Wandering Whigmaleerie

7/03/2019 Rain gently tapped me on the head as I trudged between the trees. The lamb pranced gaily ahead of me, his sodden coat not seeming to weigh him down at all. I scoffed. Of course it didn’t weigh him down, he was young. The young always have that extra energy to carry them in their blissful gambols. Meanwhile, I’m hiking through the woods with every bone and stiff joint creaking like the aspens in Fall. Ah, well. Soon both of our journeys would be over. I had spent the last three years carrying out the previous directive of my goddess. Her last mandate had been a weighty one. Literally. I had carried water for three years to relieve the suffering of a village drought.  “Ach, don’t eat that!” I cried to the lamb. We had entered the clearing where the altar lay. A small stone slab on the ground with a ring of wildflowers surrounding it. The lamb was currently eating the wildflowers. I scooped him up in my arms and knelt in front of the stone slab. “I have returned.”I pl...

7/02/2019 Dad and I have used this little town as our hunting base camp for years. We park our little RV at the park across from the school and drive out to the public lands every morning before sunrise. I always loved the small town charm, and part of that was the superstitions. I remember the first time I got to tag along hunting with Dad, I was 8 years old and so excited to finally be included in the revered yearly hunting trip. When we checked in at the RV park the first day, the gentleman manning the desk peered over at me. As Dad was walking out, the manager motioned me over to him. I gazed up at him as he stared deep into my eyes and waggled his finger, intoning, “The woods hold secrets, my dear, and if you want to know only the good ones don’t disturb the fairies .”  His eyes twinkled, and I was old enough to understand that he had good intentions. I thanked him for his advice and followed my Dad out the door. In the years to come, I would accompany my Dad yearly to the ...

6/30/2019 I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly. Each body they threw over the walls...I stared through the smoke hoping to see something to identify you. I watched for hours. The sun set in such a glory of bloody red I knew the gods must be aware of what had taken place.  Do you remember what I asked you the other day? I asked you to run away with me. I thought I was just restless, but I think deep down I knew what was coming. I think I could feel it in the air. I think the trees had whispered it in my ear at night, what was just beyond our view, just over the horizon. I was among the trees when they came. They were silent, but their destruction...the things they do are never quiet. I could hear the screams even where I was deep in the forest. I ran. I raced. I gave every speck of energy I had to try and reach you before they did, but I failed. I’m so sorry.  The bodies are piled so high now that they almost reach the top of the walls in places. I know...