Tilly's Treasure: A Bravehearted Journey

"Tilly, hurry! There's a monster in the woods!"

"I'm trying, Mum. I'm only nine."

This was getting ridiculous.

"We should go back," I said. "What if it's that big dog again? What if it eats us?" My voice was high pitched and whiny, just like she always told me it was.

"You heard the rumors from town. People have been seeing it around here for the past month."

"That doesn't mean we have to go investigate."

My mother sighed and put her hand on my shoulder. She had beautiful, long fingers with thin nails she always kept painted red. They played with my hair and tickled my neck when she was happy. She looked at me with kind eyes and smiled. It made me smile too. "Yes, but don't you want to know what it is?"

I did want to know what it was, but I didn't want to die in the process of finding out. I decided to change tactics. "Mum, you make such good bread." I could feel her weakening resolve through my cheeks as they were pressed against her stomach. Without thinking, she turned and began walking home. "Fine," she said as she turned back to face me and pointed towards the woods. "I'll be waiting right outside the trees. If there's trouble, run right home."

She handed me an apple and kissed me on the forehead before I ran into the thicket of trees after the creature that had taken up residence near our farmhouse. The sun was beginning to set, casting golden light through gaps in the branches above me as I walked deeper into the forest. After about ten minutes of walking, a large clearing opened up before me and there it was: a three-headed dog so monstrous that even now I can hardly believe its existence; one head gnashing at a deer carcass while another held its gaze on its surroundings while a third slept beside it on the ground; two sets of glowing yellow eyes watched me silently as I stood frozen in fear behind a large oak tree; it stood on all fours and was taller than any man in town twice over; its fur was blacker than any shadow I'd ever seen; its teeth were long like daggers; its red tongue hung out of each mouth like those dogs we keep on our farm during winter--but this beast's tongue dripped blood not snowflakes; its tail wagged back and forth slowly as it waited patiently for one head to finish eating so another could take over; each head took turns chewing away at the deer carcass until finally every last scrap of meat had been devoured by three hungry beasts not unlike wolves--but unlike any wolf or dog known to man--this beast cast no reflection in any nearby puddle or pond--and no dog barked at its presence either; how could such a thing be real? How could such a thing exist? And yet there it was--as real as my mother waiting at home for me--and there I stood frozen in fear just like her waiting outside for me in the darkening twilight shadows of dusk; only seconds earlier, she wanted nothing more than to protect me from this creature--but now--she watched motionless behind a tree with equal parts curiosity and fear--wanting to protect herself from this monster while simultaneously shielding me from harm; watching this strange creature eat with anticipation and wonderment while wanting nothing more than for us both to walk away untouched from this encounter; knowing full well we couldn't do either without risking our lives or reputations--what would mother do next? She must have realized that in order for either of us to survive this encounter--we would need help...