Girl With A Hat
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
The night sky was clear, and the moon shone down on a young girl in her early teens. She wore a black dress with white frills that reached to just below her knees. Her long brown hair hung loosely behind her head as she walked through town at an easy pace.
The only thing about this girl that stood out were her eyes—they glowed faintly red.
“I wonder if I should go back home,” said the girl without looking around or paying any heed to those who passed by her. “It’s getting late.”
She had been walking for some time now; it must have already gotten dark outside, but there hadn’t even been a single person passing near her yet. It seemed like everyone else was avoiding her gaze. Even though they weren’t trying to avoid being seen by anyone, no one would look directly at her.
Instead, their eyes kept darting away from hers. They didn’t seem to be glaring at her, either—it wasn’t as if they all looked down when she caught them staring. No matter how hard you tried not to notice someone, once your attention is drawn toward them, it can’t help but return again and again.
This girl’s presence alone made people feel uneasy enough that they couldn’t ignore her anymore. But why? What did she do wrong? Why are so many of these people acting strange tonight?!
As the girl pondered over what might have caused this phenomenon, she suddenly spotted something up ahead: a house shrouded in darkness. People usually avoided going into places like this after dark, since it often meant trouble, but…this place felt different somehow.
There was a sense of peace here, almost like it was inviting her inside. That feeling grew stronger every step closer she got until finally, the door opened before her. As soon as she stepped through, light poured out from within.
A woman stood in front of the fireplace, wearing a thin cotton robe. Her hair was tied up in two tight braids, which fell to her shoulders. On her face sat a pair of large round glasses resting atop her nose. She stared silently at the girl, then spoke. “What brings you here?” asked the old lady.
“Um…” The girl hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should answer or not. Then, taking courage from someone standing right next to her, she decided to speak. “…Are you my mother?”
At first glance, this seemed like a perfectly normal question. After all, it was common knowledge among children that their parents were responsible for raising them and teaching them things. However, this girl had never heard such words come out of her mouth before.
In fact, she’d never spoken to anyone other than her own family members before today. And yet, despite having lived most of her life in complete isolation, she knew exactly what kind of reply she expected to hear.
“…You’re too young to call me ‘mother,’ child,” replied the old lady with a slight smile.
That’s right! No matter how much time passes, mothers always remain beautiful!
The girl smiled back at her. “Thank you very much!”
Then she turned around and ran off. Everything had gone according to plan. Now it was time to get ready for bed. Tomorrow would be another day full of new experiences.
***
Morning came, and the girl woke up. Today was a special day—she would begin her journey to become a witch!
After eating breakfast, she gathered together everything needed for the trip. First, she put on her hat and coat (which were both lined with fur), then pulled the hood over her head. Next, she took hold of her broomstick and wrapped her hands around its handle.
Finally, she tied her shoes, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door.
Her destination was a small village located deep in the mountains where witches lived. Although no one living there could ever prove it, rumors claimed that the area was cursed, and that evil spirits roamed free.
The villagers believed that the only way to protect themselves against these creatures was to gather together and pray for protection. So far, none of them had died, and they continued to live peacefully each year.
But the girl had no intention of praying for anything.
Instead, she planned to use magic to drive the demons away.
When she arrived at the outskirts of the village, she found a few other girls waiting nearby. They were all dressed similarly to her, except for their hats. One girl had a wide-brimmed straw hat, while another wore a knitted cap trimmed with lace.
Both looked like they wouldn’t stand out at all if they went into town.
In contrast, the third girl had a large floppy sunhat decorated with flowers and ribbons. If she walked around wearing something so bright and colorful, she would definitely attract attention.
“Hey, isn’t that the girl who lives with us?!” shouted the second girl.
The first girl nodded. “Yeah, I know. She’s really pretty, huh?”
They began whispering about the newcomer behind her back. They were probably talking about how cute she was, although it was hard to tell. All three of them turned to stare at the girl as she approached, but she ignored them completely.
Instead, she kept walking straight down the road. It wasn’t long before she reached the entrance to the village.
One by one, the other girls followed suit. Soon enough, everyone was standing outside the gates.
“Good morning.” The girl waved to the guards without turning around.
“Oh, good morning. Welcome to our village,” said one guard, bowing his head politely.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t allow visitors during the festival. Please leave now.”
“Huh? But why?”
“It’s dangerous to go anywhere near the forest. Demons are known to attack people when they least expect it. We’ve been warned to stay clear of the woods until the festival is over. You’ll just end up getting hurt if you try to enter.”
“Wait, demons?! Is that true?!”
All eyes in the crowd shifted toward the girl. Everyone wanted to know more. Was she telling them the truth? Were these demons real, and did they actually exist somewhere in the forest? Could they even be defeated using witchcraft alone?
