The Dangers

It was the kind of autumn day that always made Marna think of “Scarborough Fair”. The world had tipped into cold, and the grey skies seemed lonely without the sun, and the trees, without their leaves. Marna trudged through the large brown piles, her legs kicking up like wooden toy soldiers. Despite being well into middle-age, she could never resist a pile of leaves or a puddle. As the nest of suburban ranches disappeared from view, her nerves began to tingle and spark as once again, she felt danger lurking.

Though the rational part of her knew she was more likely to be part of a fiery head-on collision within a three-mile radius of her home, she could never quite escape the voice in her head belonging to an over-protective and fearful mother.

She was told to never play in piles of leaves because people both careless and evil, left (or planted) things in there like broken bottles, deep holes, or worse yet, bear traps. “You could get a bad cut or lose a leg and if it’s a trap, you may be kidnapped and made a slave. I’d never be able to find you to bring you home.”

Marna stopped kicking as she couldn’t help but see those tiny possibilities and the fear rippled through her like standing on the platform to jump off the high dive. That primal rush to prevent harm.

Today the childhood warnings were louder than usual, making her feel both nostalgic and queasy.

“Don’t play on that playground equipment! You can ruin your lady parts and not be able to have babies or if you fall off that one thing, your head will break open like a melon. Then what will we do?”

“Don’t jump on the bed! You’ll land on the corner and poke your eye out. Do you want to be blind like Mary on Little House on the Prairie?”

“Don’t go outside without gloves. If your fingers get too cold, the doctor will have to amputate them. That means he chops them off with a big knife. You can’t do anything without fingers!”

“See that mitten there on the ground? That could mean a girl was taken by somebody. She probably struggled and dropped it. Never go anywhere alone. Especially in the woods.”

She still couldn’t see a lone shoe or glove on the sidewalk without thinking “someone must have been kidnapped”. It didn’t occur to her until her 20s that the owners of lost clothing probably didn’t realise they’d dropped something until they were safely at home.

As Marna went deeper into the woods, the trees sometimes started to feel a bit menacing despite their familiarity. Though it took a few minutes, she was usually successful at banishing the fear. This ritual was her way of repairing the damage caused by a somewhat deranged parent.

Usually, she walked straight through the park, staying on the main trails until she’d made the circuit back to her neighbourhood. But as she came to a fork in the path, she noticed something shiny a few feet away on the path that led to the pond. “Murderers like to kill near water because the police dogs can’t smell you!”

She bent down and picked up a small dime and to the left noticed a trail of coins. “Oh come on Marn, this is so obvious! Someone is trying to lure you.” Her mother’s voice held a hint of exasperation.

Marna replied in her head, “It’s probably just Candid Camera or some stupid prank.” She began picking up the coins, feeling rebellious and hoping that she wouldn’t in fact be murdered because of $.78.

As she emerged from the trees into the clearing with the pond, she saw a girl maybe 8 years old standing about a foot deep in the water. “Don’t go in! You’ll get stuck in the mud and can’t get out. You’ll starve to death before someone finds you or fall asleep and fall in and drown!”

“Whatchadoin’?” Marna tried to be friendly and casual, but seeing the child alone made her skin feel prickly. The girl was holding a plastic bag and taking one coin out at a time and throwing it in the water, closing her eyes until she heard the “plonk”.

“Makin’ wishes.” The girl didn’t seem startled and didn’t turn to look at Marna as she answered.

“What for?”

“Can’t tell you or they won’t come true.”

Marna looked around, hoping that a parent would emerge from one of the many trails that led here, smiling and scolding with a “there you are” and a hug.

“Don’t you have any gloves? It’s cold out here. You’ll— “she stopped herself from bringing up amputation.

The girl shook her head.

“I think you dropped these.” She showed the girl her handful of coins.

“Thanks. Can you make a wish? If we both do some, maybe it’s got more power.”

“Sure, but what for?”

The girl hesitated and her eyes became watery and her lip trembled.

“Mom’s in the hospital.”

“Well then, let’s wish real hard for her.” She took a coin, closed her eyes and threw it far. It made a satisfying ploink and she threw another, this time making sure, “Let this girl’s mother be ok” came out before the metal hit the water. She imagined all the horrible things that might have happened but didn’t ask.

When all the coins had been released to do their magic, Marna lifted the girl out of the mud as her shoes were stuck but they came out attached to her feet with a loud slurping noise.

Marna offered to walk the girl home. For the first time, the girl looked frightened.

“I can’t. Dad says I can’t go anywhere with a stranger.” She ran to a path, towards the east, where the trees swallowed her in the inky darkness.

Marna felt the darkness coming for her and started walking quickly, believing more than ever her mother’s mantra.

“Danger is everywhere.”