Peaches

A sad, lonely woman there was
Face disfigured by fire
Chased from her home in the village
By rocks and words so dire

In the mountains, next to a lake
She came upon a house
Many years ago deserted
By a dubious louse

This place she proclaimed as her own
Isolated from all
A place to learn the healing arts
Where she did not feel small

One day some children found her home
And eggs and dirt were flung
Until the woman drove them off
With a curse that she sung

The children fled to their village
And cried about a witch
The woman in the mountains high
Had cursed them all to itch

The village elders grumbled much
Divided on a rule
But in the end, they made a sign:
Beware the witch is cruel

Several mornings after that
The woman was at peace
A sound she heard while on her porch
That startled all her geese

A tiny wheeze and a gurgle
Coming from the lakeshore
There a rabbit with mangled face
Knock-knocking on Death's door

Pity filled up the woman's heart
And brought the rabbit home
Lulled into sleep with a sung curse
Sweet dreams the rabbit roamed

The woman's skills were tested true
She did the best she could
The rabbit's face was stitched back on
Disfigured now for good

Grateful was the rabbit and she
Would never leave the side
Of the woman who had saved her
And looked at her with pride

A bond was formed between them both
They lived quite happily
Until one day the rabbit died
Short-lived that rabbits be

A terrible sound was heard then
Down from the mountain's trail
Into the village it travelled
A screaming banshee's wail

Villagers huddled together
Then travelled up the path
To the uninviting cabin
To face the witch's wrath

They found her then, in quite a state
Hands tearing at her hair
In front of her, a dead rabbit
Deformed beyond repair

"Proof," someone yelled, "she is a witch!"
"Just look at this stitching!"
"We interrupted her dark curse"
"And stopped her bewitching!"

They grabbed her roughly by the hair
And dragged her right outside
A hole was prepared, six feet deep
And here is where she died

The people went back to their homes
As night was breaking free
When a sprout shot forth from the grave
And grew into a tree

The moon above was full and bright
The tree was in full bloom
A stunning dryad woman appeared
Climbing down into the gloom

Into the house, she swiftly went
Retrieving the dead rabbit
Gently placing her by the tree
In a grave she could inhabit

Climbing high into the branches
The dryad then departed
The tree continued growing strong
By magic she imparted

The next day, the villagers returned
To search for any treasure
Amazed to see a full-grown tree with
Ripe peaches for their pleasure

All-day they played, and laughed, and sang
Eating their fill of peaches
When it was time to go back home
They found that they were speechless

Stuck in their place, they could not move
And slowly turned into trees
The curse was for them and them alone
Those peaches are safe to eat

Now an empty rabbit-sized grave
Lies under the woman's tree
Who knows where the rabbit went?
Perhaps it had to pee.


THE END

Thank you for reading!
Ayaris
















They needed my help to locate Misha's lost bunny. The bunny was last seen near a (Mvylzalk shrlzovyl) on the west side of the Northreach. I agreed and suggested they head home and get some rest while I looked for clues.

Penned by my hand on the 6th of Lupar, in the year 815 AF.