THE WOOD AT NIGHT

As usual Elizabeth went with Pinky to the town to get groceries and tree to plant.

"Trees don’t judge, they just grow", she told Pinky one morning as they headed into town, the sun was mild and the air was calm , Pinky waggled her tail as if she understood her making the moment feel warm and lively.

Pinky was her everything now as they did almost everything together, sometimes Elizabeth feels her mom sent Pinky her way to always comfort her when she feels no one wanted her and that the whole world was against her.

Pinky wagged her tail, her whole body moving with excitement as her tongue lolled out happily. Elizabeth laughed softly while touching her head, Every bounce of pinky's steps radiated pure and innocent delight.

They finally got to the market, and at the market she made sure she kept her scarf pulled low and her hood up, avoiding familiar faces. A few people glanced her way, but she passed like any other stranger.

She picked up some groceries, eggs, flour, milk,sugar, a small bag of apples and at the nursery stall she bought two young trees, cradling them like delicate treasures.

On the way home, she stopped briefly in the shade of the forest’s edge. From her pocket, she pulled a small, worn photograph, In that photograph, her father and Marian stared back at her from it, smiles too wide and too false. She held the picture low so Pinky could see.

“You see these people, they are hypocrite? No matter how friendly they look, never go near them, she warned firmly, her voice carried hatred and anger they are our nightmare especially this one” she said pointing at her stepmom.

Pinky immediately understood what she meant, she sniffed the photograph then let out a sudden bark, sharp and loud. Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Good girl.”

That evening, she made a scramble eggs for herself and a plate of cooked beef for Pinky. After they ate, they planted the two saplings near the back fence. The forest loomed beyond, tall and dark, its depths hidden in shadow.

By night, Elizabeth sat at her small writing desk, jotting in her diary. She wrote of the day’s errands, the trees she planted, the strange older man she saw at the market who kept saying things she couldn't understand, on her way home she also met him staring at the woods as if listening to something she couldn’t hear. Her pen slowed, the ink forming a blot.

Pinky stirred suddenly her ears twitching. A low growl rumbled in her throat before she barked once again, this time sharp and so alert.

Elizabeth looked up. “What's the problem girl?, are you good?" she asked softly, bending a little to brush over Pinky's head

Elizabeth remembers that Pink has been doing this for weeks now, she will wake up to see her standing by the window and barking furiously. Pinky padded to the window and stared out into the darkness

Elizabeth followed, peering into the shadows between the trees. The forest was still. Even the wind seemed odd, she opened the window and leaned slightly out but saw nothing.

But before she could close it, Pinky leapt surprisingly with an unexpected speed through the narrow gap as if she had been waiting for that very moment and landed lightly on the grass outside. For a second Elizabeth froze, her hand still holding the edge of the window, her heart skipped at the thought of losing Pinky.

“Pinky!” Elizabeth hissed, climbing out after her. The cold night air bit at her skin, the dog trotted toward the woods, tail stiff, ears pricked forward.

Elizabeth’s feet slowed as she reached the tree line. She had never been in the forest after dark and the very thought of it made her scared to her bone marrow .The stories in town had always kept her away, whispers of eyes in the dark, of howls that weren’t wolves.

But Pinky didn’t stop, the forest floor crunched under Elizabeth’s boots as she followed, the sound far too loud in the silence. The moon hung low, half veiled by drifting clouds.

First she saw two wolves, their yellow eyes glinting in the faint light, hunger seen in their gaze, they moved slowly step by step circling her then she turned and saw it, a flicker of movement ahead. Two eyes, glowing faintly amber, watching from the shadows. Elizabeth froze, every muscle locking tight, Pinky crouched low, a growl rumbling in her chest.

The shape moved forward into the moonlight. For an instant then she saw a tall man, broad shouldered, shirt hanging loose as if ripped. But as she blinked, the change began.

The man’s spine arched unnaturally, bones cracking in sharp succession. His hands elongated into claws. Hair? no, fur rippled over his skin, his face pushed forward into a muzzle, teeth glinting white.

Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat and her heart hammered so hard she thought the whole forest could hear it. The pounding also echoes in her ear like a moving train in that moment fear wrapped tightly around her chest making it difficult for her to breathe or think proper.

Half man and half wolf. She stumbled back, clutching Pinky to her chest. The creature turned its head toward her fully now, and the eyes, those same amber eyes locked with hers. A sound rose in the air, deep and resonant. A howl that seemed to come from the earth itself.

Elizabeth turned and was about to ran but barely made three steps before her boot caught on a root. She pitched forward, tumbling down a small slope. The ground rushed up, leaves and dirt scraping her arms. She landed hard, the air knocked from her lungs.

Somewhere behind her, the howl echoed again but closer this time. And she realized she hadn’t been dreaming, hadn’t been imagining it. The stories about Blackwood weren’t just stories but reality.