The woods were beautiful, lush and inviting. At the heart of it was, a serene, sun-bathed glade. A small stream of sparkling water tumbled down a cluster of rocks into a small, blue pool with a sandy beach. Most of the glade was covered in ankle deep grass, that flowed and waved in the breeze. Exquisite purple and yellow wildflowers dotted the grass adorning the glade like tiny, shimmering gems. White dandelion seeds floated by like little flakes of snow and settled on the blades of grass only to be lifted up into a mesmerizing dance by the wind again.
The glade was discovered by the children who had just moved into some quaint little cottages in the small English town at the edge of the forest. The children were entranced by the beauty and splendor of the glade, spending almost all of their waking moments playing, frolicking and just lying down in the grass. The smell of the flowers, the brush of the dandelions against their cheeks, the splash of the stream were all music to the children's ears. The glad rung with their excited squeals and their innocent laughter filled it with an enchanting aura.
But, unknown to the children, this beautiful, peaceful glade, this veritable paradise, hid a dark secret. Behind the veil of the waterfall, beneath the jumble of rocks lurked a creature. Nobody knew what it looked like, whether it was human or animal, because it was seldom spotted in the open. Some people recognized its existence and feared it, although, why exactly they feared it was never clear. As for the creature, it wasn't as evil as it was made out to be. All it wanted was to be loved and included. All it wanted was some company. The creature delighted in watching the children play and gambol around the glad. It watched them silently from behind the veil, between a crack in the rocks. Their laughter, joy and innocence delighted his heart and nourished him. It was almost like food and sustenance to the creature. If they didn't show up on some days, the creature became disappointed and sad.
The creature did not always used to be like this. He used to bask in the rays of the sun, prance around the glade, splash about in the waterfall and be as happy as anyone could be. He had friends too - some woodland critters, the occasional picnickers and hikers all were friendly but for various reasons, they all slowly drifted away. The hikers found better, more adventurous trails to hike, the critters moved closer to the human settlements in search of easy food and the creature became increasingly lonely.
As time went by he began increasingly frustrated, annoyed and angry. He sulked for days together, prowling the glade pondering and muttering. Eventually it was too much for him and he decided to shun all living beings. He retreated to his dark haven behind the waterfall, spending his days brooding and longing for company. He avoided the occasional people who did wander into the glade. Sometimes he even scared them off. When the children first came to the glade, he ignored them assuming that would be like everyone else - visiting but not staying. But these children came the next day, and the next and the next. They kept coming every day, spending most of their time in the glade and loving every moment of it. It was like they found a solace, peace, contenment and fun in the glade that they were not able to find anywhere else.
The creature watched warily, not showing himself lest they became frightened of him. He started enjoying their antics and his love for them grew exponentially every day. And eventually despite it's immense restraint, it started obsessively waiting and watching for them to arrive each day. All the while, deep down, the creature knew, that like everybody else the children too would one day leave. It had steeled itself for that day. But days turned into weeks and weeks into months. The children kept coming, kept playing, and kept the creature happy. Eventually, it would occasionally show itself to them. The children were surprised and a little scared to learn about such a malevolent presence in such a serene place. They still continued to come play in the glade, but now were constantly nervous and scared of the creature showing itself. The creature became even more adventurous and wanted to play with the children now. But years of exile under the rocks had not been kind to the creature. It looked wild, uncouth and dangerous to the children. Its exuberance and eagerness to please the children was interpreted by them as savage attacks and the children were now scared to death of the creature but it did not understand this new animosity.
The children were also growing up and encountering newer experiences. They found newer places and parks to play in. They played sports and video games now, their times of gleeful frolic in the glade now forgotten. The monster grew enraged at this desertion, and at their failure to visit the glade every day. It prowled the glade in the open now, hurt, angry and sad. The monster went into fits of unpredictable and wild rage, venturing to the edge of the glade and terrorizing the children and people with his murderous roars.
The townspeople got together and decided that the monster was a threat to them, and decided to try and drive it out of the glade and away from their town. They armed themselves with rudimentary clubs, pitchforks and flaming torches. And for the next 2 weeks they tried their best to drive the monster out of the glade by every means possible. They did not really want to have to kill it. They just wanted it out of the glade, so it could become the paradise it once was. . They had only succeeded in making it madder than ever. The monster for his part, was ever more enraged and hurt by these actions. More than anything he didn't understand why they were doing this. All he asked for some company and love to be shown to him.
Eventually, the townspeople tired of their repeated failure to drive the monster out. They reluctantly agreed to burn down the glade and the wooded area around it which they believed to be the major habitat of the creature. So they dug fire pits around the demarcated area and started several small fires directed inward from the edge of the glade.Soon the whole glade was ablaze. Every evergreen leaf, twig and blade of grass, burning in the angst of the townspeople.The creature ran around howling in agony, as he felt the heat roasting him alive. He had never endured pain so intense and immediate. The glade that used to bask in the warm light of the sun and glisten with dew drops was now swathed in an red ball of fire, with huge swirls of black smoke billowing out and suffocating the beauty and the serenity of the glade. The next morning all that was left were the charred skeletons of the once lush trees and the scorched earth where there was billowing wild grass. The pond and the waterfall had turned murky black and disgusting because of all the ash and debris that had dissolved in it. And there beneath the muddy waterfall, stretched out on a rock outcrop, was the burnt body of the monster, his eyes no longer held any anger or pain. There was just an infinite sadness and maybe a hint of ..peace.
