Chocolate Oats and Whispering Trees

Years later, I realized that trees were not supposed to talk.

Their gnarly branches reached out to me, begging me to come a little closer. I could feel the coldness from their wicked grasp, lightly scratching my arms. Shuddering, I pushed myself forward, despite their tempting whispers.

“Come. Come, Daisy. We know so much. We could tell you everything. Just step a little closer.” The trees sang their promises, and my feet trudged towards them, hypnotized. Perhaps I should give in. It seemed much easier to give in to their spell-binding grasp than to offer resistance.

Suddenly, my mother’s shrill voice rang throughout the woods, and the trees went silent.

"Daisy! Where are you? Come here at once!"

Dazed, I blinked once. Twice. My hand flew up to my tightly curled locks of golden hair, searching for my blue hat. Nothing. Panicking, my eyes wandered to the tiny red mushrooms scattered on the sage-green grass. Grief clawed at my heart when my search ultimately led to nothing.

The whispers started again. The trees grazed my shoulders, forcing me to put one foot in front of another and walk down their devious path.

"Oh, Daisy! We saw your hat in the woods ahead. Follow the path and you’ll find a wooden cabin." The trees whispered, delighted by my state of confusion.

Sleepily, my body directed me towards the cabin. The crows circling above me cried their warning, and the dying trees were a clear indication that this was not the place where I was supposed to be. Control bid farewell to my body, leaving my feet to unknowingly walk down the dark path ahead. Something blue hung from a tree close by. I did not recognize it.

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

Doorstep.

My head banged against a massive wooden door. My eyes widened as I noticed the deep scratches embedded into its surface. Insistent upon going inside, my feet impatiently tapped against the floor, as they ultimately led me to a chilling deathly fate. Not even the dark red liquid splattered across the ground seemed to sway my hypnotized mind.

I had to retrieve my blue hat.

I could not recall why.

I knocked on the door.

Knock.

Nobody came.

I knocked again.

Knock.

No one.

Having had enough; my body pushed on the door, which surprised me by flying open almost instantly, making the room inside visible to my eyes.

I wandered inside, humming happily. What had I been looking for?

Large wooden chairs were organized by size next to the fireplace; the letters engraved at the top stood out to me. I skipped forward, unalarmed by the uneasy sensation settling in my stomach.

I sat down in the first chair. A red plushy cushion hugged my back, and I could not help but relax my tense muscles. Why were they tense? Everything was alright. The trees had said so earlier.

"You know what? It’s quite bizarre. I can’t seem to remember which trees! Trees don’t talk!" I said out loud, giggling almost maniacally. My forehead creased as I realized that the chair was too big, despite its tempting comfort.

I moved to the next chair. I settled in, yet its blue colour didn’t appeal to me.

I hated blue.

My brain urged me and tried to convince me otherwise as memories of a blue hat flashed in my mind.

"Perhaps the smallest chair will suit me the most," I exclaimed, laughing joyously.

The smallest chair, with its lavender-coloured embellishments and magical star engravings, seemed to be the perfect match.

My stomach rumbled, making me realize that I was famished. Immediately, the scent of food, which wafted through the air, awakened my tongue, causing my mouth to water. I didn’t seem to notice that my eyes had begun watering too, trying to warn me that I should not be here, in this cabin with its metallic bloody stench and claw marks decorating the walls. Instead, I focused my eyes on a table where cookies had been comfortably sprawled across a massive reddish-brown metallic tray. I grabbed one of the cookies and began to hungrily eat it. The chocolate chips in the cookies pleasurably melted in my mouth. Scratches on the metal tray, upon which the cookies rested, glinted under the light emanating from the blazing fire roaring in the fireplace.

I happily ate the cookies that the abandoned cabin had offered me. An alarmingly bone-chilling scream echoed in the cabin. My trembling hand rubbed my arms in an attempt to relax my shuddering spine. Why was I scared? Everything was alright. Loud thumps and the sound of sharpening knives could be heard. The noises seemed to be coming from above me.

Wait.

Desperately, my body attempted to rush to the door, but I stubbornly refused, using all my will, or lack thereof, to remain where I was.

This wasn’t right.

Something was most definitely wrong.

This cookie was chocolate oat, not chocolate chip.

Even better.

I gulped down as many as I could. When I finished the entire tray of the delectable chocolate oat cookies, my tiredness consumed me. Without thinking, I laid down on the metal tray.

Whistling and humming kept me company as I awaited sleep. Dreams did not take long to arrive.

An image of a blue hat entered my dreams, and whispering trees attempted to communicate with me.

Blue hat? Trees?

My mind resisted the entrancing spell of the trees that had cleverly led me to what would be my death. I was still unsure. What trees? Doubt clouded my mind.

A blue hat.

My father’s blue hat.

And the trees.

Oh no.

Those trees.

Panicking, I woke up.

No, no, no.

I needed to get out of here right now.

I pulled myself up from the cold tray when the door suddenly opened. My cowardly heart began beating faster following a cowardly tune. My legs wanted to run. But I could not move. I could not move.

My eyes widened as I surveyed the monstrous creature before me.

Monstrous Creatures.

Large grizzly bears.

Sharp white teeth peeked out of their vicious smiles, yet that was not their most terrifying feature. Their eyes were as red as the devil's himself. Their arms offered paws with razor-sharp claws that could effortlessly turn a person into ribbons.

Instantly, I threw myself off the tray and tried to run around them. What had I been thinking?

I cursed those wretched whispering trees and my gullible, easily hypnotized mind.

One of the bears firmly gripped my shoulders, dragging me back to the table. Terrified, I noticed the fresh blood dripping from its teeth.

"Daisy, we’ve been waiting for you. You’re finally here. " The smaller bear growled, prowling

towards me. The small lavender chair must have been his then.

My lips did not dare to move.

I thrashed against the bear’s iron grip, but it was of no use. My back met the cold metal tray again.

"I hope you enjoyed the cookies. They’re the last thing you’ll ever eat. " The bears grinned, and it was difficult to ignore the unmistakable hunger in their deep growling voices.

Trembling, I tried to tilt the tray forward, but the bear pushed it back on. The smaller bear produced a sharp axe.

I surrendered a slight whimper.

The screaming began anew, this time, coming from my mouth.

…

Frustrated, Henry lets out a sigh of annoyance. Another unsuccessful day of hunting. He kicks several small grey pebbles and throws his axe on the ground, almost injuring himself. Grumbling, he walks forward when he smacks his head. Exasperated, he looks to see what it is. A tree branch with a blue hat hanging from it.

He snorts.

"Useless kids. They always leave their trash for us hunters to pick up." He mutters and puts the hat in his bag to give to his son Jordie at home.

If he had walked a few miles down, he would have been able to hear screaming from a young girl, whose mother had been very worried. The blood seeping from a large wooden door guarding a cabin of horrors would have alarmed him and he would have tried to save the young helpless girl in that large wooden cabin. A girl who attended the same village school as his son.

Unfortunately, this is not that story.

Henry turns around and mutters with frustration as he makes his way home next to the river where his son waits for him. Jordie prepares to tell his father stories about a strange girl from his class with locks of golden hair, which resided below an even stranger blue hat.

(Note: This is a dark retelling of the famous ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ Fairytale)