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Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Anima stretched her small body again, her muscles already heavy and painful. But she couldn’t stop since there were still a few blackberries within her reach. Some were already soft and overripe, some were still quite hard and not the right color, clearly not edible, but Anima collected all the berries anyway. She knew her father would be angry with her if she came home empty-handed.
No, Anima had learned her lesson long ago. Never again would she dare to come home empty-handed. Not after her father slapped her full force in the face as punishment. Her nose bled repeatedly for days, she had a swollen eye so that she could only see partially, not to mention the headache.
It wasn’t the first time he had hit Anima, in fact his hand had slipped before, but never before had he hit her so badly that she was seriously injured. But even though Anima knew that the way he treated her wasn’t right, she didn’t hold it against him. After all, she knew the pressure and stress he was under, especially since her mother’s death 5 years ago. On that day he not only lost his beloved wife, but also his partner. Working the fields, taking care of the cattle, in addition to being responsible for Anima’s 3 younger sisters, got on his nerves.
To make matters worse, the harvest became less with each passing year, so that they often had to go to bed with growling empty stomachs. Well, all except for Anima. As the eldest, she didn’t sleep on one of the straw beds in the hut like her sisters. No. She spent every night outside in their garden, her slender body wrapped in a sheepskin to protect her from the cold while she squatted against the wall of the hut, making sure the vegetables wouldn’t be eaten by animals. Or at least what grew at all. Tiny little carrots, lettuce and some radishes.
Of course, better than nothing, but still not enough to feed everyone appropiate.
They tried everything, but other plants just wouldn’t grow anymore. Amina can still remember her early childhood as if it were yesterday, when they harvested beans, potatoes and various types of cabbage. But now... Immediately after germination, the plants just die, almost as if the soil is kind of toxic.
Sighing, Anima packed the blackberries into her self-carved wooden box before putting the lid on and stowing it in her canvas bag. The sun was already low, which meant Anima wouldn’t have much time before it would become dark, but coming home with nothing else than blackberries was out of question. She had to find something else, anything.
And so she walked along the edge of the forest, her legs felt like lead, her muscles sore from all the hard work, her eyes were flapping shut even though she was walking, she was so tired. No wonder she never slept at night. Only at noon, when she was alone on the search for food, did she allow herself a little nap under the apple tree, far out at the edge of the forest, where she was sure no one would find her. But of course, that was never enough. Anima noticed that her body was breaking down more and more. She was weaker than ever, feeling like an old woman even though she was only 17 years old. But what should she do?
Abandoning her father and siblings was never, and never would be, an option. They are her family - in hard times as well as in bad. And even if Anima’s hope of finally experiencing good times again increasingly dwindled, it was still there. If only a small spark in contrast to the former blazing fire.
Gliding her tired eyes over the large poison-green meadow in hope to finally find something decent to eat. Anything. Sorrel, edible flowers, herbs, insects, or at best meadow mushrooms or other edible fungi. But she found nothing, absolutely nothing.
No wonder. Not only Anima, but also all the other villagers went in search of food in the surrounding area every day, since their gardens were just as unproductive.
Anima took a deep breath and turned around - looking directly into the dark forbidden forest, from which she was standing only a few steps away.
Actually, she thought, she would find something edible near the forest’s edge, when all the villagers strictly avoided coming too close to the forest.
Her parents and the elders, all warned the children from an early age not to enter the forest, not even to get too close to it. The trees there would not be trees, but giant spirits, with tentacle-like arms and claws as long as a riding crop. And there, under the cover of darkness, would live monsters with teeth as long as knives, claws as sharp as spears, and senses like those of a snake. For miles they could scent you, until they would silently sneak up on you like a cat and rip your heart out from behind.
But what if these are just scary stories? Pure fiction and nothing more? What if this is just being told to keep the kids from straying too far from the village? What if this isn’t true at all?
As an experienced collector, Anima knew, no, she was more than sure, there in the dark mossy coniferous forest she would find lots of mushrooms, maybe even blueberries and cranberries.
How wonderful would that be? How incredibly nice would it be if they could spend at least one night without a rumbling stomach?
But...
What if the rumors, all the horror stories she grew up with, are true after all? What if those creatures really exist? What if they will come and get her?
Sure, her father would have had one worry less, one mouth less to feed. But just the thought of leaving her sisters behind was breaking her heart, after all, they were much younger than Anima, they even saw her as a mother substitute than a sister. And Anima... she could still remember what it felt like to loose her own mother as if it would have happened yesterday. It broke her heart, leaving her with an emptiness she knew could never be filled again.
And yet. They had to eat something, and morels, porcini mushrooms or boletus would not only be rich in nutrients, but if properly dried they could also be preserved.
Yes, she had to risk it for the sake of her family.
And who knows, maybe nothing will happen. Except that she will find a new source of food, which would never dry up.
Oh yes, she was so ready for better times.
And so she walked towards the dark forest. Her heart was racing, sweat was dripping from her forehead, her hands were shaking, her breathing was getting shallow, she could feel the nervousness reaching every fiber of her body. Never before had she been so scared, never before had she been so nervous, but at the same time she knew that fear and panic were a luxury she couldn’t afford in these hard times.
She and her sisters were so thin you could see every bone, their cheeks sunken, the skin around their eyes sallow and dark, their hair flat and lackluster. There was no fat for their bodies to feed on.
She just had to risk it.
And so Anima crossed the border with one hasty big stride, disappearing into the shadow of the forbidden forest.
