“Hurry up Riyah,” Oliver called. Riyah did her best to follow her older cousins, but their longer legs unhindered by heavy skirts allowed them to travel faster than her. Her skirt was constantly being snagged by branches and thorns. Aunt Beatrice was surely going to be displeased.

“Oliver! Arthur! Slow down,” Riyah cried. A tree branch cut along her cheek and she winced. She could hear the boys laughing a few lengths ahead.

“Are you sure it’s this way, Arthur?” Oliver questioned. He paused looking around the unfamiliar woods.

“That’s what Julias said,” Arthur replied. Julias was the twins’ older brother. A grown man of eighteen with no time to play childish games, but still made time to tell his young brothers wild stories. Even Riyah was enchanted by Julias’ stories. She would linger in the doorway of her cousins’ bedroom as Julias told them vivid tales of his explorations of the woods behind Rembrooke Manor.

“Once I traveled deep into the forest. Deeper than I’d ever been. There is a large bolder, white as snow, that’s at least the height of two tall men. It’s split down the middle as if a giant came and hit it with a pickaxe. If you go around it you’ll see nothing but more woods, but if you go through it you will see a tent.”

“A tent!” Arthur had interrupted, unimpressed. Riyah wished she could have shushed him, but she knew if she made a single peep they would shoo her away.

“Who would camp out in the middle of woods like that, brother,” Oliver asked. Julias smiled and waited for tension to build. The twins leaned in waiting for his answer.

“A witch,” Julias whispered. Luckily the boys’ gasps drowned out Riyah’s. A witch camped out behind Rembrooke Manor? Impossible.

“She lives by herself and enjoys her privacy, but they say if you sneak into her tent and steal her prized possession she’ll barter you a wish to get it back.” The boys’ eyes sparkled with intrigue. Riyah frowned. This was starting to sound more like a fairytale and at seven years old she was far too jaded to believe in such nonsense. There was no such thing as wishes and if there were they certainly didn’t come true. If they did then she would be at home with two loving parents rather than the pest under her Aunt’s care.

“You must be careful though,” Julias continued, “If you get caught by her then you will instead be cursed like I was.”

“Cursed?” Oliver repeated, a little perturbed.

“What were you cursed with, brother,” Arthur asked. Julias sighed dramatically and feign sorrow.

“I was cursed with two of the brattiest little brothers a person could ask for.” Julias cracked a smile and the boys threw up their hands and started to beat his chest. Julias only laughed. Their ten-year-old fists couldn’t hurt him. He looked past them and noticed Riyah there. She jumped when their eyes made contact. She expected a reprimand, but he only offered a soft smile. Still, though, she retreated to her own room.

“But that was just a made-up story,” Oliver said, “Wasn’t it?” Riyah finally caught up to them as they tried to find their bearings.

“We should go back,” Riyah said as she tried to catch her breath.

“Who said you could even come,” Arthur spat.

“But teacher said that we shouldn’t go far because we have lessons this afternoon,” Riyah argued. In truth, she was scared of the woods. There were some parts so dense that not even sunlight could break through the thick branches. Who knew what hid in the dark.

“But teacher said blah blah blah,” Arthur mocked, “If you’re so concerned you can go back without us.”

“But-” Riyah started.

“Don’t be such a baby, Riyah,” Oliver turned to his brother, “Which way?”

“Julias said to keep going east which is…” Arthur looked up at the sky and squinted at what sun he could see, “... that way.” He pointed towards a shadowy part of the forest. They both eagerly continue, but Riyah hesitated.

“Keep up or we’ll leave you behind,” Arthur threatened. His words were enough to push her forward.

“What about bears or jag- jag… panthers,” Riyah whimpered, frustrated that her fear wouldn’t let her say the word jaguars.

“Panthers and bears are only in the circus,” Oliver said.

“But I read a story about a girl who went into the woods and came across a family of bears and when she disturb their home they ate her,” Riyah argued.

“Don’t be dumb, Riyah,” Arthur admonished, “Your baby stories aren’t real life. There are no bears in these woods!” Riyah wasn’t convinced. She desperately wanted to hold their hands as the sun started to be blotted out, but she knew that her touch was unwanted. Though they were considered family, they never welcomed her presence.

