Featured Story #14 – The Whispering Woods

We are sharing the next story in our series, Featured Short Stories, written by students in the Creative Writing Club.

Every week, the students in the club work on writing short stories, sometimes from their own ideas, and sometimes from story prompts.

This week’s story was written by Amy, aged 10. Enjoy!

The Whispering Woods

Lily held her basket tightly as she peered into the darkness between the trees. The Whispering Woods loomed before her, its ancient oaks creaking in the breeze. She took a deep breath, trying to summon the courage to step forward.

“Come on, Lily.” She muttered to herself. “Grandma needs that medicine.”

With one last glance at the sunny meadow behind her, Lily stepped into the shadows of the forest. Almost immediately, the air grew cooler and the sounds of the outside world faded away. All she could hear now was the soft rustle of leaves… and something else: a faint whisper just on the edge of being heard.

Lily froze. Was that why they called it the Whispering Woods?

She strained her ears, trying to make out words; but the sound remained frustratingly unclear.

Shaking her head, Lily pressed on. She had to focus on finding the rare moonflowers that grew only in the heart of these woods. That was the key ingredient for her Grandma’s medicine.

As she walked deeper into the forest, the whispers grew louder. Sometimes they seemed to come from the left, sometimes from the right. Once, Lily could have sworn she heard her name being carried on the wind.

“Hello?” she called out, her voice sounding small in the vast greenery. “Is anyone there?”

No answer. There just came more indistinct whispers.

Lily’s heart raced as she pushed through a thick patch of ferns. Suddenly, she stumbled into a small clearing bathed in dappled sunlight, and there in the centre were a cluster of delicate white flowers that seemed to glow with an inner light.

“The moonflowers!” Lily gasped.

But as she stepped towards them the whispers erupted into a cacophony of urgent voices. Lily spun around trying to locate the source but the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.

“What do you want?” She cried out, frustration overtaking her fear.

Abruptly the whispers ceased. In the sudden silence, a single clear voice spoke directly into Lily’s mind.

“Beware the thorns.” It said. “The flowers bite.”

Lily turned back to the moonflowers, noticing for the first time the wickedly sharp thorns hidden among the stems. She gulped, realizing how close she’d come to grabbing them carelessly.

“Thank you.” She whispered to the woods.

A warm breeze ruffled her hair almost like a gentle pat on the head. Lily smiled, no longer afraid. She carefully pulled on her thick gloves and reached for the flowers, ready to face whatever other challenges the Whispering Woods might hold.

The nearest moonflower snapped at her, showing sharp, hideous teeth. Lily took a step backward.

“There’s no use giving up now.” she whispered to herself.

The woods whispered in agreement.

Lily reached for the moonflower. It snapped at her gloves, and though she knew it wasn’t half as bad as not having the gloves on, she winced. Biting her lips, she plucked it from its stem, and it moved no more. She reached for the next moonflower, and the next. They snapped and twisted, and soon her hands were burning and she couldn’t muster up the strength to pluck off the flowers anymore. The worst thing was, she could almost hear the rest of the flowers laughing scornfully at her. Heaving a deep sigh, she looked at the three little moonflowers in her basket.

“Not nearly enough.” She said to herself, rubbing her hands. “Not nearly enough.”

Almost instantly, the woods began to speak again.

“Don’t give up, my daughter.” It said, its voice echoing in the dark trees. “You’ve already came this far.”

Hearing the woods speak again, Lily felt braver. She was glad she had someone on her side, even if she couldn’t see them. She started reaching for the fourth flower, and as the sharp little teeth started to snap at her fingers she plucked it clean off its stem. For the entire night she battled with the biting flowers, ignoring the cruel words they seemed to be saying to her.

Hours had passed when she finished plucking the last flower. Shakily, she got off her gloves. Her stinging fingers were covered with tiny teeth marks. Looking away, she picked up her basket from the floor and started walking out of the woods.

She walked on and on to where she was sure was the end of the woods, but the winding path never ended. She stopped and looked around, and found that she was walking in circles. The empty patch of dirt where the moonflowers once grew was right beside her again. She tried another path beside it, but soon it proved to be no use. She was even more lost, and now she didn’t have any idea where she was.

She sat down beside a tree, put the basket of moonflowers beside her, and cried, until she was so tired, she fell asleep in the woods.

She woke up when she felt something poking at her. She opened her eyes, and saw nothing but a blinding white light. She blinked, and everything came into focus. A white, glowing horse with a horn on its head was looking at her attentively, lighting up the whole forest.

“A unicorn!” She exclaimed, her drowsiness disappearing. “Have you come to take me home?”

The unicorn nodded its head.

Lily stared at the unicorn. It was extremely tall, and she had never mounted a horse before.

The unicorn lifted a hoof, as if telling her to hurry.

Lily picked up her basket and climbed up the unicorn’s back. She felt light and drifty. She grabbed its glowing white mane.

The unicorn started galloping, and Lily found herself magically following its beat, as if she had been riding her whole life. She no longer felt afraid of the forest anymore. After a few minutes, she found herself back in her village before she had fully enjoyed the ride. She tumbled off the unicorn.

“Thank you.” She said.

She watched at the unicorn galloped into the forest with a flash of light.

Lily headed for the front door but stopped once she was in her yard. She opened her basket to look at the moonflowers, and she saw a little pink bunny crouched in it, snuggled among the flowers. It was looking up at her with innocent eyes, as if pleading Lily to take her inside.

Lily put the basket down and picked the rabbit up. She snuggled in her arms.

“She must have followed me from the forest,” Lily said. “Grandma will let me keep her, and I’m going to name her Rosie.”

Holding on to the rabbit and the basket of moonflowers, Lily opened the door and stepped into her cosy living room.

“I wonder if I can go for a walk in the woods with Grandma,” she said to herself. “After she’s better.”

The End

If you have a child who loves writing stories and you want to encourage them to explore their creativity and their imagination, then we would love to have them join our writing club! Just click on the link to register, and we will be in touch. Creative Writing Club – Registration Form.