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Whether my judgement of distance was at fault, or it was simply the fact of the many detours around rocky outcrops and torrential mountain streams that delayed us, it was already dusk by when we approached the woodland border, and my heart sank at the prospect of entering the forbidding forest by twilight.
I turned to find Nicolae and Elone crouched low behind a bush, for they had entered into the spirit of the game wholeheartedly as we had descended the steep slope towards the woods, on occasion even disappearing from my own view. In this I encouraged them with well-chosen words and vague promises of future reward, careful not to raise their hopes unduly.
Despite the many hours the descent had taken the children showed little sign of fatigue, for the game had invigorated their spirit and pushed from their mind such mundane matters as food and family. I knew it would be a mistake to call a halt and propose we rest until dawn, for to stop now would be a disappointment to them both and allow their thoughts to dwell on less cheerful concerns.
The distant sky was brooding and solemn, anticipating heavy rain, perhaps even storms to come, and suddenly the prospective shelter of the forest had its own appeal.
From our new position I could just make out the flume of smoke rising above the tree tops, still distant, yet too so very close. The air was already beginning to chill as the first clouds of the advancing storm obscured the sun, and the image of a warm fire, perhaps even a meal of some description, danced before my eyes.
Not since we had left Karol and his compatriots had we eaten a warm meal. Raw leaves, grasses and the occasional berry had been our staple diet for several days now, and the rigours of malnutrition were increasingly evident in the muddied features of Nicolae and Elone.
It was pointless to risk another night in the cold and rain when the prospect of warmth, food and shelter were just a short way distant. If we were found to be unwelcome, what did it matter if it were tonight or on the morrow?
I turned to the children and, raising my finger to my lips, whispered, “Here we go, little ones. Ever so quietly, ever so carefully.” I led them cautiously into the trees, adding, “Stay close, for it will soon be dark.”
In this my prescience was to prove unexpectedly accurate for no sooner had we crossed the divide between forest and hill than twilight was upon us, the coniferous canopy above shutting out even the ecru dusk that advanced menacingly across the mountains behind us.
At once Nicolae and Elone fell close to me, the distraction of the game suddenly of no consequence. It was not the mere fact of darkness itself that concerned them, for we had been alone in the dark many nights now. But rather the eerie, twilight silence of the forest invoked childhood images of fairy-tale demons and goblins, of witches and warlocks, and the fiercest of wolves and other ferociously hungry beasts.
I drew the children to me and hugged them both reassuringly, though in truth it was but an act, for my own fears were barely more controlled than theirs.
“Be not afraid, little ones,” I said quietly, feigning conviction. “There is nothing here to harm us.”
“I do not like it, Anca,” Elone protested. “Let us go back, to the light.”
Nicolae tugged at my arm, nodding his assent to Elone’s suggestion. “It is scary here, Anca. I am frightened.”
I put on a brave voice. “Don’t be silly, Nicolae. Since when were you afraid of the dark? Have we not slept out in the darkness for many nights now?”
“This is a different dark, Anca.”
I understood well what my brother meant, for the forest darkness was indeed different from the nights we had endured thus far. The evening sunlight barely penetrated the trees above and it was certain that, as nightfall came, the decrescent Moon’s silvery gleam would not be adequate to the task, even without the gathering storm clouds to contend.
We had barely entered a few metres into the woods and already towering trunks loomed rampant from all directions, imposing and claustrophobic as an impenetrable wall. I could just make out the distant hill behind us and knew that, another few metres further, we would lose all sense of direction.
A rabbit ran out in front of us, as surprised to see us as we it. Startled by our presence it stopped before us, ears raised, bright eyes studying our motives.
Elone spotted it first and clapped her hand excitedly.
“Anca! Nicolae! Look!”
At her shout the timid creature turned on its heels and ran at lightning speed into the trees, disappearing from view.
I seized the opportunity, saying, “Look, children, the animals are more frightened of us than we of them. See, Elone, you scared the poor creature just by clapping!”
I clapped my hands loudly, daring any hidden fauna to challenge my authority. Of course no wild and hungry beast emerged from the darkness to do so. Somewhere above us a lone bird took flight, its wings beating the empty air loudly against the still silence of the forest.
Nicolae clapped his hands too.
There was only a resounding silence in reply, quite opposite to an echo, as if the trees soaked up the sound, capturing it by their very presence, determined never to let it go.
Elone clapped with Nicolae and the die was cast, our irrational fears for now set aside. Holding one another’s hands we began to trace a path through the trees, treading cautiously over fallen branches and other pinaceous detritus that comprised the forest floor.
After a few minutes I turned and looked behind us, hoping for the reassurance of distant daylight of the slope we had just left, but the trees had closed in all around us and only the shallow prints of our footsteps betrayed the way we had come. Above us we could just make out the darkening sky, where clouds were gathering angrily in anticipation of the storm boding. I took some comfort from the dry forest floor, confident rain would not penetrate the canopy above.
What concerned me more was that already I was hazarding wild and ill-informed guesses as to our direction, hopes rapidly becoming prayers that the light of the fire we sought would shortly be visible before us.
My perfunctory invocations to a higher authority were to be disregarded, however, and we continued to wander aimlessly among the trees until darkness had encroached such that we could barely see one another, at which time I reluctantly conceded defeat and proposed to the children that we rest the night.
The proposal was better received than I anticipated, for they were by now exhausted, their tired minds occupied increasingly by their physical needs.
Thankfully our exploration of the forest had thus far brought no unwelcome encounters and the children’s earlier concerns at the forest’s eerie tranquillity had not yet cause to recrudesce.
I made out the nebulous form of a large, fallen tree near to us and announced this would be our camp for the night. It was no more or less comfortable than the resting places of recent evenings and I bolstered the children’s appreciation of our new bed with the observation that it would be both warmer and drier than we had recently enjoyed.
We huddled together against the tree’s trunk to sleep the night, enjoying one another’s bodily warmth, taking comfort from physical contact. I talked quietly of our plans for the morning, of finding food of some sort and of meeting friendly people who might make us welcome, hoping to keep the children’s minds from the reality of our plight: that we were lost in a dark and alien forest without food or water. Strangers in a strange land.
As I exhausted my list of hopes for the morrow, my own voice fell silent and I could hear the restful breathing of Nicolae and Elone. I felt better for knowing they, at least, had found escape in sleep. I hoped and prayed I could soon emulate their achievement but in this I was to prove ill-favoured.