Sara was startled from her sleep by the hungry cries of her two week old son, Samuel, whom she had just fed less than an hour ago. She shushed him as she pulled him to her breast. He nursed hungrily as tiredness pulled at her eyes and she struggled to stay awake. He was taking longer than normal to have his fill. She had nearly fallen back asleep when he finally pulled away, still whimpering a little.
She laid him back in his cradle, which was adjacent to her bed, and stroked his cheek. Her other hand rested on the cradle and slowly rocked it as she closed her eyes. Samuel had cooed most of the night and cried the rest, keeping her from sleeping longer than a few minutes until the early morning.
As the sun rose over the tree line so did the sleepless mother and son. They had to make the trip to the market, even though tiredness pulled at her eyes. She put on her warmer garments and wiped a thin film of crusted snot from Samuel's nose with her thumb. Bundling him up in an extra layer she prayed that he hadn't caught a cold. Babies weren't meant to leave the home this young, but there were no other options with nobody else to make the journey.
After stoking the fire Sara strapped Samuel to her breast with an old linen sheet. He wiggled in his bindings, his sharp bones somehow still felt through the many layers of fabric. She placed a hand on his back in a feeble attempt to calm him. Her mind kept snapping to how much easier taking care of him would be if she wasn't by herself.
Her house just inside the wood's border and it took the better part of an hour to walk to the town central. The road was wide, and carriages passed in a hurry as she hugged the rough side of the dirt path. Some waved as they passed, others nearly ran her over, but none offered her a lift.
Samuel fidgeted the entire way there, despite needing no feeding or changing and seeming otherwise fine. All she could think of was to stroke his head and focus on her destination.
The church was the first thing that loomed in the distance. It was located near the edge of the town central, and easily the tallest building standing at three stories high. It was the first stop on her trip as she wove through the mid morning crowds until she reached the large double doors that served as the entrance to the impressive building.
There was something stunning about the silence that seemed to envelope her every time she stepped through their large wooden doors. It had always entranced her as a young girl going to church with her parents. Like the rest of the world faded away and all that was left was this space and the silence.
Of course, everything was different now. Samuel let out a loud wail that carried throughout the rafters and got caught in the roof as it echoed. It was too loud and out of place in such a holy building. A priest approached her, an easy smile on his face hiding the wary look behind it. It was a practiced smile that Sara had gotten used to the past few weeks.
"What can I help you with my child?"
"I was hoping to get Samuel baptized after Sunday mass." Sara loosened the wrapping enough to show the child to the priest. It also gave her the opportunity to rock him a little more violently in an attempt to calm him down.
"I think that is the best date. The sooner the child can be christened the better."
"Thank you Father." Sara said, trying to calm Samuel as he fidgeted in his wrappings, trying to free his hands.
"How are you fairing?"
"As well as I am able I believe. It certainly hasn't been easy but I am surviving."
"May our lord and savior watch over you."
Sara payed the man for Samuel's baptism and thanked him again before leaving. On an ordinary day she would have said a prayer before leaving, but the sharp elbow of Samuel pushing into her ribcage reminded her of all the other tasks that must be completed.
The cool morning air was sharp and Sara pulled Samuel closer to her, hoping their combined heat would keep them warm. She had been told so often that it was much too easy for young babies to catch their death of cold. She looked in her coin purse, and realized she didn't have as much for the market as she had hoped after paying for Samuel's baptism.
The money had come from the horse. It was her only source of income since her husband had died. It was also the reason she had to walk to town now. It had been a fine horse, and had gotten a good price. In the end it made much more sense to sell it rather than have it eat through her meager savings. Still, it would have been nice to have a horse to ride to market.
Sara ran into her midwife. The lady had a knack for finding babies. It was like she was drawn to them by an invisible string. Of course the midwife, who was well respected within the community, had plenty of questions about Samuel. How he was doing, how was he eating, did he seem to be sick and other such inquiries. Sara stood there politely, the cold seeping through her overdress. She hoped Samuel was doing okay. His little nose was turning red in the cold air and he wasn't fidgeting as much as he had been when they had been in the church.
"Here, you must have a lot of errands to run. Let me hold the babe for a little while you shop," she offered. Her hands grabbing for the child before Sara could respond.
"Thank you," Sara relented, unwrapping him from her chest as the midwife pulled him close to her.
Sara had only the time to turn away before the midwife exclaimed behind her:
"My goodness!" Sara startled and turned back quickly, ready to see something terrible happening. But all she could see was the midwife holding Samuel. The midwife looked at Samuel and then Sara. "My dear, how could you not realize that this is a faerie child?"
Sara laughed nervously, reaching out for Samuel as she felt some eyes turn towards their exchange. The midwife pulled him away, a much too serious expression on her face for what Sara had taken as an ill-humored joke.
