A Walk in the Woods

With her mind deep in thought, it was impossible for Charlotte to say how long she had been walking. Only that now the forest seemed much thicker and fuller?almost as if it had a life of its own. Not as a collection of millions of different things, as she understood it truly to be, but as a whole. It almost seemed to breathe softly in her ear. Unsure of her direction, Charlotte looked up to try and see the position of the moon, but this was no help as the canopy of the great elms blocked out the sky completely. Somewhere in the distance a beast howled, its voice shattering the stillness like a hammer through glass. In spite of herself Charlotte suppressed a shiver. She knew there was nothing to be afraid of. She had been told countless times that the beasts of the woods only sing once they have already made a kill. She hoped the tales were true.

Just then, a soft wind blew across the forest floor, sending a tantalizing breeze underneath her skirt. Charlotte flushed for a moment as she could swear she felt a soft hand caressing her inner thigh, but dismissed the thought almost as quickly, as she knew it must be some trick of the wind. Although she wondered, why had the breeze not disturbed any of the leaves on the forest floor? She had heard tales from some of the boys in town about mischievous entities in the forest that delighted in playing the most sinful tricks on mortals, especially young beautiful maidens like her. But that was only child's play. Nevertheless, she felt that she should be heading back, lest she be lackadaisical in her chores tomorrow from not sleeping well. After a short while, she saw a small cabin in a clearing. She had not seen this particular structure on her trek into the forest, so she determined that she must have gotten turned around somewhere. The wind was picking up now, and Charlotte spied a lit lantern in the window of the cabin.

As she peered slowly into the side window, there appeared to be nobody at home. The cabin was decently furnished, a bed, table, and rocking chair, with a fire burning ever so invitingly in the hearth. It seemed that whoever the occupant was, he or she had no plans on being gone for very long, but still the warm and cozy scene kept reminding Charlotte of how awfully chilly it was out in the night air. With an audacity that her father would surely chide her for if he ever found out, Charlotte made her way towards the front door.

Now I realize dear reader, that nothing truly extraordinary has happened as of yet in our tale tonight. But I caution you just to be patient and observe a little while longer. The benefits of this could be only too clear, for if our dear Charlotte had taken the same advice while at the cabin window, she would have seen the rocking chair within begin to slowly rock with no occupant in its seat, and the covers of the bed slowly pull themselves down of their own accord.

As it was though, lovely Charlotte saw none of this as she slowly turned the knob and let herself into the cabin. Closing the door behind her, she immediately felt the pleasant warmth of this little domicile washing over her. It was after all a cheery sort of room, even with a few small drawings on the wall. Each drawing she noted was of a young maiden, all of them not quite in their 20^th year, and all wearing nothing but the glory of their supple naked skin.