Into the Deep Wood

Aimak Sein spent his life tilling fields and looking after livestock. His father before him had come from peasantry, but Aimak was able to grow his lands and gain a reputable name in his remote agricultural community. If one were to turn from the main road, his would be the first set of farms from the second notchpost.

His farmhand’s wife had given birth only days ago, and Aimak felt it would only be right that he take the last part of wheat and alfalfa to the city himself. The bags were paid for before a sickle was taken to the grasses; it seemed the barons had been stocking up four times their usual demand this year.

Aimak was a simple man. Despite having built himself a modest business, he still wore shoes made out of thin under-layers of bark and stiffened leather as his father had. They ate supper at the table with all the help and their families, and he never shied away from the labor of his callused hands. Aimak believed in using all the world had to offer and giving back tenfold.

His farm housed a leather tanner, a younger man Aimak took in after his parents passed. At that time, he was just returning from an apprenticeship in the city.

That was why, upon seeing a large black shape away from the road, Aimak Sein had gotten excited that perhaps he’d found a bear that died, having crawled into a patch of trees. Although the animal would be too heavy to load on the cart, he could perhaps spend two hours skinning it. He could bring the hide along. The city was not far now, and he could still get home before dark.

He stopped the cart, the two horses displeased to have been disrupted from their rhythmic walk. Aimak whistled as loud as he could to see if the animal would wake up. When it had not, he armed himself with a large knife to separate the leather from the meat. Surely, had it been alive, it would have stirred when he had whistled. He did so again, about halfway between it and the cart; the point of no return had the bear reared up at the last second.

To his surprise, as he approached, the dark shape took the form of a man slumped over something, blankets covering him almost head to toe.

“Stranger!” Aimak called out, to no response. “Do you need help?”

Thinking he was hurt or dead, Aimak hurried to where he lay. Something felt wrong here.

“Settle down now; I’m going to pull back your cover!” Aimak had warned a final time, worried that had the stranger been in a deep sleep; he would disturb and provoke him.

Pulling the blanket back, he saw that not only was it a man - in dire condition, skin pale and hair plastered to his face with sweat, but he’d been slumped over a girl, seems in his efforts to keep her warm.

Upon a closer look, Aimak Sein saw that the man had been holding a long, deep cut across her torso closed.