Simply Kayla

Mila stepped over the crossing and into the woods. She walked until the path behind her was erased by the drooping willows and reaching ferns. Every step taking her farther away from the past.

Anyone who ventured deep into these woods, were never found again. The townspeople chose to believe it was haunted by a witch and her demons. Mila didn’t hold such beliefs- she had played and hunted in these woods her entire life and never came across evil witches. So without fear, she went deeper than she ever had before. 

Breath straining and boots caked in mud, she could feel the sweat drenching through her dress. She winced in pain every time the salt seeped into the open burn pulsating on her neck. But with the light fading and the silence thickening, Mila found an alcove to rest in for the night. She gathered plush branches and leaves for a cushion. Exhausted, she curled up into a ball and waited for the howls of the hounds and hateful shouts of the town coming for her. But in the darkness, she could only hear her shallow breaths. She closed her eyes and fell deep. 

She woke up with a wet face, as she was dreaming of her younger brother, Sasha. Ever since their Mother passed, Mila had tried to fill in the roles of both big sister and caregiver. It was difficult, but also a distraction from her own grief for she missed her Mother dearly.

Body aching, she took inventory of the items she threw together before she left. She needed more water, but she wasn’t able to quench her thirst until midday. It wasn’t what she was expecting when she stumbled upon a small lake. 

Mila walked to its edge where the water met the rocks. It glistened like the night sky and with no breeze, was as still as a painting. She unscrewed her canteen and crouched down to fill it with water. Before she dipped it in, there was a moment of hesitation. The woods were hushed to a deep silence, as if holding its breath. 

She dipped it in the water. The surface rippled and bubbled as it filled the canteen and Mila took a small sip. Absolutely refreshing, she gulped down the rest of the water and bent down to refill once more. She was determined to find food now. 

Later that night, Mila built a fire and roasted a small rabbit. She found it strange that she couldn’t find more. Nevertheless, she went to bed with food in her stomach, so she was pleased. 

In the middle of the night, she woke to find small hands shaking her awake. 

“Mimi! Mimi, wake up!”

Startled, she awoke and jumped back with a small knife pointed at her intruder. But when she saw Sasha’s big, brown eyes, she dropped her knife and ran over to hug him. She pulled him back, suddenly angry. 

“Why did you follow me?! I told you it wouldn’t be safe!”

Sasha started to tear up, and Mila pulled him in close. 

“I’m very happy you’re here, but I don’t know what I’d do if you were harmed.”

Sasha sniffled at her shoulder. “I know I was supposed to stay away. But we only know Aunt Mary, and she smells.”

Mila laughed. “Ha, yes she does. Like onions!”, and Sasha laughed with her. After Mila gave him some water and foraged mushrooms, the two snuggled for the rest of the night. Mila went to sleep with a smile on her face. 

In the morning, Mila woke to find the space next to her empty. Panic rising, she jumped up and screamed, 

“Sasha! Sasha!”

Then from behind her, she heard a small voice. “I’m right here!”

She sighed in relief. “Sasha – these woods are big. You can’t stray too far from me.” 

With his small and gentle hand, Sasha grabbed hers. “I’ll never be far from you.”

Mila smiled. “Good, now let’s go on an adventure.”

They had walked for hours. Their feet were throbbing and their throats were parched. They had not come across any more water since the lake. Mila could see Sasha was struggling, and felt a surge of guilt, thinking, “I’ll never be able to take care of us like Mother did.” Outloud, she said, 

“I’m really tired. We should eat and find a spot to sleep for the night.”

Mila wasn’t too worried to sleep in the open. It seemed the deeper they went, the less animals they encountered. She heard scuttering along the bushes, so she set up some traps in hopes of having breakfast tomorrow. 

As they settled near a small fire, Sasha looked up at Mila and asked, “Will you tell me more about Mother?”

Immediately Mila felt the pangs of guilt, but she ignored them. 

“Mother was a powerful woman.”

“Like she was very strong?”

“Yes, in many ways. I remember watching her do many things at once. She’d be cooking us stew, with you propped up on her hip, while helping me with my school work. It felt like she had a superpower.”

“Wowwww”, said Sasha with wide eyes. Then he looked down and with a low voice said, “I don’t really remember what she looks like.”

Mila lifted his face, and said “You and her had the same big brown eyes. Now let’s get some sleep.”

In her dreams, Mila could feel the heat of the fire getting too hot, then screams, and finally rage. 

She woke to the sound of crunching twigs nearby. Her eyes flashed open and she waited. There was another crunch and closer this time. She slowly reached in to grab her knife. When suddenly she heard footsteps running towards them. She sat up ready to strike, but the footsteps disappeared. There was nothing. 

Confused, Mila tried to convince herself she must have still been dreaming, but then she noticed Sasha was gone.

Mila rose, screaming for him. “Sasha! Sasha!” She stumbled around their campsite, looking for signs of any struggle but could not find anything. Tears started running down her face and she wiped them away to clear her vision. She ran into the trees. 

Daylight started to creep in through the canopy. And if one were there, they would see Mila stumbling through the trees, worn out from walking all night. Her voice was hoarse, but she still called for Sasha. She was hating herself for letting this happen when she found herself back at the lake. They had walked away from it, but she figured in her panic and confusion, she must have turned around and walked right back. She dropped to the edge and scooped up water to wash the grime and tears off her face. Then she drank. 

She lied down and started to cry some more. 

“Mimi, what’s wrong?”

She looked up and saw Sasha staring down at her. “Sasha?”

She jumped up and pulled him in close. “What happened? Did someone take you?”

