Silverweed: a supernatural fairy tale Read online

  a supernatural Fairy Tale

  Dorlana Vann

  Pixie Punk Press

  Table Of Contents

  18 Years Earlier…

  Chapter 1

  Once Upon A Time

  Chapter 2

  There Was A Dear Little Girl

  Chapter 3

  Take These Goodies To Your Grandmother

  Chapter 4

  I Will Be Careful

  Chapter 5

  Half A League From The Village

  Chapter 6

  “Good Day,” Said The Wolf

  Chapter 7

  I Must Act Craftily So I Can Catch Both

  Chapter 8

  Little Red Drifted From The Path

  Chapter 9

  The Wolf Knocked At The Door

  Chapter 10

  He Devoured Her

  Chapter 11

  He Dressed Himself In Her Cap

  Chapter 12

  What Big Eyes You Have

  Chapter 13

  The Wolf Appeased His Appetite

  Chapter 14

  The Huntsman Saw The Wolf Lying In The Bed

  Chapter 15

  Just As He Was About To Fire

  Chapter 16

  She Might Still Be Saved

  Chapter 17

  He Cut Open The Stomach

  Chapter 18

  How Dark It Was Inside The Wolf

  Chapter 19

  The Grandmother Came Out Alive

  Chapter 20

  They Filled The Wolf’s Belly And He Fell Dead

  Dedication and Acknowledgements

  Copyright

  18 Years Earlier…

  Rose peered over the banister into the dark downstairs, inhaling the alluring aroma of fried chicken—the reason she had crawled out of bed. She patted her oversized tummy in response to the baby’s swift kick. “I know, I know.” Humming, well-rested after her early evening nap, her sights were set on the brightly lit kitchen where she knew her boyfriend, Harley, busily cooked her favorite meal.

  She made her way down the stairs, through the foyer, and into the living room thinking about how sweet Harley had been ever since the doctor had told her to take this last trimester easy. However, before she made it all the way through the living room, a rustling noise from outside interrupted her tranquil thoughts.

  A breeze blew the curtain inward from the open patio door. When something cast a shadow, Rose stopped breathing for a second.

  “Mother?” she whispered and took a small step closer. Even though she reasoned that sometimes her mother watered the plants at night, Rose’s heart felt differently; it pounded in her chest, her entire body now alive with rhythm. She pulled the curtain back.

  Her mother stood on the patio holding her weathered watering can. After she glanced up at Rose and smiled, everything seemed to happen in an instant: from out of the darkness, a monstrous wolf-like creature appeared; her mother reacted to Rose's sudden terror and turned toward the yard just as the beast soared into the air.

  Rose screamed from her soul.

  Chapter 1

  Once Upon A Time

  Aiden Young stared out the window of the rental car. His mom, Lucy, had described early fall in Indiana as spectacular, but they’d missed autumn altogether, and she’d failed to mention that the heart of winter was so freaking bleak and bitter. He pulled a pen out of the spirals of his notebook and forced himself to ignore the poem he had written about Summer, his newly ex-girlfriend, on the previous page. On the next blank page, he wrote:

  Sunlight…

  shivers through the claws

  of dense skeleton branches

  “What are you writing?” his mom asked from behind the wheel, rescuing him from comparing the cold poem to the way he felt. “I would love to hear something. You haven’t shared your poetry with me in a long time. You know, I still have the very first one you wrote to me. Let’s see, it went… ‘Mommy, mommy—’”

  “Hey!” He cleared his throat. “Umm… are you sure you turned down the right road?” He couldn’t stomach his mom’s “when you were a little boy” stories, even if guilt did nudge at him. He knew in her mind the reason he had tagged along was so that they could spend time together. In real life, her trip on the same weekend Summer had planned to come over had been perfect timing, and that’s all. Summer wanted serious answers, and he didn’t even want to talk about it, didn’t want to think about it. “It’s been forever since I’ve seen a house. Only trees and more trees and dead trees...”

