Once upon a time, in the days when such stories were possible, there lay a small village. The village lay at the edge of the woods, and beyond the woods was a bridge spanning a great river.

Travelers were warned never to cross the bridge during a full moon, for legend held that doing so would summon a malevolent spirit, known only as Dark Corinne.

The legend went…

Abandoned by her husband and child after an ill-fated affair, Corinne disappeared into the woods, vowing to atone for her actions.

Via whispers in dark alleys, word spread: If a wronged lover stood on the bridge at the edge of the woods under a full moon and spoke a name into the waters below, Dark Corinne would spirit the unfaithful partner away forever.

The number of visitors to the bridge grew, people disappeared, and fiction became fact.

Until one day…

A visitor arrives, claiming to have been Corinne’s confidant before her darkest days.

The visitor, Beth, insists that she must find Corinne, and persuade her to give up her vengeful ways.

Armed with only a roughly sketched map and bold confidence, Beth disappears into the woods to search for her lost friend.

After a week of searching, Beth locates Corinne’s cabin. Wary of her intentions, Corinne banishes Beth, swearing that until her family returns to forgive her, she will continue to try to balance the scales by punishing the unfaithful whenever someone calls her name.

Alone and twisted by regret, Corinne lives in the past, driven mad by a single thought: “What if?”

Beth returns to the village and persuades the village constable to accompany her into the woods and put a stop to Dark Corinne. She tells them there is no hope, the Corinne she hoped to find is gone.

That night, under the full moon, Dark Corinne, unable to face what she has become, stands on the bridge at the edge of the forest. At the stroke of midnight, she speaks her own name into the waters below.

She is never seen again.

The End