A loud rumble suddenly echoed through the air. At first, the villagers thought it was thunder, but soon realized it was coming from inside the forest. This was quickly followed by screams, which grew louder and louder.
Some of the girls began crying, and others started running away. A few of them got lost in the trees, and couldn’t find their way back home.
As the commotion spread throughout the village, the guards noticed that the girl hadn’t moved an inch since the beginning. Her face remained expressionless, and she didn’t make any attempt to hide. Then, after several seconds passed, the girl finally spoke: “Well, what do you think? Are these demons or not?”
She waited for the answer, but nobody responded. Eventually, she sighed and turned around. Just as she expected, no one else was left standing beside the gate. Only she and the two guards remained.
“Is this your way of saying you agree with me?” asked the girl.
“We’re just doing our job…” replied the guard. He seemed confused; he must have assumed that the girl would join the rest of the villagers once she’d heard the story.
“You see, my name is Maria. And today, I will defeat those demons for you.”
Maria was born into a family of witches. Since she was little, she had dreamed of becoming a powerful sorcerer capable of protecting anyone who called upon her help. Yet despite having such lofty aspirations, she had never shown any interest in learning magic.
In fact, she hated studying spells and potions. Whenever someone tried to teach her, she would run off screaming, claiming that she had better things to do than learn useless information.
This attitude caused many people to doubt her abilities. When she told them that she intended to become a witch someday, most people simply laughed. They thought it was absurd that a young girl would waste her time on such childish fantasies.
Yet here she stood, ready to put her plans into action.
***
Several hours later, the sky overhead was darkening. The sun was setting, and Maria could already feel the cool breeze blowing against her skin. As far as she knew, there weren’t any towns close to where she lived.
So instead of heading back to her house, she decided to keep going deeper into the forest.
She had only gone halfway through the woods when she came across a small clearing. There was nothing unusual about it—no trees growing tall, no bushes rustling in the wind, and certainly no demons lurking around.
No matter how much she searched, however, Maria couldn’t find any trace of the monsters she had seen earlier.
“Where are they?” she muttered to herself.
Suddenly, she felt something tugging at her clothes. Startled, she looked down to see a pair of tiny hands reaching out to grab hold of her dress. Gasping in surprise, she yanked the fabric away from the child’s grasp.
“Whoa!” cried the boy. He was staring wide-eyed at the girl. “What are you doing all the way out here? Why aren’t you home yet?”
The boy was wearing raggedy clothing made from animal skins. His hair was messy and unkempt, and his body was covered in dirt. It wasn’t surprising, given that he spent most of his days wandering around the forest.
He was clearly a wild child, roaming freely through the woods. Still, he was surprisingly calm for a kid so young. Perhaps that was because he was used to being chased by wolves. Or maybe it was due to the constant hunger pangs gnawing away at him. Either way, the boy showed no signs of fear.
“Are you looking for someone?” asked Maria. She smiled warmly at the boy.
His eyes widened in shock. Did she just say she was looking for someone? How could that be possible? After a moment of silence, the boy finally answered:
“Yes… Yes, I am! My mother has been missing for weeks now. Every day, I search the forest hoping to find her.”
Maria nodded silently in response. She understood exactly how he felt. Although she had grown up surrounded by other children, she rarely interacted with them. That was mostly because she preferred spending her free time reading books rather than playing games.
But still, she often wondered if she would ever find friends like the ones in her stories.
Then one day, a strange man appeared before her. He claimed to be a wizard and said that he could grant her wish. All she needed to do was give him some of her blood. Once he drank it, he promised, he would use his powers to bring her beloved parents back to life.
That sounded wonderful, but Maria hesitated. She worried that the man might try to trick her somehow. So she went to ask her grandfather for advice. Thankfully, he was able to convince her to trust the stranger. He assured her that everything would work out fine.
Even though she didn’t believe him completely, she eventually agreed to let the old man drink her blood.
Afterward, Maria walked over to a nearby stream and washed the taste of iron from her mouth. Then she returned to the cottage to wait for her parents’ return.
But after several long months passed without anything happening, she became frustrated and started questioning whether or not the magician really existed. To make matters worse, her grandfather died soon afterward.
Now that she had nobody left to turn to, Maria grew even more desperate.
One night, she wandered deep into the woods, searching for answers. Eventually, she found a cave filled with bones and skulls. Inside were dozens of skeletons lying motionless on the ground. Some of them were human, while others belonged to animals.
Yet despite their differences, each skeleton bore an identical mark carved into its forehead. And this marked them as the same person.
It took Maria a few moments to realize what she was seeing. These were the remains of her own family members. Judging by the number of bodies inside the cave, she realized that everyone who had once lived in her village had disappeared. At least, they had until she was born.
A cold sweat broke out on her brow. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to imagine the faces of those she loved most.
The End