The veil

The well has dried up again. Ranta sighed, took her bucket and walked to the river. The sun had set and the dusk was weaving the world in the darkness already, she had to hurry up.

The forest was still, Ranta walked her usual path not needing to think about her steps. The veil she wore over her face softened the forest in a dark haze.

Suddenly, her bucket got snatched out of her hand. She stood frozen for a moment watching a little forest creature running away with her bucket, seeming to giggle. Forest sprites. They usually kept their distance and didn’t bother her.

Ranta went after the little creature, she needed the bucket and she needed the water.

Panting, out of breath Ranta skidded to a stop right at the edge of the water. It was almost dark now and she couldn’t see well enough. The bucket was dropped on the river bank to her left, sprite gone. She heard noises, but it was not the familiar sprites anymore. Something was there, in the water. Then she heard a weak scream for help. Without a thought Ranta jumped in the water. There was a light shape in the middle of the water, it looked like the last bit of sunshine fighting the dark. She fought the current to swim there. It was pure instinct guiding her. Getting closer she saw a little girl holding onto a branch. Ranta’s heart jumped in fear, it gave her strength to get there faster.

Ranta pulled the child out on the shore and dropped on her knees next to her, examining if she was alright before noticing her own exhaustion. The girl was coughing up water. Ranta needed a moment to regain her own breath. In the darkness the girl seemed to be almost a light source herself. Through Ranta’s veil her edges seemed blurred and she looked like a small sun.

But the sun was cold. The little girl was shivering and Ranta had to be quick to bring her to the cottage. She lifted the girl against her chest, holding tight, retraced her steps back through the dark forest.

Ranta helped the child out of her wet clothes and wrapped her in all the blankets she could find, lit up the fireplace and placed the girl, who looked like a large cocoon now, close to the fire.

Adrenaline slowly leaving, Ranta realised she was thirsty, the girl must want a hot drink too.

She had to get the water, but Ranta wasn’t sure if in this dark she could even find the spot by the river anymore to retrieve her bucket. She startled from a noise right outside the doors. There was a metallic cling and then quiet again. Slowly she opened the doors and saw her bucket placed in front of them, full of water. Her heart tightened in her chest. “Thank you” she whispered looking out at the darkness.

Hot tea steaming next to them, both girls sat by the fire.

“What’s your name?” Ranta asked.

“Annabelle,” the girl answered. The vague blue shade had left her cheeks and her lips replaced by a rosy red. “What’s yours?”

“Ranta.”

“Ranta.” the girl repeated. She didn’t seem shy nor scared. “Are you a shadow spirit?” The girl asked, eyes wide in wonder.

“No.” Ranta let out a little laugh. “But sometimes I wish I was.” She admitted.

“Felix told me shadow spirits walk the forest at night.” She wanted to continue but Ranta interrupted - “is Felix your dad?”

“No, no. He’s my big brother.”

“He must be worried. Where is he?” Ranta considered, “Annabelle, do you remember how you got in the river?”

She was quiet for a moment. Twisting the blanket in her small hands, suddenly seeming more shy or ashamed she started “I wanted to play with the water sprites.” Quiet again. Ranta waited. “Felix said they are mean. I didn’t believe him.” She stared at the floor.

Then Annabelle looked at me and started speaking fast, rushed in excitement “We walked. Felix was telling me stories. I heard them laughing. I wanted, I wanted to play with them. They pulled me into the water.” Then she slowed down, tearing up “it was so cold.” Again, quiet for a while. “I heard Felix scream after me.”

Then she started crying. “I want my brother. Where is he?”

Ranta felt so helpless. She wished she knew. “You are safe now.” She shushed the girl. “It’s dark outside, it’s not safe to go looking for your brother right now.” Ranta felt sorry for Annabelle’s brother, “He must be so worried. But he will be okay. We will find him in the morning, We will go to the town and ask the townsfolk.”

Ranta dreaded the thought to interact with the people of the town. She knew what they whispered behind her back, she had heard fragments of the tales they made up about her. In their eyes she might as well be a shadow spirit, and maybe it’s better for the girl if she is not the one leading her to the town. But what was the alternative? Letting her go alone? She was too worried about the little sun’s safety.

“Would you like me to tell you a story?” Ranta asked hopefully. That seemed to interest the little girl. She wiped her tears and nodded quickly. Ranta wasn’t prepared and quickly searched her brain archives for a suitable children’s story. The one that came to her felt like a stab in the heart, but she didn’t know what else to do but to tell it. It was the last story she ever told her own sister, many years ago now, but she remembered it well.

“Once upon a time,..” Ranta started. It was a lovely children’s fairytale about how the forest got its green summer coat and white, fluffy winter coat. About the forest’s sprites tending the forest. Annabelle listened intently, eyes bright in wonder.

