"Mam." Ria called walking up the steps, the house was eerily quiet, not even the sound of a cricket's chirp could be heard as she went up the steps. The sound of her shoes going up nearly frightens her but she pushes on.

She heard something coming from her room and pressed her ear to the door to hear the sound of gentle breaths, opening the door as quietly as she could Ria found her mother in her brother's bed snoring softly, one of his fur toys pressed to her face.

Ria approached the bed and at the sight of her mother's tear streaked face, wondered if the woman would shed even a single tear if the roles were reversed. Would that Ansel were still here and Ria gone?

She tugged the blanket over her and crept out of the room, casting a glance at the woman she made up her mind.

'I have to find him.' Ria thought. 'I must go to the forest.'

The afternoon was rife with the air of panic as Ria set her foot unto the path she had seen the old woman go down. Her feet carried her into a thicket not as dense as some of the woods on the other paths.

Ria knew she would either come back or she would not but for some reason she trusted the words of the old woman.

"The forest is not yours to fear, it would not harm someone like us."

The words rang in her ear like a church bell the comparison reminded her how funny it was that the Pastor did not even join them in their search.

Ria scoffed, her feet crunched twigs and bugs under her as she walked, it was almost a quarter of an hour before she caught the sight of smoke that let her know she was not alone in the forest. Her footsteps slowed, she inched closer hoping it was the old woman's home.

Ria wanted to find her brother most of all but the sight of the old hut called to her, beckoning her towards it with every small step she took. Ria could see the old woman again, a smile on her sagging face Ria didn't know if she would read it as pleased or not.

The blackened hands catch her attention first, what could have caused it? Did the fires of hell scald this witch so badly that it left a permanent impression on her mortal flesh?

Ria stepped closer, the old woman nodded, setting out a stool for the both of them.

"I know why you're here." The old woman said.

"Have you seen my brother?" Ria asked, not in the mood for games or cryptic messages.

"He was not taken in these woods." The hag said, stirring a bubbling pot of something. Ria narrowed her eyes.

"Everyone knows children disappear once they venture into the woods." Ria hissed in anger, did this woman think she was stupid? The old woman only chuckled.

"Your temper, guard it girl." she said. "I speak nothing but the truth, your brother was not taken in these woods. There have been some but not others and not your brother." Ria gasped, the old woman confirmed what she had known but also what she had not.

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"If not in the forest then where is he?" she asked.

The old woman shook her head, still stirring the darkness in her pot.

"For that, you would have to ask the spirits."

"The spirits?" A cold fear struck Ria, without saying a word, she withdrew taking a few steps back then ran back the way she came.

A chilling wind blew through the area, it ruffled her hair and the dark cloak of the old hag. Ria reasoned her words.

Consorting with spirits, an unholy thing. She would be hung especially in such sensitive times. All it would take would be a single accusation and the people of the Lovella would be against her.

She ran home just in time for her to see her father hang his rifle up on its hook. He saw her come through the door and crossed the room to place his hands on her shoulder in gentle cautioning.

"Ria my darling, I don't want you going out so much anymore." he said to her. Obviously worried, the forest might have taken one child but he would be a poor protector if he let it take two.

"I know father, but I was just in the town. Was there a search party today too?"

The man shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in deep thought. What could he say that would comfort her? The men had stopped searching, Ansel to them had become just another missing child. Already the people had moved on to other things.

"The men have lost hope, they will be imposing a curfew soon."

"It's just like before. It won't do much." Ria said.

Her father touched her face gently and patted it fondly. He hugs her closely, trapping her in his broad arms. Ria could smell the salt of his sweat and the dried meats and oils he spent all day working with.

"I just wish you to be careful." he said.

He walked away from her then took off his hunting jacket, and proceeded to hang it on the hook with the other articles of clothing.

"Father, how sure are we that Ansel disappeared in the forest?" Ria asked. The man faced her abruptly, a slack jawed look of shock on his face.

"Lunaria Smith, you would accuse your neighbors of something so heinous as lying?" he said harshly. The girl bowed her head, not wanting to anger her father further.

"It was just speculation."

"Never let me catch you speculating something like that again." the man said.

"Yes father." she said, a seething rage overcame her in that moment. How could they not be exploring other options? She after all had returned from the forest, if the place was so hunted then why was there someone living there? Why was Ria herself able to return to the house?

Ansel should have been able to do the same.

That night Ria listened to the pitiful sobs of her mother's cries with an emptiness in her chest. The woman opted to return to her room and stay with Ria's father but through the wooden walls, the house shook with the grief of a mother who had lost her favored child.

Ria sat up on her bed, pulling her knees to her chest and staring out the window. The moon hung heavy in the sky, unobscured by the clouds it allowed Ria to see the outline of thick trees from where she sat on her bed.

As she watched, she noticed the trees began moving, not in the way the leaves do in the Autumn when the breeze was a little bit too strong. The winds did not sway but rather they moved as though waving to one another in greeting. Ria gasped, quickly falling into her bed and pulling the covers over her face in fright.

Her mind must have been playing tricks on her, it was quite late and she was tired. The day was long and she had been in the forest with a silly old woman who had given her ideas.

The girl faced away from the widow and her bother's bed, she squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to fall asleep.