First Step

The young maiden, with a frown deepening the lines on her brow, looked out the small window of the cottage where the cattle grazed peacefully in the distance. The warm spring air carried the scent of blooming flowers, but her mood was far from the lightness of the season. The children around her, all wide-eyed and leaning forward eagerly, waited in anticipation for her to begin.

She sighed softly, her gaze drifting back to the children, and began, “It all began with an encounter with that jer… I mean a certain individual.” A small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth, but it quickly faded. “This is a love story between two individuals who never got to love each other.”

The children exchanged puzzled looks, but she continued, her voice quieter now, almost as if she were speaking more to herself than to them. “A place devoid of laughter and sun… that’s where the naïve little lady was born. The first time she gazed at the sky was when she escaped her place of birth, disobeying her caretaker. With nothing in her possession, she knew she’d be caught sooner or later, either by her caretaker or some dark force lurking in the shadows.”

The maiden’s hands clenched in her lap, her voice tightening with the memory. “Her heart pounded with fear as she fled, knowing that her newfound freedom could be ripped away at any moment. She hadn’t even been gone an hour, but she could sense them already on her trail. Desperation led her to the market, hoping to lose herself in the crowd, to buy herself a little more time. But after two days on the run, with no food and no rest, her strength began to wane.”

Her eyes darkened, and the children leaned in closer, captivated by the tension in her voice. “She found refuge in an abandoned building, one that looked as though it had long been forgotten. Ghosts, creatures of darkness… whatever might reside there, it was safer than being caught by her pursuers.”

The maiden paused, staring off into the distance as if seeing that place again, feeling the same cold fear. The children, silent now, waited for her to continue, sensing that the tale was far from over.

The maiden’s voice softened as she continued, the frown easing slightly as she lost herself in the story. “Desperate to find a safe spot in that abandoned house, she stumbled upon a wine cellar hidden deep in the basement. It was completely empty, a perfect place to hide secrets—and herself. She hoped her pursuers would give up and leave her be, but in her panic, she forgot about her grumbling tummy. Exhaustion overtook her, and before she knew it, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep on the cold cellar floor.”

The children were immersed in the story. She paused for a minute and flicked a kid's head and asked "What would you do Ellie? If you were in her place?"

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