Lilly nun's Arc

Chapter 1 of 5

Every child in Hanging Meadows wore one of Lilly's reed bracelets. She braided them herself, by candlelight, in the schoolhouse that hid the sealed well beneath its floor. The village loved their gentle teacher. None of them knew she came to loosen the old stone lid and wake the hungry thing that slept below. The seal was close to breaking. For weeks Lilly had pried at it after dark, when the children went home. But one child would not go home. His name was Tomas. He lingered each evening, kicking the bench legs, asking questions. Tonight he pressed his nose to the window and watched her cross to the back room where the well waited. "What's under the floor, Miss Lilly?" he asked. "I hear it breathe." Lilly's hands went still on the stone. If he saw her at the well, if he told his mother, men would come with lanterns and ropes. The seal would be reset. Her work of months would end. Her owl shifted on its perch in the corner. The bird had glass-clear eyes and a pale, flat face. It watched the boy without blinking. Lilly smiled and knelt beside Tomas. "Would you like to see something secret?" she asked. "Something only the bravest child may touch?" Tomas nodded, breathless. She led him past the well, to the far wall where a carved tree stood. Its wooden eyes glowed green. Blue light ran down the long vines like water. Lilly had kept it covered for years. She uncovered it now. "This is the Wisdom Tree," she said softly. "Look into its eyes, Tomas. It will tell you a story." The boy stepped close. The green glow filled his face. His mouth went slack. His questions stopped. Lilly held her breath. The owl spread its wings once, then settled. Minutes passed. Tomas did not move. He stared into the glowing eyes, quiet at last, lost in whatever the tree showed him. She had meant only to calm him. But the boy would not turn away. His small fingers rose toward the vines. When she touched his shoulder, he did not feel it. Fear climbed Lilly's throat. She had not understood the tree's full power. She could not break its hold on him, and she could not send him home like this. She wrapped the covering back over the glowing eyes. The light vanished. Tomas blinked, swayed, and smiled at her with empty calm. "I'll be good, Miss Lilly," he said. "I'll keep your secret." He would. She saw that plainly now. The tree had taken his curiosity and left him hollow and obedient. Her secret was safe. But when his mother came looking, she would find a changed son. And Lilly had just learned that the thing beneath her floor was not the only hunger in this room.