Mountain River Girl

Prologue

"Got a curse we cannot lift
Shines when the sunshine shifts
There's a curse, comes with a kiss
The bite that binds the gift that gives."

By TV On The Radio

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PROLOGUE

Hidden between trees, a dark figure weaved its way through many trunks and rushed in the direction of the nearby town. The shadow hurried downhill and cautiously avoided small bushes and loose branches on the moss-covered ground. The little bundle it held close was a newborn baby, a girl. To two people, this tiny human meant the world. With her pink skin, tiny dimpled cheeks and plump legs she had stolen their hearts in less time than necessary to blink an eye. Unbothered by the danger she was in, the little girl remained fast asleep. She had her eyes closed and breathed steady breaths in and out while the trees flew by.

The forest was quiet and still, except for the occasional whoosh of the leaves up above and the sound of the river making its way down the mountain. The dark running figure, under the protective cover of the darkest hour of the night, seemed out of place amid the otherwise peaceful scenery. However, a loud shout broke the serene silence.

“Elise!”

The name echoed through the quiet forest. No response came. The absence of a reply hung heavy in the air, and suddenly, the forest no longer appeared to be as quiet. What seemed a silent escape in a sleeping landscape at first had transformed into action. The peace traded places with suspense.

“Elise!”

This time, the dark figure glanced backwards. Exposed to a ray of dim moonlight, the face of a woman became visible. She didn’t stop, not even to catch her breath, but continued to move in the direction of the small town up ahead. She ran in a straight line and left the barely visible, winding path behind. A low branch tore against the fabric of the scarf she had been wearing, ripping it off in the process. The woman murmured something under her breath, but didn’t halt to retrieve her favorite scarf. Her waist-length, blonde hair reflected the moon’s light. Her trademark feature had become a dead giveaway to her location, but the slender woman knew she didn’t have the time to hide her hair from view.

Closing in, the pursuer turned out to be a bulk man. He didn’t need to take into consideration the safety of a newborn girl and could easily move twice as fast as the blonde woman. In no time, he ripped her lost scarf off the branch and smiled darkly, knowing he was right on the woman’s tail. When she looked over her shoulder, she could already see his figure darting through the trees, headed in her direction.

“Elise!” he called again. His rough voice sounded even louder than before; the booming sound of his shout was audible to everything and everyone in the area.

For the first time since she started running that night, the woman came to a full stop and took cover behind a large tree. She would never be able to outrun him; this realization hit her hard. She needed to come up with a new plan, and fast. The young mother looked down at her sleeping daughter, wanting to do what was best for her. They didn’t have many options left. No one should have found out about her escape to begin with, at least not until she had brought her daughter to safety. The betrayal caused by one of the people she trusted most had sliced her through the heart, and yet, it was no match to the terror that came with the threat to her daughter’s life. A feeling of utter hopelessness washed over her and caused her to snuggle the little bundle in her arms even closer to her chest. She would not give up though. She would do whatever it took to protect her little girl, even if this meant sacrificing her own life. Just like that, a new plan struck her thoughts and before she allowed herself a chance to reconsider, she ran towards the river bedding. The small dent in the earth was hidden and secure, yet, not too far away from the path leading into town. If there was a place where good people would find her girl, it was going to be this exact spot. She put all her trust and faith in the townspeople to take good care of the most precious and important thing she ever possessed.

“Be safe,” she whispered while wrapping her coat around her daughter. The blonde woman lay her daughter down at the foot of a tree trunk, making sure to tuck her in safely. Grateful that the little girl hadn’t awoken, she kissed the top of her head, where the girl’s short blond hair peaked from underneath her knitted bonnet.

While fighting against the tears that threatened to spill, the young mother mouthed one last goodbye before, filled with determination, she disappeared in the direction she had come from.