In one small but very beautiful town lived a family: dad Andrew, mom Anna, daughters Mila and Amelia. When the girls were still little, the family was very close-knit. Mom and dad always dreamed of having two daughters, and when their cherished dream came true, they couldn't have been happier. The family often held celebrations, mom baked pies and in the evenings the whole family gathered in the large bright room. The entire household would enjoy tea together.
In winter the whole family would go to the hill to toboggan, in summer they went to the river to swim and play badminton. In autumn everyone would pile into the car and drive to the forest for 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 each other, if one fine day…
Nothing foretold trouble that morning. The children went to school, mom and dad to work, and when they returned, they found in the mailbox a strange telegram: "Coming. Meet me. Aunt Yadwiga."
Aunt Yadwiga was a distant relative of dad's. She lived in a small abandoned village near a cemetery, she had neither cat nor dog, let alone children, she never loved anyone and there were even rumours that she consorted with dark forces.
What could this be 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.
Mom suggested.
Hooray, hooray!
The children shouted. They loved it when guests came to visit. They didn't know how mean and envious their relative was.
That day it rained from morning. The sky was covered with clouds, lightning flashed, crackling thunder constantly rumbled. Such a terrible wind blew and the trees swayed with such frightening force that it seemed they would break any moment and with their sweeping crowns 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 Mila with her umbrella, pinched Amelia and croaked:
Shut your mouths! I don't like it when little brats hover around and disturb my peace.
And a terrible life began. Every day quarrels occurred in the family. The children completely stopped obeying their parents, dad and mom argued every day even over trifles. The family was falling apart, no one went out together anymore, there were no more tea parties 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 cruise ticket for the whole family. Andrew had already forgotten how he once chatted with his colleagues at work and how he dreamed aloud about such a voyage on a ship with the whole family. Perhaps one of them decided to help?
They had to leave the very next day, everyone began packing, not suspecting that it was Yadwiga who decided to finally destroy them, cursing the journey to a deadly misfortune — a shipwreck.
On the second day of the voyage from early morning the sky was covered with heavy ominous clouds. Mom and dad still quarrelled, the sisters didn't make peace either, constantly playing mean 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 unable to withstand the blows of the elements, the ship cracked and began simply falling apart into two pieces. Panic broke out on the ship, passengers rushed every which way, paying no attention to each other…
Andrew opened his eyes and froze in horror. Where was he? What was this? Where were his wife and children? Around him was forest, the father found himself mysteriously in the woods. 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 search for Anna and the girls.
Anna, Mila, Amelia! Where are you?
Andrew shouted weakly and with strain. But his cries drowned in the moans of the plants. Suddenly he saw a horde of giant ants with fangs dragging wounded mom into an anthill. He ran up, desperately grabbed his wife's hand, began pulling and… from exhaustion lost consciousness. Dad came to because Anna was pouring water on 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 mom 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.
Mom and dad with their last strength rushed to search for 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 under the ground, and from the sky descended a lunar path. These two lights joined, 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 seek your daughters? Give your lives in exchange for their lives, and I will return them home!
Take mine!
Anna sobbed.
And mine!
Andrew roared with his last strength.
The earth opened before them, they took each other's hands and jumped into this abyss. The chasm immediately disappeared, the earth closed and the light went out.
Meanwhile the girls woke up on scorching sand. Around them was neither tree nor bush — this was a true blazing desert. Golden sand sparkled under the sun's rays, the air smelled 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.
Mila whispered quietly and closed her eyes. But Amelia — the older sister, suddenly remembered how in childhood mom told the girls about quicksand that drags you into an abyss from which you can never escape.
She screamed:
Open your eyes! I love you, little sister! We need to get out of here, otherwise we'll die and never save mom and dad.
Suddenly some unknown force picked up the sisters and like feathers carried them through the air. 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 became alive, sparkled with bright colours and sounded with kind songs, by the stream with living water suddenly appeared a clearing covered with rainbow flowers and green silky grass. In the middle of the clearing swayed a snow-white enormous hot air balloon, ready for takeoff. So it wouldn't take off before time, mighty oaks held it with their magical branches. The balloon was waiting for its passengers.
Mom and dad didn't perish, that unknown force brought them together with the girls aboard the hot air balloon. The family reunited and all exhausted but happy set off on the long journey home. Anna, Andrew and the girls never learned that this difficult ordeal was the work of Yadwiga, who never appeared in their lives again. And the cottage where the old woman lived vanished entirely along with its cunning, deceitful and vile mistress.
From that moment the family became strong and united. The sisters shared secrets with each other, helped their parents in everything, and mom and dad never quarrelled again, because a strong family — that's what matters most!
