A life within a life

The chilly night hosted a full moon that cast eerie shadows in the woods. The dripping of water from the trees made a hollow lonely sound. Wind moved soundlessly through the forest, carrying with it a light mist. It was raining hard on the canopy of the forest. The ground was soft and unstable, hidden under layers of moss and dead plant life. A dark figure emerged through the mist, trudging along the rough unused path of the forest. A cloak was wrapped around the ominous figure tightly, just as the hood and muffler. A bright ray of moon light passing through the canopies foliage strayed across the path lighting up the figure’s face. A young maiden looked in the direction of a sudden noise, her eyes piercing through the shadows but finding nothing. Her face was not of a stunning magnificence, but held unique enchanting beauty. Her countenance as well as her face relayed a determined look. In her hands she carried a basket; its contents sealed tightly by a cloth. The forest was keeping a close eye on this young maiden. The forest hardly ever has visitors, nor do many travelers dare to take the gloomy path within it.
The maiden appeared and disappeared behind the long shadows of the tree trunks. She walked steadily onwards to her destination. The cold wind blew against her, licking her bare skin which sent shivers down her spine. She went to lean behind a tree, but as she approached the crooked trunk, a raven swooped down from a branch and clawed at her hood, pulling it off her head. The maiden eagerly grabbed a stick from the ground and swung at the raven, but the raven had long gone and was no where to be seen. The young lady shakily pulled her hood back over her head and wrapped her muffler tighter. Her basket was still hooked tight in her arm as she started off again.
The trees began to get denser along the path as her brisk walk continued. The moonlight was being filtered by the thick branches roofing the path from the rain. Thin spidery branches hung low and tugged at her clothes as she walked on. Roots strayed across the path catching her feet. An owl hooted behind her, and as she turned around to look her foot caught on a root and tripped her. The basket rolled out of her hands as she hit the ground with a dull thud. She leaned up on her hands as a tear silently rolled down one cheek. The maiden sat up, clutching her knees as she kept alert to her surroundings. After a few minutes all was still silent so she got up and went to pick up her basket. A strong gust of wind sailed down the path from behind her, ruffling her cloak and skirt pushing her down the path. The forest was warning her—it did not like her there; “continue if you dare,” it said. The girl reached under the cloth covering her basket and pulled out a large stone that fit roughly into the palm of her hand, and then she took out a small wooden stick that was pointy at one end and thick at the other. She held both the rock and the stick together, thick end pinned tightly to the stone.
“Grow,” She whispered, and then blew onto the stick and stone, “Unite.” The stick then spurted tentacles that wrapped themselves around the stone making the stone and the stick one. “Lumière,” She said as she squeezed the stone quickly. A blue light emanated from the tip of the stick showing her the path that lay ahead. She could afford no more delays; time was running out.

Holding the morphed stick out in front of herself, she continued down the path. The illumination from the wand like instrument shed light quite a ways, piercing the darkness with day like brilliance. It seemed that the power that she now held in her hand gave her new confidence. And where she found new confidence, the forest drew back out of fear and recoiled as a realization was instilled in every fibrous leaf. This realization was that this was not just any lady; this young maiden held power from on high and within her lived the spirit of the Holy Ghost.
As she progressed through the dark, hollow forest she stopped dead at a rock face. Her eyes scanned its length; looking from side to side. Fairly strait the wall of rocks ran further then her eyes would take her. The rock face looked more like the wall of a castle then a simple pile of rocks. Its height, comparable to its length was staggering, for she could not even set her eyes upon its top. Hopelessness began to feed the maidens spirits, but at that feeling she collapsed to her knees and tilted her head upward toward the sky. Words of a nature not of this earth were spoken toward the heavens. Weakness overcame her flesh and the Holy Ghost stirred within her. The young maiden rose to her feet. Her eyes clamped shut, she moved among the uneven ground and amongst the thorns drawing closer to the wall. Stopping a few feet from the rocks, she slowly extended her hand. A cold shiver was all that greeted her, as her fingers met nothing but the clammy air. Opening her eyes she saw that there was a fault in the rocks, large enough for a grown man to crawl through. It was easy to see that it was the only passage to the top of the cliff. She would have to go spelunking.
The young maiden pushed her basket in ahead of herself and then followed it with determination. Crawling; the ceiling of the cave was about two inches from her head and rocks on either side jutted out making her weave through the narrow tear. As she labored for every foot of ground the ceiling began to slope down until the cave was a foot high. She no longer was crawling but lying prostrate, pushing herself and her basket on ahead with an impending sense of claustrophobia. As she moved along the cavern, the air became musty and the walls damp. The distinct squeals of rats followed her but she gave no notice for she was absorbed in what she was facing. As time passed, the squeals progressively became louder. The rats were close. The maiden could no longer ignore the sound echoing through the burrow. Her heart began to beat faster. She felt the first bite come down hard and fast; her right slipper was torn and her bottom lip quivered with pain. She kicked back in reflex action moving the rats back for a short time. The tunnel was such a tight fit; it wouldn’t allow her to turn back even if she wanted to: she could only kick at them. It wasn’t very effective. The rats would come right back anyway but it was all she could do for now. The rotted yellow teeth were now through the soft slipper that enveloped her foot. Tears flowed from her eyes and slipped down her cheeks as repeated bites began to draw blood. Enduring the assault, she moved at a good pace and with strength of mind she overcame the pain. After those few minutes witched seemed like eternity, a stream of light caught the maiden’s eye. Glancing up ahead, moonlight gleamed down the tunnel. She moved quickly to reach the light. The cave began to open, welcoming the fresh air. The new air came as earthly salvation to lungs that hadn’t drawn a full breath in a long time. The surface was close. A sharp bite to her left foot; she kicked the furry beast away. At long last the moons light fell on her face and the rats disappeared back into the darkness where they had first come.
Clear of the cave she turned to examine her feet. Both slippers were torn and both feet were bleeding in several places. As the moons light sparked at the sight of her tears, she slipped her hand once again into her basket. Retrieving a coiled, bright, red leaf the maiden unrolled it. Thick green ooze lay on the surface. She applied the medicinal aid to her wounds. Ripping a few strips from her muffle, the young maiden tightly wrapped the wounds on her foot. After perfecting the bandage she sat still for a short moment.
Balancing, as not to put to much weight on her toes, she rose with purpose seething from within her. Attempting a step she dropped to her knees. Tears once again threatened to come alive. She let herself fall on her face and spoke in a reverent plea to a presence that was not visible, yet by faith remained firm.
“Lord, undeservingly I come before you. I request that you heal these mortal wounds. I ask that you also quicken the spirit that lives in me, laying on the fullness of your presence. Now, calling upon you oh great physician, heal me so that I might not lean on my own strength but yours. I ask this in the precious name of the most holy, Jesus Christ.”
Once again she pushed herself to stand and with wonder she stood with no pain, jumping and dancing the young maiden praised the Lord.
The forest was now at her back, where death was hiding in the dark and where evil pleasure held life within its cruel claws. Looking around for the first time the maiden realized the life that emanated from her surroundings. Blossoming flowers filled the trees, and beads of due magnified each color perfectly. There was no longer a canopy that hid the sun and the moon light. But now the eastern sky allowed the sun to rise and beam in all its brilliance. The maiden was ready for whatever lay ahead and as she lifted her head to the sky a blinding light of hope shown within her eyes.