  “Nervous?” She smiled as she glanced back and forth from him to the road, her new, short hairstyle bouncing to the movement.

  “You not watching the road is making me a little jumpy.”

  “No, I think city boy is scared of the woods.” She gave a quick laugh before saying, “Granny once told me she saw the devil out there. Pitchfork and all.”

  “Well, if I was scared, that wouldn’t help.”

  His mom watched the road in silence for a moment. “How much do you remember about my family?”

  He shrugged. “I remember Augustus was a jerk.”

  “I’m sure he’s changed by now.”

  “Right.”

  “I hope some other stuff has changed, too,” she mumbled. “There are a couple of things about them you probably don’t remember.”

  “Wait!” Aiden pointed. “There’s a house down that hill. Is that it?”

  “That’s it.” She made a sharp left.

  As they drove down the driveway, Aiden frowned. The house was old and worn, the paint peeling like someone had raked the white two-story from the top of the black trim down to the dead bushes. The windows, with a brownish build-up on the glass, didn’t catch a single reflection. But the porch actually triggered a memory. He knew it wrapped the entire house because he remembered running around and around it when he was a little boy.

  Lucy parked beside a red BMW. “I don’t remember it being so—”

  “Spooky?”

  “I was going to say old. Anyway, how do I look?” She sat up straight and examined herself in the rearview mirror.

  Aiden didn’t say anything because after the first fifty times he had told her she looked fine, he’d realized she wasn’t listening for an answer. She was just nervous. They had almost missed their plane because she had changed her outfit a few hundred times. She had finally settled on black slacks, black leather jacket, pastel shirt, and low heels.

  Aiden opened the car door. His Texas winter coat, actually a thin jacket, was no match for the icy wind. Since it had been shorts weather back home, he was thankful that at least he had worn long pants. As he walked toward the house, he tucked his hands inside his pockets and tried to look down at much as possible to keep the miserable cold from hitting his face.

  Lucy knocked on the front door and looked around at the containers of flowers, plants, and condolence wreaths on the front porch. “I don’t see the one I sent.”

  The door opened abruptly. Aiden had been seven the last time he saw his cousin, but he recognized the guy with dark, slicked-back hair and swollen eyes, one green and one blue, as Augustus. He wore jeans and an unbuttoned black shirt, which revealed a chain that dangled down a muscular chest.

  “What?” His cousin’s voice sounded groggy, like he had been woken from a nap.

  “Augustus? Hi. Remember us? Aunt Lucy. And this is Aiden.”

  Augustus remained unenthused. “Oh,” he said, walking away. He left the door wide open, presumably for them to follow.

  Aiden had half expected the inside of the house to look as unkempt as the outside. Other than the sheet-covered frame that hung on the wall with only a tarnished cor
ner peeking out, there was nothing wrong or special about the spacious foyer. He glanced at the formal dining room, which was to the right, and at the hallway, stairs, and ramp on the left.

  As they followed his cousin into a warm living room, Aiden noticed Augustus’ hair wasn’t short like it had first appeared but hung down in a pony-tail.

  “Whoop,” Aiden said as he tripped on the corner of the rug.

  Augustus turned and glared at Aiden. “Watch your step.”

  Aiden smoothed the rug with his foot in case it was expensive or something. “Sorry, man.”

  “The last thing we need around here is more bad luck,” Augustus said.

  “Oh, everything is fine,” Lucy offered. “Aiden’s just real clumsy.”

  “Mom!”

  She looked at Aiden sternly, as if to say, “Please, play along.”

  “Right…” Aiden said with full sarcasm. “I’m a klutz. I fall down all the time.”

  Augustus shook his head and walked to a chair that faced a blazing fireplace. A dozen or so pillar candles, at all stages of being burned, lined the mantle. A sofa, a wooden console television that looked so ancient Aiden doubted it received cable, and a small end table furnished the rest of the room.

