SING IF YOU MUST
Once upon a time, there was a spoiled, but sprightly girl called The Young Lady Anastasia, who spent her days going from one place to another, playing tricks on servants and shopkeepers, and generally being a nuisance to all. However, since she was a sweet-natured girl, she was almost always forgiven as soon as she gave offense. Her mother and father were the Duke and Duchess of the land, and were often pre-occupied with matters of the court, so Anastasia spent much time on her own. Her favorite thing to do was explore the great forest at the edge of town.
One day, Anastasia wandered further into the forest than she ever had before, the whole way singing her favorite song over and over again.
“WHO’S MAKING SO MUCH NOISE?” a voice bellowed suddenly. Anastasia froze where she was. Who could have said that?
“DON’T WANT TO ANSWER, EH?” said the voice again.
“It’s me,” Ana said finally, “The Young Lady Anastasia, daughter of the Duke and Duchess! Who’s asking?”
Suddenly, the ground beneath Ana started to shift. Ana toppled over, and fell into a shrubbery. When she was able to look up again, there stood a woman, made entirely of bark and leaves, standing gnarled and gigantic in front of her.
“You woke me up, girl,” said the woman.
“I’m sorry. What are you doing sleeping out here, anyway?” said Ana.
“This is my home. You’re trespassing.”
“This isn’t your home, no one lives out here. Besides, this forest belongs to my parents. You should probably find a better place to call home. One that’s really yours.”
“This is my home,” the woman said again.
“No. It isn’t really. How come I’ve never seen you before? And why are you sleeping in the middle of the day? If I did wake you up, you can’t really complain, now can you? I’m allowed to sing as loud as I want if it’s the middle of the day. My mother said so. She also said that people in the forest are poachers, and they need to go to jail. So, you should probably get out of here.”
“I will not. This is my home. I would advise you not to disagree.”
“It’s my parent’s land.”
The old wood woman stared at Ana.
“What?” said Ana.
“You like to sing do you?”
“Oh yes, I love it. Especially that one I was singing just now. That’s my favorite song.”
“Very good. Sing you shall,” the old woman said, with a look of mischief in her leafy eye. “But for now…” The ground started to shake again, knocking Ana over violently. A few hours later, she awoke. Evidently, she had hit her head on a rock. Where the old woman had been, there now stood an extremely twisted tree. Ana decided her encounter must have been a dream, and she skipped home.
“How was your day?” Ana’s mother asked when she arrived home. But when Ana opened her mouth to reply, instead of her normal speaking voice, there came a sound from her throat something like a wail or a cry…definitely some sort of note.
“Goooooood…” she sang.
Ana’s mother stared at her, un-amused.
“Very cute,” she said, and walked away.
In the echoing castle hallway, Ana endeavored to speak normally. She tried to make small talk, to practice her verses, to recite her sonnets, anything! But each attempt to articulate in her regular voice devolved into a repugnant caterwauling that one could only call…music…really, really bad music.
TO BE CONTINUED...
