I know they’re watching me. They’re looking over my shoulder as I write this, but I know they won’t stop me. This all started when I was young. I’m back to “normal” and in the human realm, but they never stray far. My mother was the spiritual type and we lived close to the forest. She always warned me about strange and fantastical entities and to never go into the forest alone. Now I understand why. She always did strange rituals, like putting slips of paper with strange symbols in corners of the house, leaving out caps of honey and milk, as well as sprinkling salt in doorways, and putting iron in pouches over the door. She always said it was to appease the “fair folk” but make it clear they weren’t welcome inside. Do you know the fairies from Tinkerbell and such? The friendly ones that are joyful little winged people? That couldn’t be farther from the truth. More like small gods that see humanity as their prey and playthings. This was confusing, but I helped her when I could. I wish I had asked more. I wish she had told me more.
Fast forward to when I turned 13, it was a full moon and my mother seemed especially on edge, so I thought I would go pick her some flowers from the forest. They were beautiful in that time of the year and I was sure they would make her happy. As I approached the trees, I immediately heard whispers and glimpses of movement. Being the dumb new 13-year-old I was, I walked further into the forest, ignoring all the warnings my mother ever gave me. By the time I realized the whispering was only getting farther away, I had lost sight of the house. It was getting dark and I felt scared. I tried walking back but I’m pretty sure it just made things worse and eventually I was reduced to a crying mess, crying for my mother to find me.
It was only after five minutes of sobbing that something strangely repulsive approached me. A short stature, covered in feathers with large animalistic eyes on a spindly body. It spoke in a way that was raspy and almost indiscernible, but I was just able to make it out,
“Young little thing lost and alone. Mayhaps you need help?” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I almost didn’t, but the word help trumped everything else as I leaned down to see the thing better,
“You can help me?” It nodded enthusiastically.
“I can lead you back home, only if you come to help me with an errand” An errand. My mother ran errands and they always lasted for just a little while. I nodded, not realizing this sealed the next few years of my life,
“I’ll help, what do you need me to do” It grinned wickedly at me,
“You’ll be taking care of me until I die.” Suddenly the world started to spin a little, and my stomach felt like it was going to flip. I blinked once and it was over. We were suddenly in a different forest. One that was vast with trees spanning upward for miles. In the distance a constant fog seemed to roll against an invisible wall, obscuring anything that was past it.
Everywhere were similar creatures to the one I had just agreed to help. Ones of similar size and look, others that were more my size, and some that barely looked recognizable. It would almost be beautiful if not for the fact I was horrified. I was farther from home than ever and just agreed to a task that would bind me to this thing and its world for an unseeable amount of time. The small bird-covered thing seemed to beckon me to follow. Not knowing what else to do, I followed it to what seemed like a hold in the base of a tree, leading into an underground room. The walls were earthy and lined with roots, it almost looked like a living room. Tunnels led off into different rooms I couldn’t see but I wasn’t concerned about that. I simply sat on the ground, too shocked to cry or do anything really. The thing simply shrugged and murmured about letting me get adjusted before waddling away.
I’ll write more later, they’re starting to make me feel uneasy, even if they’re just watching.