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From behind the compressed forest, where the canopy of branches hid the sunlight, and the entangled roots prepare to catch unwanted trespassers, a pair of eyes watched fiercely at the lamb that fed on the nearby pasture. It was white, like a perfect cloud floating freely across the sky. That lamb looked up and watched the world simply pass by, without any cares in the world; without any concerns of what vile creatures could be lurking within the nearby forest.
The pair of eyes blinked once, twice, and on the third blink, the creature crept toward the edge of the forest, one furry foot at a time. It’s long red tongue hung from its snout, panting over and over as it watched the naïve lamb. As plump as the lamb looked, and as hungry as the wolf was, he felt uncomfortable, and even a tad guilty at the thought that this one lamb was his only source of nourishment.
Perhaps if I make an excuse to attack this lamb, I won’t feel so bad, thought the wolf, and as soon as he thought that, he grinned, bearing sharpened, salivating fangs. I’ll simply make an excuse…
The wolf emerged from the forest, catching the innocent lamb by surprise. The lamb, not knowing what a wolf looked like, or realizing the danger it was in, simply stood, watching the wolf curiously.
A breeze tousled his red fur as he stalked his prey. “I believe you are on my property, little lamb.”
The lamb took a step forward and shook its little head. “No, because I was born on these pastures.”
The wolf stopped and quickly thought of something else to say. “Well, then, you have spoken ill against me.”
The lamb fearlessly walked toward the wolf once more. “I assure you, I have not for I have never met you. Plus, I would not speak ill of such an interesting creature such as you."
The wolf’s patience was growing weak and he stomped his foot on the ground. “Either way, I am hungry and I will eat you up.”
However, when he approached the lamb with every intention to devour it, he suddenly stopped. He couldn’t do it. Not yet.
“So, what happened?” the elf asked as the story was coming to a close.
“The wolf ate the lamb.”
“Just like that?”
The young human girl nodded, her brown locks flowing around her face. Her blue almond eyes glanced up at him, the one who introduced himself as Wolf. “Just like that. You see, he was hungry.”
“Why didn’t the lamb run?” There was a slight crack in his voice of desperation. “Why didn’t the lamb leave?”
She looked at the elf and touched his hand with hers. The touch caused a sudden jolt to spread through his body. Startled, Wolf looked at Sarahai, who smiled softly at him. “Perhaps the lamb believed the wolf wouldn’t harm it. Perhaps the lamb was interested in the wolf.” She leaned closer to Wolf, who smirked slightly. Her rose lips moved closer to him. “Perhaps…” she whispered, “…she wanted to prove to the wolf that she wasn’t dinner, but rather, a companion.” Her lips touched his and Wolf’s hands reached to hold her as they silently sat in their embrace. The ocean’s waves were the only noise that surrounded them, but not even that stopped this first kiss.
It was Wolf who moved away slowly, his sea-green eyes opening to see the young teenage girl leaning toward him, with a smile on her face. She was so innocent, so naïve. When she opened her eyes, she focused on his eyes, gazing deep into them, and Wolf shuddered. If she were able to see into his soul, she would know his true intentions. He blinked and looked away at the setting sun.
“It’s…almost sunset.”
Sarahai quickly turned back to look at the gold rays over the sea and her eyes widened. “I must get back to my camp.” She jumped up and twirled, looking around for her sandals. Her white skirt fell upon her legs, hugging them, showing Wolf for a split second her formed curves. He broke free from the trance her body held him in and stood, grabbing her arm and halting her flight.
“Why must you go?”
“I just must, Wolf.” She stepped back and placed her hands on his face, kissing him once more. “I will see you tomorrow morning, yes?” Her eyes searched his. “Please, my wolf?” Her words were melodious and haunting, that all he could do was nod. She smiled and ran back to camp, behind the hills of red sand.
“Poor, innocent lamb,” he whispered, feeling the pang of guilt already spreading through his body like a vile poison. With the sun setting, Wolf, or rather, Cris, walked back to his camp.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow it will be done.
...serendipitous soundtrack.
ReplyDelete"So black was the magic in this tragical kingdom
That the superstitions grew
Wise to the wolves that surprised their children
Gagged in sacks and dragged back to"