Of Apples and Dust

Of Apples and Dust Sunday 07-02-06 9:55 am

The boy who wandered through the forest, late in the afternoon, soon became hungry. His mother had warned him never to go to the forest, for a great many went straight to their untimely demise. He wouldn’t listen.

He told himself it was silly to be afraid, and thus, that very moment, he had unknowingly ambled not far from the very heart of the forest.

The setting sun and what was left of its rays didn’t permeate through the ghastly, dark trees that loomed over everything beneath them. It almost seemed like night.

Silently, he ventured through the woods, looking for food. At the end of the seemingly unending labyrinth, he saw a clearing.

It was still quite dismal, though there seemed to be an incomplete darkness. Everything on the slope was blanketed with fog and mist.

The boy eventually caught a glimpse of something up at the centre of the clearing. He squinted his eyes and went nearer and nearer until his curiosity was satisfied. He saw a leafless apple tree.

At the back of his mind, he wondered why the tree looked old, bent, and almost rotten; yet it held such luscious, blood-red apples.

Putting his hunger over his doubt, he started to climb the tree. He did not notice eerie black birds hiding in the darkness. He climbed higher and higher. But then, the higher he went, the more his nose caught a strange scent.

This scent was a mixture of apples and something…foul. It was very strange because even though the foul smell corrupted his little nose, he inhaled deeply to have at least a whiff of those apples. He often dreamed of the sweet, sweet scent; he didn’t know why.

He soon grew tired, and with his last bit of strength, he reached for the apple nearest to him.

The moment he had it in his hand, was the same moment he slipped. He grabbed a bark of the tree yet he still fell. He thought he would die for the apple tree was unusually high, but a soft mound of earth broke his fall.

His heart pounded hard. He was very stunned. He slowly stood up and saw a few scratches and developing wounds on his hands and knees. He was hurt, he was hungry, he was about to cry when he saw the apple at his foot. His eyes grew wide and his mouth almost watered. He took the apple and started eating it.

As he munched with glee, his eye caught a glimpse of someone sitting on a nearby rock. He was startled and almost dropped the apple.

He looked at the form on the rock. It was a girl. She looked a little older than him. She had black hair reaching down her back and she wore a dress that seemed to match her pasty complexion.

Yet even though it was so, her lips and cheeks seemed to blush with rosiness, with the redness of apples.

“Hello,” the girl said.

“Uhm, hi,” the boy answered. He felt something in his heart; he could barely describe it. It was something akin to fear coalescing with wonderment.

The girl started approaching him. Though his feet desperately wanted to run, he desisted.

“What’s your name?” the boy asked. The girl giggled, covering her mouth with her bony hand. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. But you don’t need my name.”

The boy, hearing her words, made a confused face. “Anyway, my name is---” before the boy could answer, the girl hushed the boy, putting her fingers against his lips. “Shhh… Just go and finish eating your apple.”

The boy’s eyes were wide, his skin paled. Her fingers were dead-cold against his trembling mouth, his breath in short, quick huffs. Still he obeyed and continued eating the apple.

The two silently sat down on the mound of soft earth he fell on earlier. Still, nervous, the boy sat in a frigid way, his knees to his chest and his thoughts erratic. He finally finished the apple. The girl suddenly handed him another one.

“Have another one,” she said. The boy was puzzled. “How did you get this apple?”

“You don’t have to ask too much… You will soon find out…” she replied softly. He doubtfully took the apple and slowly ate it.

When the apple was half-finished, the girl asked the boy, “Do you know what time it is?”

The boy looked at his pocket watch and said, “It’s almost ten.”

The girl seemed to worry. “I must go now…”

“What?” The boy asked. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“It’s something I can’t explain right now. But you have to go home, too…” With that, she faded into the woods.

“Wait! Don’t go!” The boy yelled. He started to cry. “I don’t know how to return home…” he whispered. He silently wept, slumping on the mound of earth. He dropped the apple by now, his hunger turned to helplessness. He was silent for a while and decided to put the soiled apple in his pocket, as a memento of the girl, perhaps.

By and by, the birds that hid sauntered out from around him. The boy’s helplessness turned to terror when he saw the eerie sight…black, nightmarish birds surrounded him, in the foggy air, hopping on the desolate ground…by the thousands.

They all slowly approached the boy as if knowing that there was nothing he can do to save himself. The boy couldn’t move even though he wanted to. Cold sweat lined his forehead.

When the birds were about one meter away from him, the air whispered to him. “Hide under the mound of earth and start getting out of the clearing.”

He finally regained movement and unquestioningly obeyed. Once he was under the mound, he knew that the birds got angry. He felt them wildly pecking at the mound and cawing like mad. He inched away from the tree and crawled towards the woods. It seemed like forever, but once he reached the woods, the birds seemed to grow silent. He peered from under the mound, and saw that the birds were gone.

