Roanoke

The ship had just left when she came from the woods.
” You have no right to this land,” she said “, And your presence is unwelcome”
A native it seemed. No need to escalate the situation. Stepping forward I offered my hand. She did not take it.
“We do not seek to harm you” I said with a disarming smile. “We wish to live amongst you in peace”
“You do not respect her, and she will taste your blood”, said the native woman
“Who are we disrespecting,” I offered unsure of where this was going.
The native woman bent down and touched the earth.
“The mother weeps, you do not respect her.” She said.
I had heard that the natives of this land worshipped false gods. They worshipped the earth under their feet. And the trees and things like that, but to see it in progress was, in a word, laughable. Hard to believe. How I wish we would have believed.
With an uneasy laugh “I’m sure “The mother” won’t mind letting us take a few things.” I said, stepping forward towards the woods.
The native woman stepped forward “You cannot take what does not belong to you and You can not stay here. Pay for what you have stolen and leave.”
She was certainly brave, stepping to a bunch of strangers like us. with no clue what we might have brought with us.
“Look, miss , we are settling here. Whether or not you like it. We have been authorized to do so by the king. So excuse us ” I say as we move past her into the woods.
She didn’t move to stop us this time. She just spoke once more
“You will pay for what you have stolen”
And that’s when the holes started appearing.
Mother nature’s maw opened wide. One by one they were all swallowed by the earth. And I watched horrified as all over the settlement people were swallowed, buildings tilted and toppled. Everything we had built was destroyed, everyone I knew was gone. In only a few seconds. The native woman behind me cackled.
“The mother will take what’s due to her. She has named her price.”
Cackling, the native woman walked out to the tree line.
I remained, alive and horrified. Having witnessed the gods of this strange land enact revenge on my friends and family, I wanted nothing more than to leave it all behind. Without a ship though, my only option was to wait.
“Why was I left untouched?” I asked, already dreading the answer.

“Like I said, She will taste your blood”, the native woman replied. As she reached the tree line she placed an index finger on the bark of the tree and as she did it felt as if she had penetrated my chest with a knife.
And slowly she began to trace her fingers along the bark savoring each second as the invisible blade in my chest mirrored her fingers movements
“C”
She lifted her finger momentarily and turned to look at me.
“You should have left”
She touched the bark once more and I screamed out in pain and again the blade in my chest was mirrored by her fingers on the bark.
“R”
This time she didn’t pause she moved on to the next letter. She cackled while I screamed and cried . Our voices mixing together. A symphony of torture and glee. I was no longer standing. I writhed on the floor covered in blood and tears and hear in my head
You do not respect her, and she will have your blood
“O”
A sobbing, bleeding mess, I lay face down. Anticipating the stab to indicate more torture was coming. But nothing happened. I looked up and saw the native woman, standing over me with a smile.
And slowly she turns to leave.
“Why finish?”, she asks, turning back one last time with a smile that struck terror into my heart “After all, this is just the beginning.”
And then, opening her maw wide, The mother finished what she started.
She has named her price
And she will have what’s due to her.