The Forest of Wind (Book Four of The Whispered Tales) - on hold

The faery gold

Shaken by a shiver, Maria pulled a wool blanket over her shoulders and looked at the old woman. "What's that sound, Mother Doca?"

"It's the Eddies," said the old woman in a whisper, making the sign of the cross. "They have bells tied to their ankles, and the clink follows their step as they walk the air. Soon, they will start their wandering over forests, ravines, and crossroads."

The tinkles were soon accompanied by lights, rapidly passing through the air.

"It looks like the fireflies have come out," the girl said in a low voice.

"Those are not fireflies, my dear. They are faeries. Carrying candles with them, to see the lost wanderers and to play with their minds and souls ..."

George stood up and searched for the edge of the forest with his eyes, his fists clenched and his gaze fixed on the lights dancing in the air. "They are no candles, either. It's the faery gold, Grandma. The glints of the gold call me, urging me to find it," he said as if enchanted.

The old woman shook her head. "It's not good, my boy, to be tormented by money, to fall into its passion. Come to me tomorrow to read you a disenchantment ..."

"That won't happen, Grandma", he spat the words as if he spat poison. "What's wrong with wanting to have fortunes, not to struggle every day for a penny?"

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to sweeten your life, my dear. But do it through hard work and patience. Think carefully about the things you want to do because you do not know how your life will be rewarded. And don't look for the faery gold in any way. You are not the first nor the last to dare to trample their land and disturb their peace. Some found a handful of coins in the woods and paid for it with their lives. Both they and their families, for the curse of the faery gold is still haunting the offsprings of their offsprings. Others found nothing but returned with their minds forever shuttered. And others were taken by them into their world and no one ever saw them again. Do you really want to go through so much, boy, for a handful of coins?"

But George was relentless. "Grandma, you'd better save these stories for small babies. The treasure is not a ghost, it is real, and it's waiting for me. And no one will ever laugh at me again when I become the richest man in the village. I'll have more than the Boyar Pavel. Then, Elena will want me to be her husband."

The boy's words fell like lightning on Maria, and heavy clouds covered her beautiful eyes. She got up quickly, wrapped herself in a shawl, and kissed the old woman's hand as a sign of goodbye.

"It's late," she said. "My mother is probably worried about me." And without saying nothing more, she set off with a determined step to her home without looking back. George frowned, looked behind her, then said goodbye to his grandmother and hurried to catch up.

"Maria, wait! You can't go home by yourself. The road is dangerous and you can be attacked by forest beasts. Let me take you home. I'm a great travel companion," he joked.

The girl nodded and they both started quietly on the road that bordered the forest. Whispers and snaps could still be heard in the fog surrounding the forest, but the two tried not to mind them.