EiraI sat in the small, dimly lit cottage, staring blankly at the old, weathered photo album that was resting on my lap. Earlier, the old woman had given me this so that I could have it to myself whenever I was bored and now, just staring at each memories on the pages of the album filled me with so much joy and happiness. The room was filled with the soft ticking of a grandfather clock which the old woman told me she had gotten from a good samaritan a long time ago, and the only source of light came from a fading sunset outside. It was a cozy and peaceful evening, yet an inexplicable craving gnawed at me, urging me to do something I couldn't quite understand.As I pondered on my strange craving, I just told myself that I didn't want to disturb her because I didn't think it was proper. She sat in her favorite armchair by the window, lost in her own world, as the soft hum of a knitting needle occasionally broke the silence. I had actually thought she would go straight to sleep and on
EiraI got back inside the cottage and on getting there, I realized that she was back. I didn't know how or when she walked past me because the kitchen gave me a fairly decent view of anyone coming in or going out of the cottage. There was a small smile on her face and whatever it was, I had a feeling that she had done something great."I didn't know you were back," I said."Yes, I am. I saw you staring at the wood. You wanted to cook something?" she asked.I explained everything that had happened to me to her again and as I spoke, a sense of dejavu hit me all over again because this was the same thing we had done the previous day, and I had no idea if this was going to be something that would be reoccurring every day. I really didn't want it to be like that because I didn't want to give her unnecessary stress. As it stood, she was old and giving her an extra burden because of my weird cravings was something that didn't quite sit well with me and I didn't like it at all."All these t
EiraWhen I walked outside the house, I heard a faint, melodic voice singing a really beautiful tune. I was intrigued, so I followed the sound until I reached a small clearing at the back of the house which was bathed in so much sunlight. There, I saw a little girl with golden curls who was dressed in a simple white gown. She couldn't have been more than nine or ten years old, yet her voice held a wisdom beyond her years.The moment she laid her eyes on me, her singing abruptly ceased, and her innocent blue eyes widened with surprise and curiosity. I, too, halted in my tracks as I gazed at her in wonder. "Hello," I said, trying to break the ice. "What's your name?"The girl hesitated as her fingers twisted the hem of her gown. "I'm… I'm just a traveler of the woods," she replied, her voice soft and delicate like a breeze rustling through the leaves.I raised an eyebrow because I had sensed a certain evasiveness in her response. "A traveler of the woods, you say? That's a mysterious a
EiraThe moment she said what she said, all I wanted to do was chide her for disturbing my peace. This was the only free time I had to myself for the day, the only time I had to take a nap because I knew my unborn child needed it and here she was, disturbing me to go to some place with her.I couldn't hide the irritation on my face and I knew she saw it. I was about to lash out at her but I held my tongue because I knew that it wouldn't make any sense if I talked that way and besides, I didn't know where she was taking me to and if it was something that would be beneficial to me.At the moment, I knew that I had to give her the benefit of doubt because I had a feeling that she was only doing this to help me because she cared for me."Okay, Hana. So where are we going?" I asked her.It was very hard keeping my emotions and tone of voice in check but I knew that I had to try at least, for Aunt Meg's sake. I didn't want her to feel like I was rude and saucy when Hana was just trying to he
EiraMy steps became slow but steady as I kept on walking towards the farm. Something was telling me to stop walking and not continue on this journey that I was going on but still, another thing within me told me to continue walking further without minding the circumstances I was in. The girls had always told me that I was stubborn and I knew it too. And now, that stubbornness was manifesting now because I could hardly control the emotions that were rising within me. Something was propelling me to continue walking, to continue moving forward until I found what I was looking for."Aunt Meg!" I called out.My response was met with silence and in that particular moment, I had a feeling that something was wrong. There was no turning back now as I was fully in the farm now but I couldn't see any trace of Aunt Meg. I called her name again but still, I was met with a silence that really frightened me because something told me that what l was doing now was something I shouldn't be doing. I d
EiraI could hear the tremor in her voice, and it stung. I just knew that I had crossed a line. I had disobeyed she and Hana's order and went ahead to go to the farm, but I really hadn't expected this level of fury from her."I just needed some fresh air, Aunt Meg," I mumbled, taking care go to avoid her gaze.She crossed the distance between us in a few quick strides, and I could see that her face was contorted with a mix of emotions. "Don't lie to me, Eira! I know where you have been. You went to that cursed farm, didn't you?"Tears welled up in my eyes, and I nodded slowly before I started to say, "Yes, but…"Before I could finish, Aunt Meg's voice rose to a thunderous crescendo as she spoke. "You fool! Do you have any idea what you have done? You could have died out there, and you are carrying a child! You are not just risking your life but the life of your unborn baby!"Her words struck me like a bolt of lightning. I hadn't thought about the consequences of my actions, the danger
EiraI couldn't believe that I gave birth to this baby in Aunt Meg's hands. I couldn't believe that I had a son, someone I pushed forth with my bare body, through all the tears and pain I had endured. It was something I was very proud of, something that I knew I had done on my own, and as I stared at my bundle of joy, tears of joy ran down my eyes.I couldn't contain my excitement as I laid down there on the bed, beside Aunt Meg and Hana in the cottage. The room was filled with a mixture of emotions – joy, relief, and exhaustion. I had just endured the incredible feat of bringing a new life into the world.Aunt Meg and Hana exchanged glances, and their eyes were brimming with happiness and pride as they looked at me while I was still trying to catch my breath. The sound of the baby's cries filled the room, and it was a reminder of the miracle that had just occurred."Oh, Eira, he is absolutely perfect," Aunt Meg gushed, her voice filled with warmth as she held my hand gently.Hana nodd
EiraAunt Meg dropped the baby with me and told me to go into the cottage while she went to search for Hana. From the look on her face, I knew that she was very worried and I didn't even want to think about all the thoughts that had clouded her mind. She didn't deserve all these worries and pain because I knew that if anything were to ever happen to Hana, she would be very guilty and angry and would keep on blaming herself for what happened.I had no idea where Hana had gone. One minute, we were all happy over the birth of my baby and the next minute, she was missing. It was all so strange and in that moment, I said a silent prayer for her wellbeing. It would hurt me if we discovered that something bad had happened to her. She was a sweet girl who didn't deserve any bad thing at all and as I said a silent prayer for her wellbeing, I hoped that the prayer would be answered.I could really hear the inflection of the sadness in Aunt Meg's voice as she began calling Hana's name as she wa