The Forest

The Beginning

Moonlight shining bright, revealing a path leading to a forest.

"Never, EVER, visit that forest at night!" the townfolks warned.

That forest, the mysterious forest. The moon shone right on the purple leaves, making it seem as though the trees are glowing, beautiful, mesmerizing, inviting the lost to wander in, explore, find the beauty, and never come out.

Legend says, all kinds of magical creatures dwell in that forest. They became active at night, under the moonlight, preying on whoever wandered in.

I sat on the steps to the small, but cozy inn I'm staying in, sketchbook in hand, ready to draw away my sadness and ever increasing dizziness. "Oh, miss traveler, are you not cold in this weather?" the kind old lady, the owner of this inn, said, while handing me a blanket and a hot chocolate. "I hope you don't mind a cup of hot chocolate?" the lady asked. Of course not, I answered, closing my sketchbook, putting the blanket around my shoulder and sipping the hot chocolate. The hot chocolate is sweet with a hint of bitterness, seemingly taming the ever growing pounding in my head, though just for a little bit. "Dear, you're quite pale. Are you sure you're okay?" I only smiled, and assured her it's normal for me to be this pale by this point. "Is that so? Anyway, I've never really caught your name." she said. I brushed her question off, telling her I'll go inside soon, and that she should get some rest. She caved in after a lot of reassurance, and finally went in.

I continued sitting around for a couple of minutes, before standing up and catching a glimpse of shining purple leaves. I stopped, wondering if I'm seeing things. Taking my chances, I decided to search for this beautiful plants, blanket around my shoulders and sketchbook in one hand. I decided to leave the hot chocolate on the steps.

I walked around, taking in the scenery of houses and shops, covered in light frost. My boots crunched on the snow, filling in the tranquil silence. And then, just for a little while, a short, beautiful singing filled the air. My ears perked up, listening for more of that sweet voice. The singing continued after a little while. I followed the sound, standing in front of a forest. The singing stops as soon as I stop walking. Silence fills all around. I gaze upon the forest, breath caught in my throat. The forest, a beautiful, glowing, purple forest. Light flashes inside the forest just for a moment. I took a step, then another, growing more and more immersed in each passing second. A sudden ache from my head broke me out of my trance. I'm inside the forest. The forest with glowing trees. The forest with magical creatures in it. The forest that the old lady warned me about yesterday. I panicked, trying to make sense of which way I came in from. I tried going everywhere, but none seems familiar, even with the different trees and unique flowers. I then realize, I have no memory of coming inside this forest. All I remember, is going on a walk, with a blanket around my shoulder, and my sketchbook in hand. I checked myself, finding my sketchbook in my tight hold and the blanket warm around my shoulder. I wandered around for a while, with little to no clue on how to get out. Sadness hit me yet again. If I'm leaving this world anyway, disappearing in here doesn't sound half bad.

I'm walking around again, this time with more care for the inhabitants of this forest. I walk for a bit more, before stopping to sketch some funny looking mushrooms. They're pretty though, and glowing too. What I noticed, is that I'm not having any headaches ever since walking around in here. Sure, except for that one time, but still. I'm feeling very relaxed and calm, far more than what's allowed for safety, I guess.

I finished drawing the mushrooms, pretty pleased with it. It's just a black and white drawing. All I have is a pencil and a little eraser right now, so I gotta make do with what I have. I continued walking randomly, trying to find more plants that piqued my interest. And suddenly, that sweet singing I heard outside of the forest started again. It seemed like whoever let out that beautiful voice wanted me to search for them. 'Come find me,' it whispered. I followed around, straining my ears for more whenever I lose track. After some time, i started hearing more voices, more singing. Eventually, I came upon a clearing. The moon shining directly, the grass glowing beautifully. The clearing is filled with floating shimmering colourful orbs. They look like... fairies? Like those ones in movies and books. And theres's pixies too, dancing down there on the ground and on top of some mushrooms. Well it shouldn't be that surprising, seeing as this is a magical forest. That's why the townsfolk stayed out of here, right?