by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2024
(Oct. 4, 2024) — It was a crisp, late afternoon when I saw the children of the village gathering and making haste in a single direction. Curious, I followed behind till I came to a clearing in the woods. Here, autumn had already begun to paint a magnificent picture of red, orange, gold and brown. But my eyes were drawn to our apparent destination, a small wooden cottage puffing billows of smoke from its stone chimney, and there, in front, was a middle-aged woman, dressed in dark flowing garments; she wore a tall, lopsided hat atop her head of waist-long, brown hair, which was streaked with silver threads. Bending down, she picked up a black cat, whom I realized had been the children’s leader.
I took a step back, having grown up hearing gossip about this mysterious hermit who lived in her isolated home in the woods. I wanted to hasten back to my own home, but, reminding myself I was an adult, I chose to stay in order to keep watch over the children.
The young crowd assembled happily greeted Antene (as they called her) and began to beg for a story. The woman smiled and nodded. Sitting upon a fallen log, she beckoned the children to take a seat before her around a small fire. I kept my distance in the shadow of a tree, but made sure I was close enough to hear.
Antene began to stroke the cat, who was now lying across her lap with contented purrs. “I shall tell you four stories, one for you to carry with you into each week of this month. They are all different, but all with the same theme, as they tell of things that have meant so much to me since my girlhood. For this time of year is full of mystery, enchantment, fun and celebration of eternal life. That’s what I want you to learn from these stories and this exciting time of year!”