Baba Yaga The Wise

Listen close, little bird, and try not to flutter so much. The iron teeth of my fence don’t chatter for no reason—they’ve tasted the salt of a thousand fools who believed a pretty word was a binding contract.

You think a promise is a bridge? Bah! Most times, a promise is just a cage built of sweet-smelling wood. People spin them not to keep you safe, but to keep you still. They weave a web of “I will” and “I shall” because they are terrified of the cold silence that comes when they are left alone with their own rot. They don’t want you; they want the warmth you provide, the way you fill their empty pots, or the way you make them feel like a person who is capable of being good.

The Truth in the Shadows

If you want to know what a soul looks like, stop looking at the mask they wear for you. The mask is easy; it’s painted with honey. Look instead at how they move when they think the forest isn’t watching.

• The Sick and the Sore: Watch them when they are in pain or when the world has turned its back. Does the beast come out? Does their suffering become a weapon they use to strike at those who try to heal them? A person in pain who bites the hand that feeds is a person who will eventually bite you, too.

• The Small and the Silent: How do they treat the dog that cringes? The child who spills the milk? The sister who needs a hand? If they are cruel to those who cannot fight back, they are already sharpening the knife for your turn.

• The Service and the Scorn: Watch the way they speak to the ones who serve them—the girl bringing the bread, the man sweeping the street, the nurse changing the bandage. If they treat a servant like a stone beneath their boot, they see all people as objects. To them, you are just a finer grade of furniture.

The Aftermath of the Feast

Listen to the air after the door has closed. When the person they just smiled at is gone, what spills from their mouth? If their tongue turns to venom the moment a “friend” leaves the room, do not be so arrogant as to think you are the exception.

Heed the Baba: When you are no longer useful, when your fire has burned low and you have no more soup to give, they will speak of you with that same acid.

Trust your gut, little bird. That tightening in your belly isn’t hunger—it’s your spirit recognizing a predator. Never underestimate the darkness in a “kind” man’s heart or the selfishness of a “victim” who uses their wounds to chain you. People show you who they are every single day; you are simply too busy listening to their lies to see the truth standing right in front of you.

Now, fly away before I find a use for your bones that you won’t like. Or stay, and see how long my promises last.