"Come now, surely you cannot be serious?" Sara once again reached for Samuel, who was babbling in the way he usually did just before he began to cry.
"Can you not tell?!" The midwife pulled off Samuel's wrappings until he had nothing on but his cloth diaper. She flipped him around for Sara to see his face.
"His head!" Sara cried, quickly grabbing him before the midwife could pull him away from her again. She placed her hand behind his neck, supporting him. His body was already so cold. She picked up his shed wrappings from the ground and shook it off before wrapping him up in it. Rubbing the outside in an attempt to get some warmth back into his skin. When she felt he was safe, she returned her attention back to the midwife. "He is my son. How dare you accuse me of not recognizing him when it is you who have not seen him for the past two weeks.
"You may be a mother, but that is not your child," the midwife said as she jabbed a bony finger in his direction, pointing out his skinny limbs, hungry mouth and aged eyes.
"You're old age has made you confuse faerie trickery with illness. Maybe you are no longer fit to be this town's midwife," Sara whispered the last line though the treat was there. Rumors would not serve the midwife well in this town. Her glaring eyes darted between Sara and the child in her arms. She lowered her voice, as to keep the ears listening in on this conversation oblivious, not that it would actually work. Listening was free and easy.
"Faeries have grown smarter as time has passed, and many forms of exposing them no longer work. You best throw that faerie baby in the fire before any harm befalls your own child in the faerie realm. It's the only way you'll get him back." The midwife walked off, leaving Sara to properly fix Samuel's wrappings and avoid the curious stares from the bystanders. His skin was still cold and fresh trails of snot ran from his nose. She spent the rest of her time at the market with a tight grip on Samuel and one eye on the lookout for any sign of the midwife.
The sun was setting by the time Sara returned home with her purchases. She had needed to stop multiple times to calm Samuel, who had refused to settle the entire way home. Eventually, she had decided to put up with his crying and simply walk the rest of the way home so she could care for him in the safety of her own home. She hoped the midwife's actions had not solidified whatever he was coming down with. She pulled his cradle close to the fire before throwing another log on and unpacking the wares she had purchased at the market. Samuel, however, continued crying.
Sighing, Sara pulled him from his cradle and rocked him in her arms as his cries grew louder. She asked him if he could not possibly still be hungry. She pulled him to her breast and was surprised when he instantly latched on and began drinking. She watched him for a moment, surprised by his sudden hunger, then turned her eyes to the fireplace where she had a pot of stew heating up.
The flames licked at the bottom of the pot, and pulled her thoughts back to what the midwife had said. Surely Samuel must simply be sick. There hadn't been news of a faerie abducting a babe since her parents were children. There was no reason for the practice to begin again. Still, as she bounced her finger around which Samuel's own twig like fingers grasped as tightly as he fed and fed and fed, seh couldn't help but consider the words of the midwife.
Had Sara always been able to see the bones protruding from under the flesh of her child? Had his eyes always been this dark of a blue? Had his skin always glistened with a sap like quality? Where did this incessant hunger come from? Why wouldn't he settle? She watched the fire.
Sara rose from the chair, pulling Samuel from her breast. His blue eyes looked blindly around the room as Sara walked over to the fireplace, removed the bubbling pot from the flames and placed it on the hearth. Samuel began the first whimpers of a cry. Sara knew she must do it quickly, or risk not doing it at all. If this was her child, as she would prove it to be, she would have to pull him from the flames quickly or risk permanent damage.
As she held him closer to the flames his cries became stronger. They were short, dry wails that rushed from his throat between breaths. He had worked himself into such a fit that tears squeezed themselves out of his closed eyes. Sara wanted to close her own, but in some sadistic way she couldn't bring herself to look away. She felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck as her grip loosened on Samuel, the cries growing deafening.
A sharp noise behind her nearly caused Sara to drop Samuel onto the flames, but she managed to hold on tight and any doubt rushed from her mind. She quickly pulled him against her. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she apologized over and over again. Trembling at what she had done... or almost done. She couldn't bear to hear him cry as he did, as if he knew the terrible fate his mother was about to bestow him. Sara hugged her child tightly, assuring herself that he was still very much there. There was no need to see whether he was her son or not. She knew the answer to that.
She pulled hi to her breast once more, letting him finish his meal as she picked up the ladle that had rolled off of the table. She promised to love him as a mother should love her child.
***
Off a ways, in the cover of the forest stood another mother, a child cradled in arms. Her eyes looking in the direction of a cottage she couldn't see. She nodded her head and smiled at the bundle in her hands.
"Well little one, why don't we go home." She whispered, turning into the deep forest as the child slept soundly in her arms.
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