's good to be around nature.” The woman’s pleased smile turned more ferocious, “But I’ve also been making your wife tea, a special brew with a forgetting spell. Gradually, she’ll forget your pathetic existence. And so will everyone in the village. Our tea bags have been selling wonderfully.” The animals crept closer. The farmer began to cry.

“Please, I’m sorry-”

“I’m sure you are. But the time for apologies has passed. I just hope after this, you’ll feel a fraction of the pain you caused my children.” The woman picked up the apple she’d thrown and took a bite. She nodded at the surrounding colony of animals, “Begin.”

The farmer was hoisted into the air. He tried wriggling free as the birds he killed lifted him by the arms. They soared through the sky, slamming the farmer into branches that scratched his face and neck. Lightning flashed through the red clouds as the birds lowered him to the familiar waterfall. But instead of an oasis, the lake was a churning void of black water. The light of the pale moon showed rotting hands reaching out to him. The farmer recognized the washerwoman’s milky blue eyes, the freckled girl's decaying smile, and the couple’s torn white robes shrouding their crumbling bodies.

“My friend, it’s finally your time!” the robed man said excitedly, “Come in, come join us!” The farmer was unceremoniously dropped into the lake. Everyone grabbed him and pulled him closer to the whirlpool. The farmer thrashed away, gripping the rocky edge of the lake for dear life. The dead rabbits, squirrels and deer attacked, biting and stomping on his fingers until they were bloody and broken. He slapped the animals away and dragged himself free of the water, grazing the orange slippers of the tall woman. 

She said nothing to the farmer as he begged and pleaded for forgiveness. She only took another bite of apple, smiled, and kicked him back into the water. The rotten spirits of the wood nymphs trapped the farmer in a cage of arms. He could do nothing but sob as he was pulled underwater. One hand grabbed his face, plunging their finger in his pulsing right eye. The farmer screamed and clawed at the hand, but the finger only sunk in deeper. The last thing the farmer sees is the delighted smile of the woman, and the black moon blurred by the blood flooding his remaining eye.

 A soft hand on his cheek stirs a farmer awake. He opens his eyes to see a woman with soft blue eyes leaning over him. A basket laden with clothes sits by her side. 

“Excuse me sir, are you alright?”

The farmer’s right eye twitches.

End