Swamp Familiars
By Abigail Fero
Copyright 2012 Abigail Fero
Published by Black Shire Publishing
Cover Photography by Emily Ann
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
There was a boy in the forest. Maga first saw him days ago, a brief glimpse deep in the swamp foliage, a flash of his black hair through green leaves. At first she thought he was just someone passing through, it wasn’t unheard of.
Just because Grandma never had any visitors and people tended to steer clear of her land, didn’t mean the occasional person didn’t make an appearance. The swamp was full of travelers and camps of people, Maga just didn’t see many of them. Once she’d lived among them but now there were an irregularity. She certainly never saw anyone more than once.
But he didn’t just make one appearance. She spotted the boy’s curly black hair and blue eyes everywhere she went. It was as if he was following her, though Maga knew he hadn’t spotted her yet. She had a talent for camouflage.
The boy was everywhere, most often in her thoughts. Maga’s previous hobbies, which included spying on Grandma, foraging or stalking any animal she could find, dwindled. Her thoughts and time were now devoted to the walking anomaly.
She didn’t think he knew about Grandma, which would explain why he was intent on settling in the area. No one lived within at least a four mile radius of Grandma. Maga didn’t know whether it was the old woman’s doing or something about the area that kept people away.
For the first couple days, Maga kept the delicious secret to herself, sure that as soon as Grandma knew she’d scare the boy off somehow. It couldn’t be a coincidence that no one lived near them. She spent less time watching Grandma and more time watching the boy. Locating him each morning was always a game tinged with the fear that she wouldn’t find him- that he would be gone.
Eventually, when not a day went by without her spotting him, she knew for sure he wasn’t going anywhere. She also knew that it was only a matter of time before he spotted her or stumbled through the thick foliage which hid Grandma’s house and kept it safe. It was only a matter of time before she solved the mystery of the boy. Maga didn’t want it to end but she didn’t want him to be sent away either. It was time she told Grandma.
‘There’s a boy in the forest.’
Grandma spent most of her days tucked away in her work room. Maga knew better than to penetrate any further than the threshold without express permission.
‘I know.’
Maga frowned at Grandma’s answer. The old woman only occasionally left the clearing and not at all since Maga had first seen the boy.
‘How do you know?’ Maga asked, her words addressed to Grandma’s back.
The old woman turned to stare at her, the white hair swept away from her face with undecorated bone combs.
‘I can see,’ Grandma said, her mismatched eyes boring holes into Maga’s brown ones.
The little girl shivered. She’d only been living with Grandma just over two years now, left by her parents when she was six. The sight of Grandma’s eyes still unnerved her and Maga couldn’t help but stare. Grandma’s normal blue eye was a bit faded and grey but it was the other one that still gave Maga nightmares. Small, black and surrounded by puckered flesh, the tiny eye was impossible to look away from.
Maga stood there a moment longer to see if that was all Grandma had to say. Grandma’s one-eyed bird stood on its perch and stared at Maga. When the old woman didn’t speak again, Maga gave up waiting and headed for the door. It seemed as if her caretaker wasn’t going to interfere.