2016 – Day 27

Start writing a story that...

Step 1: takes place: in a forest

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From the time he was a small child, Jacob understood that the dark forest could be the safest place on earth. When his father drank spirits and quoted passages that spoke of a firm hand being the arbiter of truth and of obedience as the path to the next life, Jacob's mother threw the children their cloaks and pushed them out the door. They knew to run through the trees until they reached the thicket by a small brook where an overhang of knotted branches provided safety until the early morning. When the dark night sky showed its first streaks of gray, the three boys and one girl marched back to the cabin and slipped inside to tend to their mother's bruises and begin the morning chores.

Over the years, as other children were warned to stay away from the evils of the forest, where witches were thought to dwell and brew their dark potions, Jacob and his brothers and sister were drawn to the trees and the underbrush, the mushrooms and the wildflowers, and the creatures, all of which created a world of wonder and beauty so unlike their village. Though his father was a terror, and Jacob felt no love or loyalty toward him, he understood what kind of person he was. The man who Jacob came to fear the most was Reverend Theophil Calumny, a minister of the church who felt it his duty to weed out the evildoers among the villagers.

The first accusations began when people came to Reverend Calumny to complain of missing pigs or lost farm tools. Instead of sending them to the magistrate, the reverend prayed in his chamber and proclaimed he saw the theft. The accused would be brought forth to confess their sin. Most often they claimed innocence, but no one dared accuse the minister of treachery. Punishments were severe and all were afraid of losing Reverend Calumny's good graces, so his accusations flew unabated. Jacob's father, Zachary Leighton, a known sinner for his indulgence in spirits, was accused of stealing Jeremiah Downing's missing chicken. Though muddy tracks steered some into believing it was the work of a wolf, the reverend exclaimed that it was Zachary's hound brought to assist in the theft. Zachary was summarily arrested and placed in the stocks for one week, then ordered to pay two chickens to Jeremiah. Although Jacob's family privately enjoyed the quiet of his father's detainment and dreaded his return, they did not know that Zachary's return would not be their greatest threat.

In time, Reverend Calumny moved on from righting corporeal wrongdoing and preaching about spiritual matters to thwarting the evil among them. It seemed a natural extension of his understanding of rightness and his sacred duties as a minister. And he found no greater threat to the spiritual wellness of the village than witchcraft.

The first accusation came against Clemence Nightly, a portly woman whose solitary habits brought concern to her righteous neighbors who noted she often did not attend church on the third week of each month. They relayed their concerns to Reverend Calumny.

"It was a full moon last time she wasn't seen," Agatha Corbett said.

"What could she have been doing?" Frances Cromell said.

The trial was swift. Clemence had no family, nor anyone else willing to argue in her defense. She was hung on a Wednesday night as the waning moon adorned the sky.

The second and third accusations of witchcraft were also against women of little family and who held no favor in the eyes of Reverend Calumny and his devoted followers. They, too, were hung before a crowd of fearful neighbors. The fourth accusation came against a 15-year-old girl by school classmates who despised her and claimed she showed a lack of piety due to an evil nature. The girl, Mary, was Jacob's sister. When Jacob and his brothers learned that the magistrate was coming to fetch Mary for her trial, the siblings ran from their house one final time. The forest would become their permanent home.