Irina Muravskaya - Trap. Fantastic fiction

“Look, thank you… I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Victoria whispered to her dress and sat down on the grass. “How did you manage to do it? Did we cure it??

“Yes, she’s not hurt anymore…” She heard back.

“I think, I can now distinguish your voice in my head and don’t confuse it with my thoughts! Cool, we have improved our contact! And a thank you for warming me up, otherwise the water was really cold.” Victoria smiled.

The dress didn’t answer, nut small multicolored rays ran across the collar.

It was late in the evening when Victoria and the goat came slowly to the hut. After tying the goat, Victoria went into the house and laid out all the wool she got, near the chests. Trap was not at home. Victoria laid down on the chest. She felt exhausted.

“Something must be done with the goat. I should milk it. Otherwise, she’ll be in pain, besides, milk won’t hurt.” Victoria smiled wistfully. “The barrel will do fine.”

After looking all the possible options for milk, Victoria left the house.

“Let’s go to the river,” Victoria untied the goat, gently patting her on the head. “Let’s go, wash off the road dust. You’ll have a drink, too. Everything turned out just fine! How come? I never imagined in my whole life that I could milk a goat.” Victoria admired in surprise, and, catching a clearly embarrassed shimmer of iridescent flowers on her collar, she quietly thanked the dress. “Thank you so much, I hope you’ll help me out me with a shawl, too, will you? I can’t do it… I know that you are helping me, I don’t possess knowledge like this, even in theory.”

“Well, now you do,” she heard an answer.

“Good! Thanks!” Victoria was inspired.

Time passed… Victoria span wool into yarn, and now knitted a shawl. She gladly walked among the woods near the hut, bathed in the stream; cooked food. She got along with the goat, and would often talk to her. The goat would walk alongside the house and, not running away. At first, Victoria was very afraid for it, but Victoria’s dress calmed her down, saying, that no one would touch it… The beasts from the woods avoided Trap’s house, and Victoria noticed this.

The dreams bothered her… Victoria was really homesick, she dreamed of her mother, her lab, a warm bath and a strange bird that pecked her when Victoria was about to take the book out of the chest… Sometimes she went desperate, unable to get out of this strange place she… How much longer will she have to live in the forest? One could only guess. She only hoped, that once she’s finished with the shawl, she might be gone. But the knitting moved on very slowly. It seemed to Victoria that as soon as she have finished it, Trap would let her go.

Victoria often put her dress to the question and asked to explain some unclear issues, but the dress addressed only the everyday questions, although Victoria seemed to befriend it.

Trap would always return by night. She brought prey and disappeared from the house by dawn, barely even speaking to Victoria.

It was like that, when sleeping Victoria felt her eye on her, slowly opened her eyes and jumped up sharply.

Trap was sitting next to her, looking at the mirror.

“Get ready,” she said thoughtfully, without looking at Vic. “We’ll go to the old swamp today. Oh, I miss it so much. It’s my favorite trap, you can get an eyeful of it!”

Trying not to think about anything, Victoria quickly put on her dress and silently looked at Trap.

“What a cunning creature you are! Cunning, indeed! Why don’t you ask why I’m taking you with me? Not even a thought in your head! Have you finished my shawl?” She bent over to Victoria’s face.

“It’s almost ready,” answered Victoria, gasping.

“Good, well done… Get some food for the road. You are rather reasonable, by the way… Well, whatever,” Trap waved her hand, got up and left the house.

Victoria quickly put the fried meat in a knapsack, grabbed the matches and salt and popped out of the house.

Trap was sitting on the door sill, gazing at the stars. It was hard to tell the time of day, she had long ago ceased to use the concept of time. She breathed in some light, fresh forest mist, she realized that the dawn was coming.

They went for a long time, and stopped only by night. Victoria collected firewood and built a fire. She laid out the supplies and started cutting meat for dinner.

“Why don’t you read the books? You like to discover new, don’t you? You have a great chance… I do not quite understand you.” Trap asked gently. “And what is that bird you’re thinking about all the time? None is here, isn’t it?”

“Why do you even need my rubbish?” Victoria sighed wearily. “You are on vacation, take a rest…”

“Don’t you get smart with me!” Trap snapped. “If I ask you a question, all you need is to answer it, don’t push it.”

“Well, I do not know what kind of bird it is.” Victoria answered honestly. “It pecked me a couple of times, by the way, when I took the book. I’d also like to know, what that was.”

“Ah, everything is clear, it’s your mother… Argh, I’m sick and tired of you both, can’t get any rest!” Without saying another word, she went down to the river, leaving Victoria completely confused.

“What about the dinner?” Victoria said quietly to Trap, trying hard to understand her words. “Dress, honey, maybe you will explain me what she said about my Mom?”

The dress flashed thoughtfully.

“I know you can talk to me, I can’t decipher your shimmering… At least a couple of words, what happened to my mother… She disappeared, and I worry so… Well, think about my mother, please… What? Do you know about books in the chest?”

The collar blushed with a bright green light, and Victoria heard its joyful words in her head.

“You read them and become a superb witch, and you will always be with me, I like you so much!”

“Why did the bird peck me if the books are good?” Victoria continued in one breath.

“Your mother sent a bird. She doesn’t want you to be a real witch…” Squeaked the dress and stopped abruptly.

“Dry up, you, rag!” Trap appeared all of a sudden, out of the blue, her evil eyes sparkling.

“A unique bug she has, she can hear everything!” Victoria thought, and a chill instantly ran down her spine. “Powerful help and constant control at the subconscious level is a new word in science!”

“That’s right,” she heard Trap’s husky voice in her head. “You are clever. Don’t you beat about the bush with a dress. It’s bored, and it’ll gladly tell you too much. You, dress! Don’t relax either, it’s the real witch that we have here, since she managed to teach you to lie! I don’t give a damn about your science. Once came to me, don’t forget that you’re on a visit… And don’t spoil my vacation, I can get really angry.”

Victoria was sitting on a thick fallen branch silently. Nice talk.

“All right,” Trap snorted. “Let’s have supper and get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go into the swamp, it’s not far away…”

“My swamp! My quagmire! What happened?” Trap was literally freaking out.

“What’s wrong?” Victoria asked excitedly.

“Everything! It’s a mere puddle, it’s not what my favorite swamp used to be! What is left of it? How did it happen? Why? Trap ran along the bank of the quagmire, stroking the wet slime. She was furious.

Victoria looked at the vast forest swamp in confusion and did not quite understand her despair.

“It was giant, do you get it! Why is it vanishing?” Trap screamed in a shrill voice, so that all the birds around took off, as if they were blown away by the wind.

Victoria closed her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. “There must always be a reason,” flashed the thought.