Konitah - a Short Story
Page 3
***
Uragi’s two friends arrived later that afternoon. The three of them left for the woods after packing some bread and water.
Marilla stood watching in the doorway until they disappeared into the woods.
The sound of thunder rumbling drew her attention when she was about to go back into the house. She looked up and gasped aloud. Storm clouds were gathering in the sky. It was getting dark and was going to rain soon.
She glanced back at the bushes where her husband and his friends crawled through. They couldn’t be too far away. If she hurried, she could still catch up with them to warn them of the storm about to come.
Marilla rushed down the steps. She raced off to the entrance. Suddenly she stopped and glanced back at the house. In a moment of panic, she forgot about her sons.
She looked up to the sky. The dark clouds almost covered the sun.
She raced back to the house and stormed to her twins’ room. They were both fast asleep. She sighed with relief and locked the bedroom door.
She grabbed a bottle of water on her way out and sped back to the entrance of the woods.
She had to warn her husband. If the darkness caught them in the woods, they would certainly not return.
This was her first time alone in the woods, since the killings. Everything looked the same around her. Branches on the trees sticking out like arms. The trees pulled scary faces at her as the woods became darker.
Her head jerked upwards when thunder rumbled above her head.
It started to drizzle. Her hair sprayed with tiny drops of water.
She drank some of the water from the bottle. How long had she been walking? She didn’t finding a trace of her husband, his friends, or any footprints for that matter.
Suddenly Marilla stopped and sighed with relief. Just a few steps ahead of her were her husband and his friends.
She frowned. A pair of rabbits just hopped past them. None of them even glanced at the squirrel scurried up the tree. They weren’t hunting at all. What were they really doing in the woods?
She cupped her hands both sides of her mouth. “Uragi!”
He stopped walking and turned around. His eyes grew wide and wild. “No, Marilla!” He raced up to her and grabbed her by the arms. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to warn you and your friends. It’s getting dark you’re in danger! Let’s turn back, while we still can.”
He didn’t listen to his wife’s pleadings.
“We’re fine. There are many trees to climb in. Turn back. Go and take care of our sons.” He took her by the shoulder, turned her around and pushed her the way she came.
“Uragi, I can’t go back without you. I can’t raise our boys alone.” Tears flowed down her cheeks.
She turned around to face her husband. Her eyes enlarged. She cried out to her husband’s friend, but was too late. The beast stood next to Gutra.
With a quick movement from the sharp dagger-like claws, the beast slashed his throat. Blood gushing from the gaping wound.
The man fell down on his knees. His eyes wide, staring. He reached out to his throat, but fell to the ground before his hand ever reached it.
The creature turned to Jesto. There was no time for him to climb into a tree for safety. She swirled around on her hind legs. While extending her arm, she held out her paw. The dagger-like claws split Jesto’s stomach. His abdomen erupted. Intestines dropped to the ground. His legs wobbled. Within seconds, his lifeless body lay next to his abdomen content on the ground.
The creature, black and hairy, eyes red and fiery, sauntered towards Uragi.
“Behind you!” Marilla warned her husband. She glanced at the lifeless bodies of his two friends on the ground.
Uragi jumped at the nearest branch, he pulled himself up and climbed higher into the tree. Staring down at his wife, but avoiding the creature’s eyes.
Standing on its hind legs, the creature jumped up a few times. Trying to get hold of the man, but could not reach him.
The beast glanced at Marilla. She screamed as the creature jumped and pushed her to the ground. With one paw on her chest, it held her down.
Marilla put her hands in front of her face. Do not look into its fiery, red eyes, was all she could think of – not that it mattered, she was already on the ground.
The warm breath on her face smelled like rotten meat.
Something warm dripped onto her chin. She took her hands away from her face, wiping the sticky, red saliva from her chin.
The creature with a snout like a wolf snarled at her, exposing its sharp teeth with particles of flesh between them. Saliva dripped from the fangs.