  They stood behind the sectional like two dummies. Slowly, Augustus swiveled around. “Sit down,” he said.

  After they made it to the front of the couch, Lucy only sat on the edge, clearly uncomfortable. “Augustus,” she said. “I don’t know how to express how sorry we are.”

  “Diesel,” Augustus said.

  “I’m sorry?” Lucy replied.

  “My name is Diesel.”

  “Oh! Your middle name. When did you start going by your middle name?”

  “Five years ago.”

  “Oh,” she nodded. “How… are you?” She smoothed her hair. “Are you doing all right?”

  “The funeral was yesterday,” he said.

  “Yeah. I know, and I’m so sorry. I hoped we could drive out to the gravesite.”

  “You missed your own sister’s funeral.”

  “I know. I know. We really tried to get here on time but the airport, you know, and Christmas. It’s insane. Trying to rent a car was…”

  Diesel shifted in his seat.

  Lucy cleared her throat. “How’s Granny?”

  “She’s sleeping. Do you want to see her?”

  “Nooo, not if she’s resting.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  When Diesel jumped up and walked out of the room, Aiden tried to exhale the tension with a silent whistle. The fire crackled as they sat waiting.

  They both turned when they heard a loud knock coming from above. A railing supported by carved wooden balusters edged the open landing. “Gran,” Diesel said loudly. “Aunt Lucy and Aiden are here. Finally.” The bedroom door creaked open.

  After he heard the door shut, Aiden leaned over to his mom and whispered, “Man, he sure did get weird.”

  “Well, he’s been through a lot. He just lost his mom.”

  “Sorry.” Aiden felt bad for a second. But still… “What was with the rug and bad luck stuff, and you making me look like such a dweeb?”

  “I didn’t mean to. I was trying to make him feel better. It’s so strange. I had no idea Augustus believed in all that stuff, too.”

  “Diesel,” Aiden corrected with a smirk.

  She nodded. “I mean Diesel. They’re all a little different… a little superstitious, old-fashioned.”

  “How do you mean, superstitious? Black cats and stuff?”

  She nodded. “It seems like every little thing. You see, the reason Diesel got upset earlier is because stumbling is suppose to be bad luck in general.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I grew up with all of it.”

  “But you’re not superstitious.”

  She leaned in closer to Aiden and whispered, “Because I knew all the old wives’ tales, omens, and folklore Mom told me and Rose were only make-believe, like fairy tales. Now Rose, she soaked it all in and actually believed. But she didn’t go all,” she waved her hands, “you know until…”

  Aiden shook his head because he didn’t know. His mom rarely brought up her sister in conversation.

  “Well, when she was pregnant, her boyfriend, Harley, ran off and left her. I think something completely snapped. Even though I had already moved out by then, I heard she took it hard. At least that S.O.B. left money for Diesel when he died.”

  “She’s not feeling very well,” Diesel said from directly behind them. They both jumped. “She wants to know if you guys can go up there.”

  “Sure, sure,” Lucy said, her face bright red.

  They followed Diesel into the foyer and up the stairs. After a few steps up, the stairs turned to the right. Aiden could see over the banister, down into the living room.

  When they arrived at Granny’s door, Aiden’s heart thumped in his chest. He hadn’t seen her in ten years. His own grandma, a stranger. He could also sense his mom’s anxiety; she took her time walking inside the room.

  Granny sat in a recliner covered by a worn quilt. Her grey, bushy eyebrows went all the way across and met in the middle of her brow. Her cheekbones sank in, and her long, silver hair draped over both of her shoulders.

  “Lucille, you came,” Granny said, her voice ungrateful.

  “Mom,” Lucy said. “How are you?”

  “I’m hanging in there.”

  “I’m so sorry about Rose.” Lucy leaned over and gave her mom a distant hug. “I can’t believe she had a heart attack.”

  “I don’t believe it, either. Doctors. All of them, money hungry. Hmph, it doesn’t matter, anymore. She’s gone. Rose is gone.”