Riyah had come to live with her father’s sister, Aunt Beatrice after the death of her parents. Aunt Beatrice never paid her any mind unless it was to scold her. She always mumbled something about never wanting a useless girl in her house. Aunt Beatrice’s husband Duke Rembrooke ignored her existence entirely, but as a man who detested children, he tended to ignore the twins as well. Arthur and Oliver treated her like their personal toy. Arthur pinched and hit her when he was displeased. He tripped and pushed her to the ground and laughed when she was scolded by the maids for dirtying her clothes. Oliver wasn’t as cruel, but he never stepped in when his brother bullied her cruelly. He just watched silently. But as apathetic and cruel as they were the twins were her only playmates.

Julias was the only one who showed Riyah any compassion. He scolded Arthur when he was too rough or slipped her a piece of candy after particularly bad scoldings from her aunt. He even once wiped her tears when he came across her crying alone in the gardens not long after her parents had died. Riyah had to pray to God for forgiveness every night because every day she wished that her uncle would die so that Julias would become the new duke and maybe, just maybe, she would be treated better.

“Oliver! Oliver! Look!” Arthur suddenly shouted.

“It’s real!” Oliver shouted in disbelief. The two boys broke out into a run. Riyah did her best to pick up her skirts and run after them, but just as they ran, they abruptly stopped causing her to run into their backs and be sent tumbling to the leaf-covered ground. She stood up with a groan and did her best to dust off the sappy leaves sticking to her bum. She looked around the two boys and her mouth dropped open, matching the surprised look on her cousins’ faces. There before them stood a large white boulder as tall as two fully grown men with a large crack down the middle as if split open by a giant.

Riyah looked at the boys. Arthur still looked utterly shocked. Despite their willingness to believe Julias all three of them had known that the story he told was just a tall tale. Oliver had moved past surprise and started looking concerned. Riyah was beginning to become scared. Not only was this part of the woods dark but it was also deathly quiet. No birds or insects could be heard. Not even wind rustled the leaves. It was silent and that silence seemed unnatural.

“Do you really think there’s a witch on the other side?” Oliver questioned. Arthur walked to the left of the bolder and looked off into the seemingly endless woods and then repeated the same action to the right of the boulder.

“Riyah,” Arthur suddenly ordered, “Go through the split in the boulder and tell us if there’s a tent on the other side.”

Riyah squeaked, “Why me?”

“Because I said so,” Arthur taunted.

“But you two are older,” Riyah argued.

“And if the witch catches us we would be missed. You on the other hand…” Arthur let his words hang in the air. Tears started to well up in her eyes. She wanted to go back to the manor. She’d much rather have teacher punish her with a ruler to the back of her legs than to stay there in the dark quiet woods a minute longer.

“If you find the witch’s treasure then you’ll get a wish, remember?” Oliver reminded her.

“That’s right,” Arthur encouraged, “You could wish for anything you want.”

“Maybe you could even wish for your parents back,” Oliver suggested. Riyah’s chest squeezed. If she could wish for her parents back she could feel love again. She could feel their warm embrace and kind words. She could hear her father talk about all the great things she could do and feel her mother run her fingers through her hair. She could hear the words I love you. How she missed being loved.

“Go on then,” Arthur said almost encouragingly. Riyah straightened her back. The truth to Julias’ story could end there at the boulder, in which case she had nothing to fear. Or it could continue. There really could be a witch and a treasure and a wish…

Riyah hitched up her skirts again and walked toward the boulder. She climbed up to the crack. Looking through it, all she saw was more woods. She looked behind her at the boys. They both smiled at her, but neither smiled out of kindness. They never smiled at her out of kindness. As always Arthur’s smile held well-masked cruelty and Oliver’s held poorly masked guilt. Riyah took a deep breath and made her way through the split in the boulder. It was troublesome. The rock beneath her feet wasn’t flat so her feet were sloped at an awkward angle. She could barely fit through the two pieces, jagged edges scrapping her shoulders as she moved forward. When she poked her head out the other side she looked around. At first, all she saw was more woods. She dropped out from the boulder and landed a little harshly in the dirt.

“There’s nothing here,” Riyah called. There was a beat of silence. She walked around the boulder to find her cousins, but there wasn’t anyone there.

“Oliver!” she called out, “Arthur?” She walked over to where they had been standing. There weren’t even any footprints showing that they were once there. Riyah’s eyes flitted to every tree. Where were they? Or rather where was she? She went back to the other side of the boulder with the intent of climbing back through its split.

Suddenly the air in front of her shimmered. Like a mirage, a form appeared before her eyes. She squinted until it slowly focused and sharpened. Her stomach dropped. It was a tent.