Legend Of Backwoods Village

• Emily Huang, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2010

An old hermit once lived on the outskirts of Backwoods Village with his young daughter, whom he adored. However he was aging and knew that he’d not be around to watch her grow up and so began to make plans for her living arrangements after his passing. But his sudden death left his plans unfinished and the girl was sent to the local children’s shelter, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She grew up to be loving and very intelligent, but it was her exotic beauty that set her apart from the other ladies of the town, loosely curled black hair, sea green eyes, lips like roses and ivory skin.
By the time she was of marriageable age she had half the men in town chasing after her and begging for her hand, even some of the married men looked after her longingly. This made the proud women of the town frown, seeing their sons and husbands’ fawning over a dowerless girl was disgraceful to them, however under their pretense they were frightened of their prospects if they were to be put aside by their husband or sons for that girl. In their jealously and fear they cooked up terrible lies about her, they claimed she was a seductress, an enchanter, even so far as to say she was one of the devil’s pawns sent to tempt people to hell. The men were not swayed and they called their wives jealous and old fashioned. This did not sit well with them and so they whispered and plotted, and bided their time.
Autumn came and went.
Then winter set root and began to moan and howl. It was on the coldest winter night that the scream was heard; it split the cold air like lightening and left the night colder than ever. By the time the police made it to the reported building, she was gone. Signs of a struggle were evident but no trail could be found. They searched for her body but in vain, and no murderer could be pinned so the case was dropped. And though their long hoped for dream had come true none felt happy at all, in fact unease had settled into the depths of their minds, and they feared, with good reason, the wrath of their crime. For in the cold earth of the woods their victim lay with a vengeful soul.
It began the winter after she disappeared, one by one her murderers began to mysteriously vanish, and every time a poem was left behind.

Your envy and spite
Your cruel delight
My life I lost
My blood you cost
No tear was shed
Before you I bled
Tonight I come
Tonight you'll succumb
My wrath you’ll face
By death, embraced

One by one they payed their price, and by the end of winter they’d all disappeared. She had her justice.
And ever since then on that cold winter night a soft ghostly voice could be heard whispering that poem.

By: Emily Huang
Age: 14
Address: 15 Capella Place, Normanhurst, 2076, Sydney NSW.
Grade: 9
School: Pennant Hills High School