Marilla forced her eyes away from the creature’s snout. Her eyes followed the contours of the huge head. She tried to avoid eye contact, but something drew her to look into the beast’s eyes.
The beast just stared at her.
Their eyes met.
“Konitah?” She murmured.
The red eyes softened and turned into emerald green.
Marilla raised her hand and touched the side of the creature’s head. She stroked it a few times. The hair was coarse.
Little growling sounds came from the beast’s throat.
It was Konitah!
“I still love you. I’ll never forget the love we had. Konitah, you have to stop these killings. Do it for me.”
The creature got up. She stepped away and trotted off. She stopped, glanced back over her shoulder. Her eyes still emerald green. She turned her head back, stared into the woods and disappeared as suddenly as she appeared earlier.
Uragi jumped out of the tree and rushed to his wife. “Did she harm you?” He kneeled down next to her.
She shook her head. Tears flowed freely down her face. She was unharmed.
Uragi grabbed his wife and pulled her close. “That thing could’ve killed you!”
She gently pushed him away. “You came to the woods to kill her, didn’t you?”
He lowered his head and nodded. “I thought you would love me if Konitah was dead.”
Marilla shook her head again. She glanced at her husband with a sad face. “I care a lot about you.” Her hand cupped around his face. “Maybe someday.”
He got up and held his hand out to her. “Let’s go home.”
The two of them strolled back to their house, on the west side of the woods.
Marilla looked back every now and then. She searched for the emerald green eyes in the dark.
She left her heart behind in the woods. Once again, she lost her love.
However, her wish came true! She saw Konitah and she touched her again.
They raced to the house, when they came out of the woods. The rain was pouring down on them.
Soaking wet, they entered the house. Marilla hurried to the children’s bedroom. She unlocked the door and smiled when she saw her boys still sleeping.
“You were really brave out there,” Uragi remarked.
Her face flushed. “I wish I was in time. I’m so sorry about your friends.”
He shrugged. “We shouldn’t have gone into the woods.”
“I’ve asked her to stop the killings.” She lowered her head and turned away, heading for the kitchen. She didn’t want him to see the tears dripping from her eyes.
Uragi followed her and put his arms round her waist. “I know I’m not what you want. I’m trying to understand.”
Marilla turned around and looked into his eyes. “Are you really?” She burst out into tears and grabbed him around his neck. How could she tell him she would never love him? She could never love a man.
She could never love again, not as she loved Konitah.
***
How Konitah became a fierce creature, was only known to her mother and the sorceress of Brumahdor.
Why she killed, was only knowledge to Marilla and Uragi.
The killings of men stopped as suddenly as it began six years ago. Months passed by, before the folk in the village and the town was not scared a
nymore. A walk through the forest, even at night was bliss. Everyone felt safe again.
Many a night when the moon was at its brightest, Marilla would go outside. She noticed the emerald green eyes behind the trees close by the house and smiled with sadness in her heart. As soon as the eyes disappeared, she would step back into the house. Heading for her twins’ room, sat down on their bed and told them the story of Konitah, the beautiful creature with eyes as green as emeralds – the keeper of the woods.
After the story, she would tuck them in and go to bed with tears in her eye. Remembered the love she had – the love she lost.
*The End*
Also by Elle Anor
Raine McKenzie M.D.
Ylva the She Wolf
ForbiddeN – the Prequel to Konitah
Elle Anor on the Web
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Her Afrikaans blog. At Blogger: https://elsiekortverhale.blogspot.com
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About the Author
Elsie Meyer is an Afrikaans speaking writer from Pretoria, South Africa. Writing many Afrikaans novellas, she has decided to try her hand at writing English. Using the pen name Elle Anor, she has written her first novel: Darkness of Her Soul (which is currently in rewriting), followed by a novella: Rain McKenzie M.D. As a participant and first time winner of NaNoWriMo, she penned her second novel: Ylva the She Wolf.
I hope that her first Afrikaans novel will see the light in 2014.
Elsie and her partner, of more than ten years, share their home with many furry and feathery children.