a cold summer

Prologue

The loch sits in the middle of the island and lies deeper than most would think. It shimmers with light from the sun's persistent rays in a deep green, choosing not to reflect the standard blue of the sky. The water is warm too, as the sun slowly bakes it, giving it a refreshing heat to match the environment which appears so full of life. For 11 months this is a barren landscape, forever plagued by salty rain and a permanent layer of cloud. However in the summer - July - it transforms. So few know about its alter ego which keeps it a well guarded secret.

Besides the loch are two forests which surround an old house and a garden which leads directly into the loch. The forest on the left matches the loch in that it looks so distinctly green. It blazes with life; trees tower majestically over the lush, green grass, fresh and green with every spring, and flowers radiating a beautifully perfumed scent give the forest an aroma as nice as any air freshener. Even the tree trunks emit a deep, powerful scent, ensuring that they aren't left out. This is the wood people like. It's not the type of wood where monsters lurk, as there are no shadows for them to hide in, even at night. For at night, the moon takes over from the sun and accentuates the green with a silvery glow. This forest is magical at night.

Half of this forest is gone, replaced with a village. There is one path that runs through the forest, worn away by almost everyone in the village who walks, runs or cycles down that path. It doesn't cut through the forest like a road. It moves with the land; it curves and bends so inconspicuously that it blends in with the forest, almost like it was always there. The waves from the loch gently caress the shoreline which marks the boundary between the loch and the forest. The locals  call it the Emerald Forest, probably because that was the fanciest name they could think of. The green definitely resembled the emerald shade.

On the opposite side of the house, there is the opposite forest. It perfectly mirrors the emerald forest. The trees grow tall and thick, shrouding the forest in permanent shadow. They grow twisted and swollen in painful angles and tower  over anyone brave enough to venture inside. It almost feels like they're watching  you. The ground is littered with dead leaves which were arguably already dead before they fell off the beyond dead trees. This forest reeks of pain and suffering, the air thick with smoke and illusion.

This forest does such a good job of keeping people out that no one has dared clear or build on the land. The locals merely call it the dark forest. Naturally, it  doesn't have a path running through it, or even near it.

It is in the latter forest that the warm summer breeze is soon replaced by a dark wind ravaging through the trees, highlighting their already sinister nature. This doesn't bother the girl. She knows she's scarier than anything she could possibly find in these woods.

She crouches in the dead bushes, edging closer to the target. They're right there. They don't notice her. Of course they don't. No one in their right mind would want to lurk in the dark forest. But she's not in her right mind.

She never has been.

All that really matters to her is that the job is done.

She's so close now that she can practically smell the emerald forest, carried to her nose by the wind. She waits for her cue to start.

And when it does she leaps out of her hiding place and gets to work.

This is going to be so much fun, she thinks.