FRIENDS OF THE FOREST
A girl walked through the forest, dragging her dog along behind her. She had a red button coat, brown winter boots, and black hair braided in two parts on either side of her face.
The dog didn’t want to go into the forest. He had a very good reason: the forest was scary. And dark. And the wind was whispering the stories of those who had ventured into its branches before and stayed forevermore.
The girl was only four years old, but her adventurous and inquisitive spirit had already started to flourish. Her mother and father had warned her to stay away from the dark forest because it was dangerous. But the little girl wanted to hear what the wind was saying. If she got closer to the whispers, maybe she would be able to hear…
The dog whimpered as the girl tugged his leash, giving him no other choice than to follow her as she delved deeper and deeper. Soon the little cottage on the hill was blocked by the weaving, gnarled branches of the forest’s trees.
As they traveled farther and farther inside, the branches became denser. The ground was a mix of greens and blues, like a woven quilt of wildflowers and grass. Rocks congregated at the base of the trees, like eager students preparing to absorb the wisdom of experienced teachers. Any path that might have been was long forgotten.
The girl stopped. The dog pulled desperately on his leash, trying to lead her back to the safety of the cottage. The girl ignored him and instead stepped out into the clearing that had suddenly appeared.
She dropped the leash. The dog looked around nervously, unsure of whether it would be okay to leave, even though he desperately wanted to. The girl walked toward a towering oak tree in the center, as if possessed, and looked up at it reverently. She took a forward step and the winds stopped completely. The dog, sensing the unnatural change in atmosphere, bolted, but the girl either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She placed her hand on the tree.
She went completely still. Slowly, her fingertips started to turn brown. A thin layer of dark, craggly bark grew out of the outer layer of her skin, moving up her arm, across her chest, and down to her feet. Spindly branches grew from her arms and legs, stretching and curling outward as vibrant green leaves emerged from their ends, spreading outwards as tendrils of cracks do when glass is struck squarely in the middle. The pores of her skin continued to sprout until eventually her whole little form was simply a girl-shaped extension of the tree. A puff of air emerged from her mouth before she was fully transformed into a wooden girl, body, face, braids, and all.
The forest was quiet for one moment more before they resumed their whispers. They had much to talk about.