In the Eye of the Storm” by Reese de Moya

Reese de Moya

“In the Eye of the Storm” First Place Winner: Prose

The crumbling, old wood of the cabin door stares back at her as rainwater comes tumbling down from the sky in fat droplets. She stands there for seconds, minutes, hours, absent from the world around her, her eyesight focused on nothing but the door in front of her, waiting stubbornly for it to open, because it will, it will, it will. She starts to shiver from the icy air, but still, she waits for the door to open. A high-pitched howl crackles through the air like a siren, ringing and bounding off the trees, startling her out of her blissful ignorance. Only now does the sting of the night air seep into her skin, chilling her to the bone, and the shivers escalate. She wraps the thin shawl she has tightly around her, though it helps little since it, along with everything else on her body, is soaked through with water.Another howl pierces her ears, and she cannot help the curiosity coursing through her veins as she turns and takes a step towards the dark wood, squinting her eyes.

Steadily, she progresses forward, her steps careful at first before growing rushed and sloppy. She passes the tree-line and walks deep into the thicket, chasing after the repeating howls like a lost child searching after its mother. Her mind goes blank, focusing only on this sound, searching for something, anything. Maybe it’s her way of subconsciously trying to forget what was behind that stupid, stupid door, and she tries to think past it, but she cannot, so she just searches. And searches. And searches. Rain still pours down, the canopy of the trees offering some shelter against the raging winds. Water patters on the leaves of a nearby bush, and she pauses, if only for a moment, to watch a singular droplet, slowly, so slowly, run down the middle of the greenery, before stopping on the tip of the leaf. Time seems to watch, just as mesmerized as she, and the droplet drips to the ground. She continues forward after the

howl.

The forest swallows her whole as she chases this sound, her body convulsing with sobs that finally break free of her chest. She stops mid-run and collapses to her knees, crying because she is lost, and she is forgotten, and she is nothing. The storm rages on, wind whistling, rain almost becoming hail, pounding on the ground like footsteps following her. She feels none of it though, too worn out and empty to notice. Thunder booms and lightning strikes a nearby tree, but still, she is oblivious. That is, until the howls persist, this time impossibly closer, and she raises her tearstained face up at the sky.Asliver of moonlight peaks out from behind the storm clouds that fill the night sky, shining down on her face and illuminating her glassy eyes. The world seems to be mocking her, showing her something so beautiful, something that lights up the earth when her own little world is

crumbling to pieces. Perhaps it’s trying to send the message that her troubles, when looking at everything from a bigger perspective, are insignificant. Her head whips sharply to the side when the sound of rustling in the hedge breaks through the rain.A blur of dark grey moves in the bushes and she raises herself to her knees, then to her feet, clenching her hands shut to calm their trembling. She takes a shaky step forward, observing the sight before her, looking for another glimpse of what she assumes is what created the curious howl. The trunks of the trees reach up to the sky, the bark peeling and branches poking out at all angles, bearing dark green leaves that fall with the pouring rain. Her eyes search the fields of ankle-deep plants, bright flowers of reds, pinks, yellows, and blues, though it is hard to see through her clouded vision. She stares blindly into the bushes and is about to progress forward when she hears a lowpitched growl over the storm. Amassive creature emerges from its hiding place, grey fur soaked through, making it look thick and heavy. Its eyes glowed green like the pine trees that surrounded her, their irises tinted with a ring of yellow. It stared her down, top gum lifted to show off its perfectly white and sharp teeth as another snarl tore through its mouth. She slowly backs away from the hungry wolf, scared for the first time and completely aware of the danger she has just gotten herself into. But, at the same time, she cannot help but feeling the same sense of interest as before and has the strangest urge to go up to the beast. In her mind, there is a chanting mantra of masochists, trying to convince her that a bit of reckless behavior is healthy, while her small sense of self-preservation screams at her the opposite. The storm finally slows, and the rain halts its pouring, if only for a few minutes, and the silence that follows is deafening. As if summoned by the quiet, a whole pack of wolves, all slightly smaller than the original one who seems to be the alpha, appear, all standing in a circle around her. The voices telling her to be rash calm before fully disappearing, as if even they were frightened by this circle of wolves, who seem to be eyeing her for their next meal. Her heart beats faster and faster in her chest, and all she can hear is the thump thump thump in her ears as everything else fades away. Everything except for the alpha wolf, who opens its mouth in a vicious smile. It raises its neck and howls into the night sky, and the pack follows. It starts to rain again as the wolves descend upon her and the eye of the storm passes.