Soon after the girl fell asleep and Ranta carried her to the bed, preparing a cot on the floor to spend the night on herself.

Ranta woke up with the first light shivering, all her blankets were on the girl. She got up to check on Annabelle, she was softly snoring in the bed, looking so peaceful and innocent. The girl’s clothes were dry now. Ranta softly woke the girl and helped her get dressed. She was impressed how brave Annabelle was given the situation and she praised the girl on that.

Ranta prepared some porridge and hot tea for Annabelle, after the cold water she likely needed the strength. They chatted over breakfast, the girl asking questions about the cottage, about the forest, but never mentioning the veil over Ranta’s face. Ranta felt so grateful and enjoyed having company after all these years.

Over the years Ranta had isolated herself from other people. Over time, people started avoiding her too. They made up stories about her, about her veil. Some believed her to be a witch, others believed she brought bad luck and death. Some said she had the face of a hog and tried to hide the fact that she was not human from them. Over time, Ranta stopped caring what other people thought. At least that’s the story she told herself.

The dark veil over her face brought her comfort now. It was part of her and she barely even thought about it anymore. She would not remove it, she would not forget why she placed it there.

There was a time when she was not wearing it, she could not recall anymore how the world looked without a screen of a soft shade in front of her eyes. She didn’t want to look. She imagined it sharp and overwhelming.

Seven years ago, she lived in this same cottage with her little sister. How close she must have been in age with Annabelle. She guessed Annabelle is likely around 6 years old, using the memory of her own sister as a reference. Alice was her name. After their parents died Ranta was taking care of Alice. It was just the two of them. Ranta would have done anything for her sister, she would starve just so Alice could get the last piece of bread. She would work to exhaustion just so Alice would be warm and safe. She used her last coin to buy flower seeds to cheer Alice up. Alice loved flowers so much.

On a cold autumn evening it happened. Everything changed. They were getting ready for sleep when the door sprang open, a loud roar, and Ranta froze at the sight of the large monster. It was half wolf, half alligator, with large sharp claws and jagged teeth. It slashed at the screaming Alice shoving her across the room. Only then Ranta unfroze and reached for her axe left near the fireplace. She slashed at the monster, the monster roared at her and then sharp pain across her face where the monster's claws slashed through. Ranta screamed and hit it with her axe, bleeding, the monster retreated and ran to the forest.

Blood clouded her vision. Alice. “Oh no, no, no. Alice.” She cried reaching for her sister. Alice laid cold and lifeless on the cottage floor. “No, please, no. Alice, wake up!” She begged, tears streaming down her face. Ranta tried to find any trace of breath, of pulse, but to no avail. She clutched Alice to her chest and cried for hours, unable to move, barely able to breathe. The candles burned and went out leaving her crying in the cold and darkness. Alice was cold against her chest but she couldn’t let go.

The first light of dawn came and Ranta stared at the empty doorway, her tears had dried up. It felt like her soul had dried up too. The world didn’t seem real anymore. With Alice gone, part of her had died too. Ranta laid down her sister and looked at her little face. Alice’s white face looked calm, peaceful, like she was resting now in her eternal sleep. With trembling hands Ranta lifted her, slowly walked out of the cottage. She laid Alice on the ground where last Autumn flowers still bloomed. Ranta went to get the shovel and she dug. She would use her last strength to let her sister sleep in peace, it was the last thing she could still do for her.

Ranta had failed to protect her sister and she didn’t know how to live with herself. The scars across her face was a living reminder of her failure. Why was she alive when her beautiful, cheerful sister couldn’t be? She would trade places with Alice without a second thought. Ranta couldn’t even bear to look at her own face in the reflection. The scars made her hideous and maybe that’s what she deserved. Ranta dug through the stored belongings from her late mother and found the dark veil. She placed it over her face and would not remove it again. She didn’t feel like she deserved to see the colors of the world when her sister could not anymore. She tried to hide her shame by hiding her face.

The years transformed the pain into dull numbness. Ranta went through the daily motions, kept herself alive, meeting basic needs. She felt more like a shell than a human. A living shadow. She imagined she had no face, she didn’t want one. She was a wraith, a reminder of what once had been.

With Annabelle at her table Ranta felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time. It was a tightness in her chest, emotion long forgotten. Ranta would not fail Annabelle and they would find her brother soon.

The morning light was streaming through the window and Ranta heard hounds barking in the distance. They drew nearer and shouts accompanied the barking. “Annabelle! Annabelle!”

The little girl ran to the door, Ranta behind her opening them for her.

“Felix!!” Annabelle shouted, high pitched. A dark shape ran towards the cottage. In the morning light Annabelle’s blond hair was illuminated and she looked like a little sun again.

