The Time Cometh
The wolves were running, the moon rising like a silver coin. But she was not afraid. Finally, the time was coming.
The snow crunched under her feet, small twigs snapping as she stepped on them. Her brothers and sisters greeted the moon.
She could smell the snow, the dryness in the air, the sweat of the wolves. Her breath came in puffs, reminding her of dragons of old.
Snowflakes descended from heaven. Beautiful, so fragile yet so strong. Alone they were weak, together, they could bury the world. They danced and swirled, and perched on branches, hiding the ugliness and filth, sweeping it under a blinding white carpet.
She trotted on a frozen canopy of mud and dead leaves, listening to the wolf song, remembering the days before the rise of Man. She remembered the hunt.
She saw the old tree rising against the dark sky, like a thorn in the side of the world. Her insides pricked with anticipation, like a hunter at the first sight of its prey.
Yes, the time is coming, she thought. Soon I’ll be rid of this skin. I am old and powerful, and tired of walking among humans. They think I am one of their young, but the time is coming, after so, so long. It is soon.
The snow crunched under her feet, small twigs snapping as she stepped on them. Her brothers and sisters greeted the moon.
She could smell the snow, the dryness in the air, the sweat of the wolves. Her breath came in puffs, reminding her of dragons of old.
Snowflakes descended from heaven. Beautiful, so fragile yet so strong. Alone they were weak, together, they could bury the world. They danced and swirled, and perched on branches, hiding the ugliness and filth, sweeping it under a blinding white carpet.
She trotted on a frozen canopy of mud and dead leaves, listening to the wolf song, remembering the days before the rise of Man. She remembered the hunt.
She saw the old tree rising against the dark sky, like a thorn in the side of the world. Her insides pricked with anticipation, like a hunter at the first sight of its prey.
Yes, the time is coming, she thought. Soon I’ll be rid of this skin. I am old and powerful, and tired of walking among humans. They think I am one of their young, but the time is coming, after so, so long. It is soon.
A Note from the Author
This story was inspired by a picture I saw of a young girl walking in the forest. I wondered why she appeared to have no fear while entering the dark forest. What if she knew she was by far the most frightening thing in there...
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