The Road that Appeared from Nowhere
It was a strange day when the three women appeared, walking along a long road into the village. Indeed, the road itself was perhaps the most curious affair, for it had appeared overnight where before there had been only a green meadow. Along each side grew tall, gnarled trees, jagged shrubs, and strewn wildflowers—all of an ancient feel that looked as though they had been growing since time immemorial. Of course, no one saw how it was made, nor who put it there, nor how it appeared, or even when. But it could not be denied that the entirety of the village saw the road itself, and, coming down it, the three women. The first woman had the grace of a dancer, the second the stance of a fighter, and the third was bent and wrinkled like an old crone. But all three had a fearsome Fae stare that struck terror into the hearts of the humans who looked on them. It was made all the stranger for it was the day after a village woman had given birth to a child,