The man collided with his sister, her jumping into his arms and Felix held Annabelle tight, sobbing over her neck. Two large hounds were circling all of them, making Ranta feel uneasy.

After some moments the tall man seemed to remember his surroundings and took it all in. He looked wary at Ranta, unsure. Then Annabelle sprung free from his arms and ran back towards Ranta gesturing at the dogs. “This is Bailor and Bronn. They are my friends!” Annabelle hugged one of the large, brown dogs. The dog licked her face and Annabelle giggled. “Felix! This is my new friend, Ranta!” Now she gestured to Ranta and went to clutch Felix’s hand pulling him closer.

Gingerly he extended his hand. “I’m Felix.. I’m.. thank you?” He looked unsure. Ranta took his hand, politely shook it and let go. “Nice to meet you. You have the bravest sister in the world!” She smiled at Annabelle. She realised Felix likely had no context of what had happened so she quickly filled him in. “She was in the river and it was already dark when we got back to the cottage. I’m sorry we didn’t look for you sooner, but I didn’t want to risk the dark, and..”

“I can’t thank you enough!” Felix interrupted. “She means the world to me. I don’t know what I would do if..” he trailed off, tears pooling in his eyes. He shook his head, seeming to reassure himself that all is well. “Annabelle.. Please, we need to be more careful! You gave me such a fright.”

Ranta felt reluctant to let Annabelle leave but what can she do? They were both strangers after all. Felix seemed to notice the hesitation, “Annabelle, let’s get back home and rest and we can come visit your new friend some other day. What do you think?” He asked her but looked at Ranta with a weak smile. “Yes!!” The girl ran over and curled her hands over Ranta’s hips, let go and ran back to her brother, took his hand and they walked away. He looked back, gratitude in his eyes.

Suddenly Ranta’s days felt different. It was not the usual going through the motions. There was something else in the air. A purpose. She kept her cottage clean. Spent the days pacing, then trying to keep herself busy. She didn’t know when she would return, but she believed Annabelle’s brother’s promise.

On the fourth day they came and Felix was different. He was calm, friendly, not frantic as she had seen him before. They talked, friendly, Ranta played with Annabelle, told her stories. Over the days she prepared them because she knew how much Annabelle loved stories.

Felix asked about her veil only once, but Ranta avoided the topic so he dropped it and never brought up the subject again.

Two weeks later the three of them walked the forest. Various bird songs and fragrant forest flowers coated the air. Annabelle was giggling trying to catch the sparkling fireflies, blinking in and out all around them. Then the forest went utterly still. It was quiet. All the blinking lights went out. A sudden loud roar. Ranta’s veins turned to ice. She knew this beast.

“Quick! Hide!” She shoved Felix and Annabelle towards the thick brush. He was protesting but she pleaded “Please! She needs you to protect her.”

When the beast appeared Ranta stood alone in his path. She expected to feel vengeance but what she felt was something else. Her sole purpose in this moment was to protect Annabelle.. And Felix. She realised she cared for him too.

The years spent alone were not idle. Through the pain and rage Ranta trained. She had gotten herself knives and learned how to throw them. She was strong from years labouring, hitting the wood with an axe again and again until she collapsed from exhaustion. As the beast prowled forward ugly, jagged teeth bared, Ranta reached for her knives and a practiced reflex set two knives in the air meeting their target. The monster shrieked in pain, twisting and then collapsing to the ground. It was all over in just a few moments. Ranta felt calm, like she did what she had to do. She walked over and removed one knife from where the beast’s heart must have been, and the other from its neck. She cringed when she noticed the scar on its chest that she recognised all too well.

Ranta reached under her veil to touch her own scars but the skin there felt smooth. She gasped. But then she heard a noise and saw Felix panting behind her, eyes wide.

“Where’s Annabelle?” fear shook her voice.

Then little footsteps came behind Felix. He turned around “I told you to stay hidden!”

Ranta ignored him and embraced Annabelle in a hug sobbing quietly.

Later that day the three of them sat at the cliff overlooking the sunset. They sat there quietly. Annabelle in the middle twirling a wild flower in her hand, plucking at the petals. Ranta felt the warmth of Felix’s shoulder brushing against hers. He was looking straight ahead over the horizon. After a very long time Ranta felt like she wanted to experience the sunset in its fullest form. She reached behind her head and quietly unlaced her veil. She reached out her hand and let go of it, letting the wind carry it away. Annabelle and Felix both stared at her in awe. Ranta looked away in shame “I don’t want you to look at these hideous scars.”

“What scars? You are so beautiful.” Felix marvelled. Ranta brushed her fingers against her cheek and the skin was smooth once again. The scars were gone. And the sunset brought such warmth to her heart she felt like a whole person again.