  Aiden heard the door close behind him. Diesel had left the room.

  “She was a good daughter,” Granny said. “I could count on her. Always here for me.” She looked at Aiden. “My, my look at you. Come give Granny a hug.”

  Aiden walked over to Granny’s stretched out arms and hugged her, smelling the scent of grassy earth. He pulled away, and she smiled warmly.

  “It’s so good to see you in person,” she said. “I’ve been sent pictures, but it’s not the same. Look at you. You remind me of your grandpa; he was tall and thin.” She looked around Aiden. “Where’s my new grandson? How old is he now, two? Seems a shame, a grandmother never even getting to meet her own grandson.”

  “He’s three and… he has a cough, and I thought it would be easier.” Lucy cleared her throat. “Mike stayed home with him.”

  Granny eased her attention over to Lucy. “I see. So when are you running off? I guess it’s just as well, anyway.”

  Lucy straightened and smiled curtly. “There’s something I need to talk—”

  “You can stay in your old room if you want,” Granny interrupted. “It’s the same. We haven’t changed a thing in case you ever decided to come home. Aiden, honey, you can take the guestroom downstairs. I’m feeling quite weak. Please ask Diesel if there’s some leftovers from Rose’s friends that I can have for my supper tonight. Rose always made supper...”

  “I’d be happy to cook,” Lucy said.

  “I suppose that will do. Turn the light out when you leave.”

  Lucy stood for a second, wringing her hands, and then took a couple of steps to the bedside table and snapped off the lamp. The room went dim but not dark because of the daylight sneaking in from the window. Lucy turned abruptly and left the room. Aiden smiled at Granny, feeling awkward. “See ya,” he said before following his mom’s exit and shutting the door behind him.

  Aiden caught up with Lucy on the stairs, mid-ramble. “She chose to live with Rose, and now she’s acting like I abandoned her or something. She wouldn’t even give me a chance to ask her. What makes me even think she would want to move in with me?”

  “It was a little soon to ask, don’t you think? Hi. Condolences. Want to pack up and move across the country?”

  “Shhh. Why don’t we go to the c
ar,” she said as they reached the foyer, “and we can talk.”

  Once in the car, Lucy placed her hand on her cheek as she stared out the front windshield. “I hope you can understand why I need to do this.”

  “I know, you and Dad explained it all at home. I mean, she’s old, and you don’t think a college kid like Diesel can take care of her.” Ever since his mom had brought up her plan, he had been apprehensive, especially since his mom suggested she extend the invitation to Diesel, too, at least until after the holidays. However, after seeing Diesel, he didn’t think he had to worry about him wanting to bunk together. He didn’t seem the type. And, since Diesel was legally an adult, he could have the entire house to himself. Aiden knew what he would pick if he was given the choice.

  “I didn’t realize it would be so hard,” his mom said, speaking more to herself than to Aiden. “I can’t believe she’s saying I ran off. I didn’t run off. I got married… I couldn’t bring myself to come back very often because every time I did, Rose acted and looked so strange, like a witch or gypsy or something. I couldn’t stand to see her like that. She used to be so pretty. The last time we came here, I swear she was in the kitchen making some kind of potion.”

  “Cool, magic potions.” Aiden imagined his aunt standing over a black cauldron, stirring it with a long wooden spoon.

  “She wasn’t normal,” she whispered and wiped her eyes. “I tried to tell Mom that I wasn’t sure Rose should be taking care of anyone and to come live with us. Of course she wouldn’t hear anything bad about her Rose. She chose her over me… So it’s not my fault. But I really didn’t mean for ten years to pass. Now I feel like a terrible daughter and sister.” Lucy inhaled a long breath and let it out quickly. “I’ll never see Rose again, you know.”

  “I’m sorry.” Aiden pulled a t-shirt out of his duffle bag from the backseat and handed it to his mom to wipe her tears.