This morning I’ve woken up with a vivid image in mind. I’ve been dreaming a lot in the last few days but this morning in particular this image stayed with me for longer than usual as if it wanted to tell me something. As I left my bed, I knew I wanted to write a story about a lonely creature but I didn’t quite know what the story was going to be about. The first thing I’ve done was to scribble down a few notes. Then after having breakfast, I’ve felt an urge to write and here’s the result.

Once upon a time there was a beast. The beast had been abandoned by his owner for too many moons to count. So much time had passed that his once shiny black fur became rusty and grew to cover the whole forest by the village. It was believed that he had fiery wide eyes and a jaw of steel. His head was three times the size of a human head and his claws were sharp long knives. They said his anger consumed him so much that he had no appetite for anything at all. The children of the nearby village were not allowed to play anywhere near the forest nor take any path too close to it. To tell the truth, no one would go near the forest for fear of seeing the beast. It was said that the few people who had seen the beast even for a few seconds left the village and never returned. It was said they had never felt such profound sadness in their lives. Somehow the encounter with the beast had changed them forever.

There were different stories about his owner. Some narrated that he was a writer who became tired of his lonely life and left in search of new adventures. Others say that he was an angry man with no job who was forced to leave the village. But the most common one tells a story of a lovely young man who worked as a carpenter in the little house by the forest. He was a kind person. He would make nice wooden toys for the kids in the village at any time of the year. For many years he was content with his quiet good life and was respected by the villagers. As the time passed, the kids grew up and stopped playing with toys. They all moved to bigger towns and the village was left with no children. The carpenter struggled to find work for many years as the village didn’t need any more wooden toys nor furniture. No one asked for him for days. Days became weeks, months and years. A deep loneliness grew inside him making him unable to rest. A version of this story says that one dark night he decided to go for a long walk and never came back.

Some stories add that a few days later, a young lady came back to the village. She was visiting her parents and remembered the kind man who lived by the forest. She decided to pay him a visit. She searched for him in the house and the forest but was unable to find him. She couldn’t find any trace of him but, as she approached the back garden, she saw the back of a tiny fluffy puppy. As she took a step closer, his size quickly started to change. He was now twice the size of an average human. His bulging eyes filled with tremendous rage looked at her as if to devour her. There was a moment of silence until he starting barking so loudly that the trees were shaking too. She froze from terror for a second then ran away as fast as ever in her life. Even after many years she still couldn’t forget the sinister evil barks that she heard that day. Since that incident, no one dared going by that house ever again. Some people called him an evil monster, others a mutant, but he was commonly known as the Beast of the Forest.

One day, a brave strong old man who lived in a village nearby decided to do something about the situation. As a kid he remembered the forest as a place of beauty and peace. But for way too long the forest had been hunted by the beast. He went alone into the forest with a chain of steel that apparently had been used for Giants many centuries before and was considered indestructible. He soon found the beast and, attacking him from behind, he managed to chain him to the strongest and biggest oak tree in the forest. He thought about killing him but the beasts’ ferocious eyes locked with his and he couldn’t do it.

There was something so unearthly and extremely sorrowful about this creature that he decided to just leave him there.

The man was unable to sleep for five nights straight after that event. Eventually, as the thought of the beast became weaker he managed to get on with his life. But the nightmares would still haunt him.
One night he had a very lucid dream about the Beast of the Forest. He saw him again so vividly. His eyes full of rage were looking for him. The beast was running towards him so fast that he finally broke the chains. He paused for a long moment looking into the man’s eyes. Then he suddenly woke up covered in sweat and with a fast beating heart. He knew he had to go back to the beast. He didn’t sleep nor eat until he got to the forest after two days of travel. The beast was waiting for him. He had always been. He looked fatigued but still had a fierce appearance. His fur was almost worn out and he could barely walk. He didn’t move as he approached him. Now, only a few steps separated the two of them. The man kneeled down. He wanted to say something but was unable to…

His eyes didn’t look threatening any more. The man soon realised the beasts’ eyes were full of tears. He started crying too. As he carefully moved a little closer, all he could see was a sweet tiny puppy. The man hugged him and finally fell in a deep restful sleep. When he woke up the beast wasn’t there nor he could see any trace of him. The only things left were the man and the heavy chain still intact around the tree. No one saw the beast or heard of him ever again.
Since then the man was able to peacefully sleep every night.

As a kid he remembered the forest as a place of beauty and peace. But for way too long the forest had been hunted by the beast.

Do your dreams inspire the stories you write?