| |
Saffron slid her small palm over the smooth brown leather cover of her new book. When she opened it, she beamed with joy. Its crinkled, aged pages were thick and musty smelling. Each right-hand page harboured a beautiful hand drawn picture of the story being told in curly black handwriting on the left-hand page.
“Let’s begin, children,” Frau Hood said, standing at the front of the classroom. “Here is your history of our prosperous town...”
––––––––
ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE lived a beautiful forest queen. A magnificent being so dainty and elegant, everything around her thrived with life. One day, a man from the city hiked through the abundant woods, curious what lovely sights he may find hidden inside to distract him from the ugliness of the modern world.
After hours of fighting with thick branches and losing sense of direction, Wilhelm Holtzmann finally pushed through the other side of the forest to set eyes upon a vast open plain. Lush green grass spread over the horizon, encircled by the woods completely.
Wilhelm fell in love instantly. He skipped across the long grass, laughing and thanking the universe for such splendour. Immediately he knew this was the place where he could escape the confines and mental struggles of a society he had come to hate. This was where he wanted to raise his family.
Mapping things out in his mind, Wilhelm started making plans for the home he would build here. Then he thought of his friends and other family members, realising that despite his hatred for the City, he couldn’t live without seeing them.
“I’ll invite them, too,” he thought to himself. “There is more than enough room here for all of us.”
And so, Wilhelm was soon imagining a village, an old-fashioned community where money was a foreign substance, and everyone pitched in to help survive—the way it should be.
Full of ideas and joy, Wilhelm turned to go home, only to be met with a pulsing green light blinding his view. As he tried to push forwards, the light became stronger, and as it burned brighter, started to hum with a low-pitched tremor.
Wilhelm, frightened, fell backwards, staring up at the paranormal phenomenon. The light lessened, and as it did, the shadow of a small human started to form in the centre of its presence. As Wilhelm took in the breath-taking sight before him, a soft, female voice spoke to him through his mind. Entranced by her gentle tones, Wilhelm could do nothing but listen.
“I can see your mind, human. I can feel your emotions; your pain, your hope, your need for freedom. My forest can provide you with what you seek, however, should you treat this place with anything but the utmost respect, you will be immediately removed from my domain. What you reap, you must sow, and there will be no death except those of natural causes.”
Wilhelm nodded, hypnotised by the fairy floating in front of him. The light faded away, taking with it the exquisite forest spirit. Excited for his new adventure, Wilhelm immediately got to work, telling his friends and family of his marvellous idea. Within a few weeks, wooden frames turned into cosy homes, spread apart on the vast expanse of lush green grass. The towns folk decided to call their new home ‘Sehrstadt’ which loosely translated meant ‘Very Town’. Their new home was very beautiful, very fruitful, and very giving. It was a place of very good things to come.
The fairy Queen lived for many, many years, deep inside the rich forest surrounding the village of Sehrstadt. However, after centuries of pouring her life essence into the wonderful woodland, the Queen died without an heir.
Within days, the forest started to die, no longer kept alive by the pure heartbeat of a worthy Queen. The Queen’s confidantes summoned Wilhelm to the heart of forest and demanded he leave or provide the forest with a new Queen. Panicked and desperate to keep his blooming family in Sehrstadt, Wilhelm consulted with his closest family and friends.
It was decided, to repay the fairies for their generosity over the years, that they would indeed sacrifice one of their own to take on the role of being Queen. After deliberation with the fairies, it was revealed that they needed a young, innocent female whose pure essence could give the forest the heartbeat it needed to continue thriving. Desperate to keep his community together, Wilhelm said he would give them his own seventeen-year-old daughter, Adala.
However, to be deemed worthy enough of filling the empty throne, Adala would have to endure thirty days and thirty nights in the forest, surviving solely off the fruits offered to her by nature. Only if she survived this would she be crowned as the forest spirits new Queen.
Not wanting to scare Adala away from the monumental task ahead, Wilhelm kept quiet about the mission she faced. Instead, he asked her to go into the forest to seek out a rare ‘corpse’ flower before the autumn equinox. It was needed because of its pungent smell similar to that of a rotting corpse.
“We need it to keep the rodents away from the grain during winter,” he said to her, handing her a basket of water, bread, nuts, and berries. “There is enough for a few days. You should be back before then.”
Adala, full of excitement to complete such an important task for her father, skipped out into the forest, her blue cotton dress swinging above her knees, and her red riding hood billowing out behind her.
The townsfolk held their breath for the next thirty days. When the browning leaves suddenly turned evergreen, birds started chirping morning songs once more, and the forest bustled again with energy, Sehrstadt realised that Adala had done the impossible—she had survived the forest and been deemed worthy of being their new Queen.
And so, in deep respect to pay thanks to Adala, every seventeen years, a young seventeen-year-old girl has been sent out into the forest to carry out the same journey that Adala did all those years ago. A stunning carved statue of Wilhelm’s firstborn is situated in the middle of the forest and offerings are made to it by the chosen girl.
To say thanks for the ritual, Adala grants the chosen one an escape from the forest, letting them pass through and into the wide world beyond.
––––––––
“AND THAT, MY DEAR CHILDREN, is the fantastical history of Sehrstadt,” said Frau Hood. “Because of that, here we are today, living in this beautiful town, a perfect mix of old traditions with a touch of modern amenities. Does anyone have any questions?”
“What if the chosen one doesn’t want to live away from Sehrstadt?” Saffron asked, frowning.
Frau Hood’s round smiley face darkened with a thunderous look. “All children, when they reach that age in life, want to explore and see what lays beyond our borders.” She clapped her hands together and then smiled at the rest of the class. “Now, children, let’s—”
Saffron put her hand up and said, “But what if they really don’t want to?”
“Saffron, look around you.”
Frowning, Saffron took a hesitant glance around her at the rest of her class. A sea of young faces stared back at her, some blank, some scowling, some smiling.
“Eighty per cent of Sehrstadt’s children go on to live in the City. In five years time, hardly any of your classmates will remain here,” she replied, her tone of voice curt.
“What if it’s the year of the Offering and there isn’t a suitable girl?”
Frau Hood narrowed her eyes at the inquisitive young girl. “There is always a suitable child. Nothing happens by chance, Saffron, remember that.”
“But—”
“That’s enough for today, Saffron Schmidt.”
Saffron closed her mouth and chewed over her teacher’s words. What if there wasn’t a suitable child for the Offering? Then what? What if the Chosen One didn’t want to live in the City? Then what?