It is said that there is a woman in the woods, a woman who lures men with her lullaby to then spirt them away. On occasion parts of them are found spread through the woods, others remain missing forever. People say they have seen her walking with a basket of grass, or gathering water into a flask by the stream. None have stayed longer than a few seconds, fearful of what may happen to them. Children dare each other to stand on the edge of the boundary and call out to her, they make it to the boundary, but none have ever called out. Offerings are given to shrines the village elders made in the woods, food, clothes and handmade gifts are left at the base of stacked stones. The elders told us that this will appease her and keep her from coming into the village to take us away, she will bless our crops and stop the famine.

I look at my husband Callum, then to our child resting asleep on his chest, he tries to wave at me but daren’t wake him. We are thankful to have met the woman in the woods.

I met him at a village festival, we were celebrating the New Year. A year later and we were wed. For many months we tired for children, we took the advice of the village shamans and elders, tried different positions, different locations, tried every potion and tonic there was made but still nothing worked. The place we had not tried was in the woods. We talked about it and went again to the shaman who forbade us from entering, he said we would bring ruin upon the village and anger the woman in the woods. Callum argued that nobody had ever really seen her, the bodies might have been torn up by wolves or bears. His use of ‘might’ showed the shaman his doubt and so we were not to enter the woods.

Another year passed and still I bore no children. Raiders had set fire to a nearby tribe we would trade with, everyone was more fearful than ever. Screams were heard from the woods at night, in the day the hunters would leave to look for elk, they told stories on their return of torn, mutilated bodies. People grew desperate and would enter the woods to flee the fear of the raiders, the elders said that if we were to burn in the fires then it was the will of the Gods. Stay steadfast and we would be protected. Many lost their faith to fear, ran into the woods and would be found dead, some were never found, it was believed the woman in the woods had spirited them away. We could not identify the bodies that were found.

Our world is small, the village of about 100 people sits in the woods in a clearing. There is or was a path to another tribe we traded with. You were said to be safe on the path in the day. When a villager burnt almost to ash ran into our huts screaming of invades and we were readied for battle, they would find the path and come. But they never did.