Sasha looked away, scratching his head. “I don’t really remember. I remember going to bed and then waking up here. I thought you brought us back, but I couldn’t find you. So I just waited because you always told me to stay put when I was lost.”

Relieved beyond belief, Mila smiled, “Yes, yes. That is what Mother always used to say!”.

Mila tried to rationalize how Sasha had ended up by the lake, and decided he must have been sleep walking. Although she knew he had never done that before. She was just relieved she found him. 

“Well, while we are back here, let’s fill our bellies.”

Once again, Mila dipped her palms into the lake and drank the water. Running through the night had left her thirstier than she’d ever felt before. She crouched down to fill up one last time, when she heard a rough voice behind her.

“Mila! You’re not even going to serve your own Father first?”

The blood drained from her face and numbness spread throughout her body, but Mila managed to turn around. 

“No…” she whispered with trembling lips, “It’s not possible.” She looked down at the blood blossoming on his shirt.

Her Father lumbered towards her, yelling, “You were never grateful you little bitch!”.

With nowhere else to run, she dove into the water. She swam out into the lake and turned around to see her Father standing on the edge still yelling at her. Suddenly, she remembered Sasha. She couldn’t see him, so he must have been hiding. Mila was already exhausted, so the constant wading was taking a toll on her. But everytime she tried to approach the shore, her Father was waiting for her.

“You have to get out or you’ll drown! Come here and let me teach you a lesson.”

And suddenly her body started to grow limp, and her head dipped under the water. She took mouthful after mouthful of water, until she finally saw brown eyes peeking out of the tall grass. Sasha. She couldn’t leave him here with that monster. Not again. She gathered up the last of her strength and started to swim out to the edge.

Crouched down, waiting for her, her Father beckoned, “That’s right. Oh, I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”

Then she saw a huge rock above his head come crashing down. When her Father fell over, it was Sasha standing over him. 

Sasha ran to help her out of the water. “I’m so sorry,” he cried, “I didn’t want him to hurt you!”.

She hugged Sasha, and startled when she felt a warm wetness behind his head. When she pulled her hand away, it was covered in blood. 

Suddenly, her mind took her back to the night before she ran into the woods. 

She had just come home after collecting firewood and hunting rabbit for dinner. She was exhausted and just wanted to get dinner ready so she could eat and go to bed. But her Father was home early, already drunk. 

“Why isn’t dinner ready?” he slurred. 

“Dinner will be ready at 7, when you’re home from work. It’s only 6. Why aren’t you at work?”

“What’s it matter to you! Dinner should be ready when I’m home.”

“Did you lose your job?”

“Why are you so fucking nosy? Do I need to stitch your mouth shut? Make the food!”

Mila took a deep breath. There was no point in arguing with him when he was like this, or really ever at all. But definitely not drunk. She fed the fire with the wood she brought home and started to cook the rabbit. 

Smelling the food, Sasha bounced through the door and screamed with excitement,  “Rabbit!” 

He started to run over to his sister but stopped when he saw Father slumped over the table. His hands were over his ears. 

“No screaming in this house!” 

He got up from his chair, and mumbled to himself, “… just have to teach them a lesson. Every time.” He picked up an iron poker and shoved it into the fire. Mila and Sasha stared at him, unsure of what to do. Mila half expected him to fall into the fire, but when he turned around with the blazing poker, she saw the devil in his eyes. He started to go towards Sasha. 

Mila ran up to him and tried to pry the poker from him. “You can’t do this!” But even in his drunken state, he overpowered her and turned the poker to her neck. “You ungrateful little bitch!”

Mila screamed from the pain and became nauseous when she smelled her burning skin. She was about to black out when she saw Sasha on top of her Father, hitting him with his little fists.

“Stop! Stop!” he screamed. 

Mila, fully awake now, yelled, “No Sasha, it’s not safe!”

But Sasha bit down on his Father’s ear. Dropping the fire poker, he grabbed Sasha by the neck and threw him across the room. It was when Mila heard the crack, did she stop breathing. She ran over to Sasha and already saw the blood pooling out on the stone floor from behind his head. His brown eyes, no longer alive. She grabbed him into her arms and started to wail, “No! Nooo!” 

Mila looked up at her Father, this monster. He was crouching down, checking to see if he still had an ear. She didn’t recall picking up the poker, but it blazed with a heat as hot as her rage. Her Father trying to stand up, said, 

“I’m gonna kill you both.”

But when he looked up, Mila was already running towards him and plunged the poker straight into his heart. 

She stumbled back to Sasha, but couldn’t bear the sight of his lifeless body. In shock, she packed her things and left. 

With a dawning realization, she looked down at Sasha in the woods.

“You’re not real.”

This time, she heard a woman’s voice behind her.

“No, we’re not Mila.”

Mila turned and saw her Mother, just as she was before the sickness took her. Light curls framed her face, and her freckles sparkled across her nose. But it was her warm brown eyes that made you feel like everything was going to be ok.

“It’s my turn to take care of Sasha now.”

Mila felt Sasha squeeze her hand. She looked down at him and said, 

“I’m sorry for not protecting you.”

Sasha smiled, “It’s ok Mimi! I’m not mad. You brought me to Mother.”

And although the grief crushed her heart, Mila’s mind was clear. She looked at Sasha and soaked in every detail of his face, lingering on his eyes.

Mila kissed his forehead and turned away. She didn’t look back as she walked deeper into the woods. Unbeknownst to her, the deepest anyone had ever been before.

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© 2024 December, Kayla Macias