He then wondered how a mound of earth was able to protect him. He thought that it would have crumbled once the birds started pecking.

He looked at it closely and noticed a dirtied white cloth sticking out of the mound. He unearthed the rest of the cloth and to his horror, he found a corpse. The corpse had long, disheveled, black hair and wore a white dress…just like the girl he met. He was afraid, afraid that he met a ghost and sad, sad that the girl who accompanied him for a while was actually not among the living.

The corpse lay on its stomach as if packed to death from the back. He cried… Then in a while, he noticed the strange scent again…the scent from before. It probably came from the corpse but what about the faint apple scent? The boy slowly held the corpse as if to hug it, and there on its front side he saw three apples, rotten, dead, and wasted away like what was left of the girl.

“Don’t cry anymore…please.” The boy heard a whisper. It sounded like the girl. He looked up and saw her, still as hauntingly beautiful as before. The boy couldn’t say anything yet so he wiped his eyes. But he seemed glad to see her.

“Mother probably didn’t tell you about me, but I am your older sister.” The boy’s eyes widened. Still, he wasn’t able to say anything.

“I really missed you, baby brother.” She drew him close. She still was as cold as the mist but both knew the warmth they felt inside. “I was ten years old, about as old as you are now. You were still about a year old then. I had an argument with mother and so I ran into the forest. She kept calling me to come back, but I didn’t listen and continued running instead. I ran in the forest ‘til I realized I was lost, and hungry. I later saw the clearing and the apple tree in the middle. By that time, my anger had gone so I thought of both you and mother, and decided to pick three apples from the tree. Once I tried to reach for the last apple, I slipped and fell. I’m not sure now, but I think I broke my leg. I was sad, I had ruined the apples I wanted for our family, and I thought of how careless I was. My leg hurt so I could barely move. Soon, the black birds arrived and pecked me to death. I cried knowing I couldn’t see you and mother again… But I’m happy now, I’m happy to see you bigger and I know you’ll grow to be a healthy person.” She hugged him all the more. His cheeks were drenched with tears by now, his face full of emotion. The girl started to cry, too. “There, there. It’ll be all right now. I’ll lead you home, and you’ll be home before midnight.”

The boy was going to say something but the girl disappeared. The boy was confused again. He looked around and it seemed that the corpse turned to dust. The boy took a portion of cloth from the dress and put it in his pocket, together with the apple. He wondered how his sister would lead him home. Nothing happened. He began to worry again, but just as he began, the sweet scent of apples blew on his face. He closed his eyes and smiled. He knew he had to follow the scent. Later, at half passed eleven, he was led out of the forest. When he saw his house, he ran quickly to it. As he approached the cottage, he could hear his mother crying. He opened the door and ran up to her.

“Mother, mother, don’t cry anymore. I’m here, safe and sound.” His mother was very happy and embraced him right away.

“Oh, where have you been?” The mother asked.

“Mother,” he whispered, “I’ve been to the heart of the forest…”

“What?!” She was shocked.

“But sister has been protecting me,” he continued.

“Stop making a fool of me, child! You had me worried sick and now, more tomfoolery?” His mother began to get furious, but then he took out the contents of his pocket, letting her see the piece of cloth. His mother was speechless.

“And look, this half-eaten apple was given to me by her, too.”

His mother cried even more. “Oh, my daughter…”

“Don’t worry, mother, I’ll never leave you again.” This time, the girl appeared before the both of them. She embraced the both of them and said, “Plant this apple outside the house. This is a sign that I’ll always be with you, for I, myself have nourished this apple when I came back to being part of the soil around that tree in the forest.”

The boy went outside and planted the half-eaten apple. The very next day, they didn’t see the ghost of the girl anymore. They were sad at first, but they remembered what she said, that she will never leave them again. They believed that she’ll always be there in the form of the apple tree to grow in their garden.

-the end-

by: Sia, Ann Lorraine S.
3:13 pm

---------------------------------------------------
I made this story on a Sunday morning in about 4 hours and 18 minutes, I guess. I don't know...maybe it was because of my mood. This story is about a boy, a corpse and an apple tree, pretty much. I'm quite out of it right now so I won't really give out a detailed summary. But anyways, I guess you'd have read the whole thing if you're reading this closing words section...either that or you have a peculiar way of reading by reading the last thing before reading the first thing. Or maybe I should change the closing words to opening words...or...or...(Narration: The one in black wallows in self confusion, fingers start tapping each other. The form slumps down, face away from the glow of the box-like device towering overhead.) Ha-ha-ha.