The glade was discovered by the children who had just moved into some quaint little cottages in the small English town at the edge of the forest. The children were entranced by the beauty and splendor of the glade, spending almost all of their waking moments playing, frolicking and just lying down in the grass. The smell of the flowers, the brush of the dandelions against their cheeks, the splash of the stream were all music to the children's ears. The glad rung with their excited squeals and their innocent laughter filled it with an enchanting aura.
But, unknown to the children, this beautiful, peaceful glade, this veritable paradise, hid a dark secret. Behind the veil of the waterfall, beneath the jumble of rocks lurked a creature. Nobody knew what it looked like, whether it was human or animal, because it was seldom spotted in the open. Some people recognized its existence and feared it, although, why exactly they feared it was never clear. As for the creature, it wasn't as evil as it was made out to be. All it wanted was to be loved and included. All it wanted was some company. The creature delighted in watching the children play and gambol around the glad. It watched them silently from behind the veil, between a crack in the rocks. Their laughter, joy and innocence delighted his heart and nourished him. It was almost like food and sustenance to the creature. If they didn't show up on some days, the creature became disappointed and sad.
The creature did not always used to be like this. He used to bask in the rays of the sun, prance around the glade, splash about in the waterfall and be as happy as anyone could be. He had friends too - some woodland critters, the occasional picnickers and hikers all were friendly but for various reasons, they all slowly drifted away. The hikers found better, more adventurous trails to hike, the critters moved closer to the human settlements in search of easy food and the creature became increasingly lonely.
As time went by he began increasingly frustrated, annoyed and angry. He sulked for days together, prowling the glade pondering and muttering. Eventually it was too much for him and he decided to shun all living beings. He retreated to his dark haven behind the waterfall, spending his days brooding and longing for company. He avoided the occasional people who did wander into the glade. Sometimes he even scared them off. When the children first came to the glade, he ignored them assuming that would be like everyone else - visiting but not staying. But these children came the next day, and the next and the next. They kept coming every day, spending most of their time in the glade and loving every moment of it. It was like they found a solace, peace, contenment and fun in the glade that they were not able to find anywhere else.
The creature watched warily, not showing himself lest they became frightened of him. He started enjoying their antics and his love for them grew exponentially every day. And eventually despite it's immense restraint, it started obsessively waiting and watching for them to arrive each day. All the while, deep down, the creature knew, that like everybody else the children too would one day leave. It had steeled itself for that day. But days turned into weeks and weeks into months. The children kept coming, kept playing, and kept the creature happy. Eventually, it would occasionally show itself to them. The children were surprised and a little scared to learn about such a malevolent presence in such a serene place. They still continued to come play in the glade, but now were constantly nervous and scared of the creature showing itself. The creature became even more adventurous and wanted to play with the children now. But years of exile under the rocks had not been kind to the creature. It looked wild, uncouth and dangerous to the children. Its exuberance and eagerness to please the children was interpreted by them as savage attacks and the children were now scared to death of the creature but it did not understand this new animosity.
The children were also growing up and encountering newer experiences. They found newer places and parks to play in. They played sports and video games now, their times of gleeful frolic in the glade now forgotten. The monster grew enraged at this desertion, and at their failure to visit the glade every day. It prowled the glade in the open now, hurt, angry and sad. The monster went into fits of unpredictable and wild rage, venturing to the edge of the glade and terrorizing the children and people with his murderous roars.
The townspeople got together and decided that the monster was a threat to them, and decided to try and drive it out of the glade and away from their town. They armed themselves with rudimentary clubs, pitchforks and flaming torches. And for the next 2 weeks they tried their best to drive the monster out of the glade by every means possible. They did not really want to have to kill it. They just wanted it out of the glade, so it could become the paradise it once was. . They had only succeeded in making it madder than ever. The monster for his part, was ever more enraged and hurt by these actions. More than anything he didn't understand why they were doing this. All he asked for some company and love to be shown to him.
Eventually, the townspeople tired of their repeated failure to drive the monster out. They reluctantly agreed to burn down the glade and the wooded area around it which they believed to be the major habitat of the creature. So they dug fire pits around the demarcated area and started several small fires directed inward from the edge of the glade.Soon the whole glade was ablaze. Every evergreen leaf, twig and blade of grass, burning in the angst of the townspeople.The creature ran around howling in agony, as he felt the heat roasting him alive. He had never endured pain so intense and immediate. The glade that used to bask in the warm light of the sun and glisten with dew drops was now swathed in an red ball of fire, with huge swirls of black smoke billowing out and suffocating the beauty and the serenity of the glade. The next morning all that was left were the charred skeletons of the once lush trees and the scorched earth where there was billowing wild grass. The pond and the waterfall had turned murky black and disgusting because of all the ash and debris that had dissolved in it. And there beneath the muddy waterfall, stretched out on a rock outcrop, was the burnt body of the monster, his eyes no longer held any anger or pain. There was just an infinite sadness and maybe a hint of ..peace.
