Somnambulant Parade (short story)

 Ravens sang as the dark night sky transformed into a grey overcast dawn.  A cold humid air permeated the old village where Kathy lived. Just as the houses, most people in the forest village were old and quiet. In fact, she was the only young girl that lived there. Amidst the raven’s songs the mossy forest became lit in a blueish green light reflected off the vegetation.  

That morning, Kathy naturally went into the kitchen of her small house to have breakfast where there was a wood burning oven. However, there was something unusual that day. Under normal circumstances her grandma would always be knitting while drinking her morning coffee (grandma didn’t sleep much).  But she wasn’t there, nor was there any coffee indicating her morning routine. Kathy became worried a ran to grandma’s room, but she was no where to be found. “She must be feeding the chickens” Kathy thought as she was running out of ideas. But outside she found unfed chickens, and an even more panic-inducing sight. Not only was her grandma missing but all the old people were gone, they had vanished. She was alone, and the only other voice to be heard was that of the ravens, 

The deep dark green expanse of the forest loomed mystery over Kathy. Her mind quickly fell into a state of anxiety. Bad thoughts flooded her consciousness like daemons. And in the vast quiet expanse, a small girl’s screams seemed insignificant compared to the incomprehensible vastness of the natural world. Since she had lived in a small village all her life, she was used to the company of her neighbours. But now all alone, Kathy defied her reason and ran into the untraversed woods. There, she ran into an unfolding pattern of repeating trees, stones, roots, all similar to each other but unique in their particular differentiation to one another. Due to the slippery nature of the mossy stones that made up the forest floor and the forever winding roots of the trees, Kathy inevitably fell on her face and passed out.  

Upon waking up, she felt the sensation of humid moss on her face and a faint distant drumming. A fox with a mushroom as a hat was sniffing her hair in curiosity but as soon as she rose her head it ran away towards the odd sound. Kathy, in the hopes of finding anyone else to help her since she had now become lost followed the small critter. The drumming became louder and louder as she moved through all the trees and plants. Until out of the seeming endless green, moss covered trunks’ silhouettes appeared a sight Kathie couldn’t believe.  

All the old folks from the village were marching in unison following the fox (which walked on 2 legs at the front). It was even odder that the old people marching in their underwear or pyjamas were still asleep. They were somnambulantly marching singing dancing in the middle of the forest, as though they were possessed. It was impossible to tell where they were going.