It was muggy and damp this mid-afternoon and the sun was nowhere in sight. A cottage door creaks open, breaking the silence. A young maiden steps out her doorstep, shiny brown locks washing over her shoulders. She was carrying a feed bucket which she began to shake as she hopped off the steps. The sound of the hens’ feet cut through the air, clip clip clip, as they squawked hungrily rounding the corner. Now that she had their attention she walked out to the clearing and tossed the feed. Her half dozen hens scurried around her, hungrily pecking at the soggy ground.

Silvina set the bucket down and watched them for a few moments before looking up at the sky. It was a dreary day and the rolling dark clouds in the distance told her that a storm was coming. “Well girls,” she says absentmindedly. “It looks like you might have to come inside for tonight.” She then brushed off her apron before picking up the bucket and setting it by her front door. 

Pulling up the hood of her cloak she made her way towards the forest behind her cottage. There was a small path that she’d traveled along frequently. At the end of this path was a cluster of apple trees. 

When she made it to the path’s end she reached inside her cloak and pulled out a burlap sack. It didn’t take her long to gather enough apples to take back. By the time she was done the trees had started to sway violently, a storm wind above the forest had started to pick up. 

Silvina tied off the bag of apples quickly before making her way back down the path. The wind, however, was getting stronger. 

Through the trees, a sudden burst of white light illuminated the sky and a crackling warmth began to surround her. A tree had been hit, creaking under its own weight, now enveloped in fire. Silvina stumbled back as it crashed towards her, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Her eyes widened as she tried to look for another way out. The fire started to spread and Silvina found herself forced to go back to the apple trees. Smoke swirled around her as she began to cough, with the flames inching closer.

Instinctively, she used part of her cloak to cover her mouth, unfortunately, it didn’t do much for her. Pretty soon her vision started to blur, unable to get very far from the fire and smoke before she collapsed still coughing. She pulled her cloak just a little tighter around her as she curled up near the apple trees. As she looked out through the smoke she could see the intense glow of the fire getting closer and closer but for a moment she thought she saw something. Someone or something was moving out there.

Silvina couldn’t keep her eyes open for much longer but right as she was slipping into unconsciousness she could feel herself being lifted from the ground by gentle hands. 

To be continued…