The closed forest opens to reveal one of its secrets + the structure of the story turns on its spring.
He's ragged, thin, muscular, too steady on his feet. A dog smile a little tense at the corners to hide the biggest of his fangs.
He's all sensation, no emotions: the scent of the girl and every crackle in the woods.
She's on the path.
He sees her.
The sight matters less than the scent of her + the taste of her air on his tongue.
He wants the first moment of biting, as the blood breaks through the skin. It's delicious + you still have a world of gluttony ahead of you.
I can move through him and see through his eyes. I am fascinated by him. He's full of energy. He's all perception, unclouded by thought.
The world is real to him. He's a set of eyes through which to see the forest:
intricate
legible
immense
He's a moment of pure focus.
She is startled,
disquieted,
tempted.
She's tempted by pride, the desire to show herself brave enough to speak to him. Tempted to know what he knows. A big adult secret she can't picture. (Maybe even the adults don't know.)
SHE THINKS SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH
PERFECT
DESTRUCTIVE
MISUNDERSTANDING
He speaks in words he's heard other travellers speak. She doesn't understand. She's looking for truth, he's looking for reality.
The forest - a place that can reconfigure. There are infinite possibilities for
MOMENTS OF VITALITY
It makes me feel like I can live. It feels still + thriving. It feels clean (not blank). The burning smell of rotting leaves. The air feels crisp + not quite damp. It's autumn.
I FEEL
PRESENT
ALERT
ALIVE
This book was written by someone who described themselves as "a scruffy mum". It is the first book that was actually gathered into The Fairytale Library, and one of the rare first few that were dated: 3.10.2016
The text of this Fairytale Moment gathered by Jenifer Toksvig from an anonymous source has been donated to The Fairytale Library and is marked with CC0 1.0 Universal. All copyright is waived, and the text is donated to the public domain: it can be copied, modified, distributed, and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Credits and links to The Fairytale Library (http://www.fairytalelibrary.com) are appreciated wherever possible.
All photographs and the physical books are copyright (c) 2021 by Jenifer Toksvig All Rights Reserved
