A Fairy Tale in Four Parts (Part Three)

Here's part three of my Truenda fairy tale. Parts one and two were posted on 2/10/15 and 2/11/15.

A pretty serious "fail" at a collage of Truenda and the cat. Oh well, she can't see it anyway.

They had not walked for long when she felt the air start to turn cool and she knew that they were close. The path became slick, steep, and rocky and she stumbled and fell. Suddenly, she became frightened and she wanted nothing more than to be home with her father and brother no matter how ashamed she might feel. She knew that if she called out loudly enough, her brother would hear and he would come for her. She took a deep breath and just as she was about to yell, she felt the cat’s claws on her tongue and she found she could not speak.

The cat seemed to speak directly to her mind and it said, Your brother would be disgusted if he saw you now. Only empty sockets where your eyes once were and bloody stumps where you once had ears. He will not love you when he sees what you’ve done. It is too late. There is only one way to go now: Onward, into the cave.

Was it true? Would her brother despise her now? The thought was too unbearable. Better to hide from him than to let herself be seen like this. Only the darkness would love her now. The cat pressed the sharp rock into her hand and she knew what she must do. She cut out her tongue and dropped it in the path. Then, she reached out her hand until she found the cat’s tail and let it lead her ever downward into the depths of the cold cave. Even though she could not see it, she could sense the vast darkness gathering all around her.

Before long, the cat stopped and Truenda knew that they had reached the black water of the well where the spaces between the stars dripped down and pooled up. She knelt down and reached out a trembling hand. Here she was, finally about to touch the darkness she had longed for. But she was not so sure she wanted it anymore. Maybe she should turn and try to find her way back. But how? She had no eyes to see, no ears to hear, and no tongue to call out with. She could never find her way back to her father now. The cat certainly wouldn’t lead her back, she was sure of that. It was hopeless.

The cat, possibly sensing her hesitation, put a paw gently on her arm as if to reassure her and, though she could not hear, she imagined the cat saying, “It’s okay, just reach out a bit further.” Still, she hesitated. Why had she fallen in love with the darkness between the stars? Wasn’t it the stars themselves that were the most beautiful? Wasn’t the rising moon so like the smiling face of her older brother? Wasn’t the glorious sun, bringing new day, just like her father? She did not want this! No more darkness!

She tried to draw her hand back, but the cats claws came out, sharp and digging into her arm. The cat was impossibly strong. No matter how she struggled, Truenda could not break free. Tears poured from the empty sockets of her eyes and a dreadful moan shuddered in her empty mouth. The cat began to force her hand out toward the pool of darkness. No! Truenda screamed in her mind. I do not want this! And her heart called out more clearly, more loudly, more sincerely than her tongue ever could have, Father! Help me!

Part four will be posted tomorrow.

A few thumbnails from my journal that led to the collage above.