Ravenwood Chapter 3

Journal,

It has been a fortnight since Eli went into the forest. The reason for which he did so still alludes me. He always told me stories of horrific things being in that forest, I could not imagine them then, but I can now. Nightmares have plagued my dreams, they leave me screaming awake, sweating and crying until my voice is gone.
No one in the village will search for him, they are all afraid of the screeching beast that father heard. I don’t blame them, but I wish to have Eli back.
My mother just sits and stares. She cries out at the very mention of Elijah’s name. I can not bear to see her in such pain. So I lock myself in my rooms and pour my feelings out in this journal.
Father continues with the harvest, using Tobias to help him. He will not talk of Elijah and has forbidden anyone to ask or talk of him.
The days have went by slowly, I have refused Tobias for the last time. I have told him that he will have to find someone else to wed. I will not marry without my brother present, and until he is found, Tobias will either have to go on without me or wait until Elijah can be found.
I know he is alive. I can feel him in my soul. The familiar tugging to go to the wood is gone now, I have not felt it since Eli’s disappearance. I wonder if whatever was doing it is gone or if my grief has stopped me from feeling it.
Father has recently informed me that I am not allowed to leave the house without an escort. This action has angered me to the point of defiance. I am not a child to be watched over.
Elijah, my brother, come home to us, you know not how our hearts break each day you are gone.
Johannah

Johannah closed her journal and sat back in her little chair. She heard nothing in the house beyond her door, not even the creak of the wind in the eaves. She felt the tears roll down her cheeks and succumbed to a fortnight of strength. Her heart could not take the toll of weeks of grief with no outlet. She sat and cried silently, letting each tear fall unnoticed onto her dress.

She got up and stepped over to her window casement. She looked out towards the forest. Nothing. Not even a birds silhouette.

‘Where are you Eli?’ she thought as a fresh wave of grief hit her, bringing her to her knees in front of the window.

Johannah awoke to the sun pouring in through the window. She had cried herself to sleep there on the floor. Beautiful rays of light danced across her chamber floor in dappled patterns thrown by the leaves of the trees outside.
The toll of the bell went almost unnoticed as she watched the light sift from form to form.

‘They’ve found him! I must see him.’ She thought as she got to her feet and ran out of her room, through the house and out the front door. She ran as fast as she could wearing no shoes on the dirt road. Past villagers that gawked and stared at her passing, making statements that she barely heard.

She stopped at the graveyard to catch her breath and looked up at the church. Her mother and father were there with the reverend and Tobias. As she got closer, she could hear their voices, her mother crying and Tobias talking to her father.

“It really is best if we go ahead and pronounce him dead, Nigel. He isn’t going to return. You said yourself you thought him dead.” Tobias’ father said with matter-of-fact tone in his voice that made her want to hit him.

‘How can you say someone is dead without a vessel to prove it? How can you all think of him as dead, you have no proof.’ Johannah thought, pain and rage etching itself on her face.

Tobias, thinking of himself as always, strode up to her. “You know, now that he’s dead... you’ll be able to marry me.”

Johannah did not realize she even threw the punch nor realize that it connected squarely with his left lower jaw. She turned and ran back to her house. Locking her bedroom door behind her when she got in it.

“I’ll go. I’ll go and I’ll find him. They’re all cowards. How dare they!” She ranted to herself. She tore a piece of parchment from her journal and scribbled upon it:

I will go. I will find him. I will not return until then. You can pronounce me dead if you like. And tell Tobias I am not sorry.

She gathered her things and quickly left the house. Just as she reached the hill an eighth of a mile west of her house, her father could be heard screaming at the top of his lungs. She heard him come outside ranting still. She did not look back, it would have cost her time and she needed all she could get.

When she heard several people shout her name, she was at the forest line. She looked back once, enough to see her father and Tobias leading a few other men to the edge of the forest. Tobias wore a dark bruise on the left side of his face and she smiled at thought that she had caused damage to someone who thought so much of himself. They had seen her. She walked into the forest not caring if they followed. She prayed that Tobias would follow and would be eaten by something monstrous for his efforts.