Her Wendigo

Who Are You? [part 2]

The form of the little boy disappeared as soon as it was revealed to me and I was left all alone in the woods. Birds could be heard flying from one tree to another, chirping and playing with the wind.

My head was empty as I took in my surroundings. Soon, an irresistible urge to move forward rose within me as my feet moved on their own. I needed to find that boy. That was the only thing I had in my mind. But I had no idea where he had gone so I just let my body go where it wished. I felt like a marionette moved by a strange force, relaxed and worried at the same time.

The foreign surroundings started to seem more and more familiar as I made my way towards the outskirts of the forest. I was confident that I had never been there before and yet I simply couldn't shake this feeling of familiarity off. I continued walking for what seemed like half an hour not sure how far the destination I so very  wanted to reach was.

I walked past what seemed like a sign. It was so old and had been so worn down that the letters on it were no longer in a state where I could read them. At that moment a flashback came to me, I was walking down this exact path next to this sign but it wasn't old. It was new and on it was written "Valefront estate" in big white radiant letters. The path which I was following also seemed like it was used regularly unlike now. I snapped out of whatever state I was and looked again at the sign. Something was very wrong here. "What was that?" I swallowed the stone the had settled down in my throat and touched the old piece of moldy wood. It appeared bigger in what now seemed to me like a long forgotten memory. That, or I had gotten taller.

No matter which one it was I didn't like this, I didn't like it at all. I took a few steps back, turned around and continued walking down the grass covered path. It hadn't been long since I had started walking again whan I felt very uneasy, I was at the verge of panicking to be exact. I felt every nerve and every vein in my body overflow with adrenaline. I felt excited and uneasy at the same time, such a weird combination of feelings.

I was getting closer to something, I could feel it. Something big and scary was what I expected to encounter behind the enormous trees ahead of me, just to be proved wrong once again. But little did I know that this moment would change everything...

"Who are you?"

The shaking child sitting on the ground in front of me appeared to be several years younger than myself. Skinny, shivering and covered in dirt. His clothes, much larger than him, were old and holes could be seen all over them. He was the boy from before. I found him. I wanted to open my mouth and ask him if he was alright but instead another question left my lips.

"Why are you here all alone?" That wasn't what I wanted to say. Just like my body my lips and tongue moved on their own. That was when I also noticed that I was wearing a dress. An ankle-length purple dress similar to what was worn in the Victorian Era." What the heck is going on?" I wasn't scared, no, I was irritated that I didn't know what was happening and that I had no control over my own body. Or... was this body really my own?

Small delicate hands, small feet that felt comfortable on shoes with heels, high pitched child like voice and straight, shoulder-length hair had replaced my long raven black waves. Again, this did not feel right. Especially my voice and the shoes. My voice is not pitched at all and many have told me that it sounds kind of dreamy, like when you talk about your hopes and dreams for the future or about a person you love. Whatever that is supposed to mean.

I should also add that I don't even know were to start and were to finish about the shoes. I can't even walk five steps without falling, I would go faster if I crawled instead... Even as a child I was more interested in my dad's combat boots rather than my mother's heels. Although I wished I could walk on them. Well, I guess if  one good thing has happened today is the fact that I haven't eaten any dirt yet even though I wear heels. It would be embarrassing to fall face first in the dirt...

"... I got chased by some scary people"

He looked down as he talked trying to hide his mesmerizing red eyes.

My guess was that he stole something to eat seeing how I could potentially count his ribs if it weren't for the loose pieces of fabric covering his body.

"Why were they chasing you?"

Although reluctant he still answered my question. Or whoever's question it was because I still couldn't say what I wished to.

"I-I stole food.."

"How much did you steal?"

He panicked as soon as I asked. He looked up at me for the first time and started talking so fast that it made understanding what he was saying difficult.

"I am sorry I am really sorry miss please! It wasn't much I swear, just some bread, don't tell the guards, please! I will do anything, I beg you!"

He came closer to me and touched my ankles while bowing down. He was crying even harder than before and something in me told me that I was responsible for this, that I shouldn't have asked him anything from the start. I felt guilty and I didn't know why.

As I was deep in thought the young boy held on to my ankles like his very life depended on it. I needed to stop him before my feet turned blue.. I leaned down a bit and petted his head, which to my surprise felt much softer than I expected. He froze under my touch and I swear he must have stopped breathing as well. For a moment all that could be heard was the wind brushing against the trees.

"From who did you steal?"

He seemed hesitant to answer, whoever he stole from must have a heart made of stone. Sending their guards after such a young child to punish it just because it stole some bread so as to not die from hunger. He looked up at me avoiding my eyes and choosing to focus his attention to my neck instead.

"I got it from a table by the lake while the people dressed in black and white weren't looking. I really didn't take anything else miss!"

Somehow the setting of a table by a lake and people dressed in black and white sounded oddly familiar. Like something I was used to seeing. My mouth opened on its own again but before any sound came out a woman's voice interrupted me.

" Miss! There you are, we have been searching for you for quite some time now. I am afraid you can't continue your walk. Your presence was requested by the Master, I don't know the exact reason but it seems there was an intruder spotted near your mother's favorite location for tea. If you could please follow me"

I didn't know who the person in front of me was or why she was calling me miss but when I turned around to look at the young boy sitting in front of me he was nowhere to be seen.

"Is there a problem miss?"

I examined her face, she was around her late fifties with grey hair tied tightly behind her and a maid's uniform. A black and white maid's uniform. Another flashback came to me, I was sitting on the ground playing with a light brown kitten enjoying the fun time I was having. Well not me but whoever this body belonged to. I looked up and the same woman was smiling down to me but she was much younger. The flashback ended there as suddenly as it had started leaving me even more confused. I blinked a few times and continued to stare at her noticing that the worry in her face was becoming more and more evident.

"Are you not feeling well, miss Elaine?"