In one small but very beautiful town lived a family: dad Andrew, mum Anna, and daughters Millie and Amelia. When the girls were still little, the family was very close-knit. Mum and Dad had always dreamt of having two daughters, and when their cherished dream came true, they couldn't have been happier. The family often held celebrations, Mum baked pies, and in the evenings the whole family gathered in the large, bright room. The entire household would have a lovely cuppa together.
In winter, the whole family would head to the hills to go sledding, in summer they'd go to the river to swim and play badminton. In autumn, everyone would pile into the car and drive to the forest to pick mushrooms, and in spring they'd plant the entire yard with flowers that bloomed until autumn. And so they would have lived, rejoicing and loving one another, if one fine day…
The morning gave no hint of trouble. The children went off to school, Mum and Dad to work, and when they returned, they found in the letterbox a strange telegram: "Coming. Meet me. Aunt Yadwiga."
Aunt Yadwiga was a distant relative of Dad's. She lived in a tiny abandoned village near a cemetery, she had neither cat nor dog, let alone children. She had never loved anyone, and there were even rumours that she dabbled in dark magic.
What's this about? We haven't seen each other in so many years.
Said Dad Andrew.
Yes, strange. But perhaps after all these years Aunt Yadwiga has changed.
Mum suggested.
Hooray, hooray!
The children shouted. They loved it when guests came to visit. They didn't know how wicked and envious their relative was.
That day it rained from morning. The sky was covered with clouds, lightning flashed, and constant crackling peals of thunder rang out. Such a frightening wind blew and the trees swayed with such terrible force that it seemed they would break at any moment and their sprawling crowns would come crashing down on the house.
There was a knock at the door. The children rushed to greet the guest, laughing loudly and shouting: "Auntie, Auntie's here! Hooray!"
Yadwiga stood on the threshold. Immediately she struck Millie with her umbrella, pinched Amelia, and croaked:
Shut your mouths! I don't like it when little brats run around and disturb my peace.
And so began a terrible life. Every day the family had rows. The children completely stopped obeying their parents, Mum and Dad argued every day even over trifles. The family was falling apart, no one went out together anymore, there were no more cuppas or celebrations, everyone sat in their own rooms. And if something bad happened to someone, the others only rejoiced.
One day there was a knock. Opening the door, Dad saw an envelope on the doormat. Inside was a ticket for a cruise for the whole family. Andrew had already forgotten how he once chatted with his colleagues at work and how he'd spoken aloud about such a voyage on a ship with the whole family. Perhaps one of them had decided to help?
They had to leave the very next day. Everyone began packing, not suspecting that it was Yadwiga who had decided to destroy them completely, cursing the voyage to a deadly misfortune — a shipwreck.
On the second day of the voyage, from early morning the sky was covered with heavy, frightening clouds. Mum and Dad continued to argue, the sisters didn't make peace either, constantly playing nasty tricks on each other. They didn't even notice when the storm began. Huge waves battered the ship from all sides, testing its hull for strength. And then, unable to withstand the blows of the elements, the ship cracked and simply began to break apart into two pieces. Panic broke out on the ship, passengers rushed every which way, paying no attention to one another…
Andrew opened his eyes and was numb with horror. Where was he? What was this? Where were his wife and children? Around him was forest. The father found himself mysteriously in a forest. But what a forest it was! All the trees looked at him with human eyes, the birds had thorns instead of feathers, and the plants moaned as if calling for help. This was an enchanted forest. Gathering his last strength, Dad trudged off to look for Anna and the girls.
Anna, Millie, Amelia! Where are you?
Andrew shouted weakly and with strain. But his cries were drowned out by the moans of the plants. Suddenly he saw a horde of enormous ants with fangs dragging his wounded wife into an anthill. He ran up, desperately grabbed his wife by the arm, began to pull, and… from exhaustion lost consciousness. Dad came to as Anna poured water over him. She didn't have a single wound.
Andrew, you won't believe it! It's simply a miracle! This stream has living water. It healed all my wounds instantly.
And Mum pointed to the stream flowing nearby.
The children, the children, where are our girls!!! We need to find them as quickly as possible. There are so many dangers here, and they're so defenceless!
Dad shouted.
Mum and Dad rushed with their last strength to find the children. Anna and Andrew ran, shouted, and called for their daughters. Their strength was nearly gone, all hope was lost, night was falling. Suddenly they were blinded by a bright light that appeared from beneath the earth, and from the sky descended a moonlit path. These two lights merged, and before them appeared a strange female figure, one half of her body was black as tar — darkness, and the other bright white — light. This was the Mistress of Light and Darkness.
You're looking for your daughters? Give your lives in exchange for their lives, and I'll return them home!
Take mine!
Anna sobbed.
And mine!
Andrew growled with his last strength.
The earth opened before them. They took each other's hands and jumped into the abyss. The chasm immediately disappeared, the earth closed and the light went out.
Meanwhile, the girls woke up on scorching sand. Around them there wasn't a tree or a bush — this was a real blazing desert. Golden sand sparkled under the sun's rays, the air smelt of something very cloying, and in the distance they heard music, as if a thousand beautiful birds were making gentle trills. The girls felt as if they were being rocked, like in childhood, in a cradle.
I'm so sleepy.
Millie whispered quietly and closed her eyes. But Amelia — the older sister — suddenly remembered how in childhood Mum had told the girls about quicksand that drags you into an abyss from which you can never escape.
She shouted:
Open your eyes! I love you, little sister! We need to get out of here, otherwise we'll die and we'll never save Mum and Dad.
Suddenly some unknown force picked up the sisters and carried them through the air like feathers. The girls closed their eyes in fear and surrendered to this unknown force.
In the middle of the enchanted forest, where the trees, flowers, and birds had become alive, sparkled with bright colours, and sounded with kind songs, beside the stream with living water, a clearing suddenly appeared, covered with rainbow-coloured flowers and green silky grass. In the middle of the clearing swayed a snow-white enormous hot air balloon, ready for takeoff. To prevent it from taking off too early, mighty oaks held it with their magical branches. The balloon was waiting for its passengers.
Mum and Dad didn't perish. That unknown force brought them together with the girls aboard the hot air balloon. The family was reunited, and all exhausted but happy, they set off on the long journey home. Anna, Andrew, and the girls never learnt that this difficult ordeal was the work of Yadwiga, who never appeared in their lives again. And the cottage where the old woman lived disappeared entirely along with its cunning, deceitful, and vile mistress.
From that moment on, the family became strong and united. The sisters shared secrets with each other, helped their parents in everything, and Mum and Dad never argued again, because a strong family — that's what matters most!
