“Don’t go too far, Nova!” a woman in her early thirties warned. The young girl she was calling after spun around to wave. The child then ran off to the field near her home with her small hedgehog trotting beside her.
“Come on, Sam! You can
roll faster than that!” Nova giggled as she watched her pet somersault
down the grassy hillside. She reached up to her head and removed
a small metal pin, allowing her shoulder-length, glossy black hair to topple
onto her neck. Tossing the pin carelessly aside, she tumbled down
the dewy slope. She was met at the bottom by her hedgehog, who immediately
began to lick the honey-sweet dewdrops from her nose. Nova giggled
with childlike innocence as the little creature’s soft tongue tickled her
face.
Sitting up, Nova dashed to the
center of the deep green field where an ancient poplar tree stood proudly.
Young as she was, the eight-year-old girl was an expert at climbing trees,
and she was rapidly able to shuffle her way up to the lowest branch, which
sat about fifteen feet up. Perching upon the limb, she hugged the
trunk for support and then closed her eyes as the cool breeze softly kissed
her face. Hearing a light scratching, Nova smiled to see her beloved
pet desperately trying to climb the tree to join her. She was about
to climb down when a sudden, inexplicable impulse caused her to turn her
head. She was dismayed to discover that, rather than softly rolling
hills, there was a large forest at the edge of the field.
Overcome with curiosity, Nova
expertly slid to the ground. She reached down to pat Sam’s back,
never taking her eyes off of the mysterious forest, which had so suddenly
replaced the familiar hills. Accompanied by Sam, she cautiously approached
the trees.
Nova was awed by the majestic
tree that stood before her. She did not recognize the tree as any
particular type. The trunk resembled that of a pine tree, but the
specimen that towered before this little girl was certainly not pine.
All of the light green leaves were broad and flat, and the lowest leaf
was about twenty feet above the ground. The branches of this tree
were short and spanned a very little distance away from the tree trunk.
Looking deeper into the forest, Nova noticed that all the trees were nearly
identical to the one that stood before her. Also, though the trees
did seem to be randomly placed, all of them were at least four feet away
from each other. Nova looked at the ground and was intrigued to discover
that there was no foliage or even dead brush on the soil. Instead,
a soft layer of rich brown topsoil blanketed the forest floor.
A little ways off, Nova could
make out a narrow, winding path of light yellow dust. Having been
told by her mother to always follow the path, Nova promptly directed her
steps to this road. Sam seemed hesitant, but being the loyal pet
that he was, he followed Nova to the path. As Nova walked down the
path deeper into the forest, the air rapidly became dense, and the weight
of it on her flesh gave Nova a sense of foreboding. She looked at
Sam, who appeared to be just as on edge as her. She was going to
turn around, but she felt strangely drawn to this forest. Something
about it dissuaded her from leaving.
Nova continued along the well-worn path for some
time. The air was a bit lighter now, but there was still a quality
hanging in the atmosphere that gave Nova an uneasy feeling. After
a while, Nova encountered a fallen tree, which lay across the path, blocking
it. Noticing several patches of bright green moss, Nova inspected
the log for signs of slugs. Curiously, she found no slugs, snails,
insects, or even fungus. The only sign of life on this log was the
moss. Nova, relieved that she was in no danger of squishing a slug,
sat on the log. Using her hands for support, she swung her legs over
the fallen tree while Sam crawled under it. Then they continued on
their way.
A short ways beyond the fallen
tree, the young girl stumbled upon a key that pulsated a bright lime green
color and was lying innocently in the middle of the path. The key,
about the length of Nova’s index finger, was smooth as satin and warm to
the touch. It seemed to possess its own energy source. The
awed Nova wordlessly placed the key safely in her pocket and continued
along the winding path.
All this time the trees had
remained somewhat evenly spaced, and their branches seemed to hug the trunks,
so Nova was naturally surprised when she nearly walked into a branch that
spanned the path. Not wanting to stay in one place too long, Nova
was about to duck under the branch when something shiny caught her eye.
There, hanging from a small twig by means of a rounded handle, was a simple
crystal drinking glass. Silent up until now, Nova gasped to discover
such a valuable keepsake hanging from a tree branch. “Look, Sam,”
she breathed as she fingered it lightly. Being a firm believer in
“finders keepers,” Nova carefully removed the glass from the twig and,
deciding the object was far too precious, besides being too big, to be
stored in her pocket, she held it securely in her hand as she continued
down the path with Sam obediently following.
The pair had not travelled far when the tiny hedgehog
discovered a small pool of water next to the path. Nova took a closer
look at this miniature puddle, which was the only sign of water she had
seen since having entered this wood. The water was a shade of pale
blue and clear as glass. Nova could feel its coolness emanating from
the surface. Deciding that the water was fit to drink, she dipped
the crystal glass into the pool and extracted some of the liquid.
Raising the glass to her lips, she drank. The water was sweet as
sugar on her tongue. Its crisp coolness surged through her veins
and provided much needed relief from the stifling forest air. She
poured what was left of this heavenly nectar out of the cup onto her hand
and offered it to Sam, who drank eagerly. Her thirst not yet quenched,
Nova once more lowered the cup into the pool, but before she could remove
it, the water became ice. Nova allowed a small scream to escape her
lips as the splendid crystal cup shattered from the pressure of the ice.
Leaving the broken cup, the
frightened Nova quickly scooped up Sam and fled down the path. Running
as fast as her eight-year-old legs could carry her, Nova barely had time
to stop as she rounded a curve in the path and nearly rammed herself and
her pet into a brick wall. The ominous barrier spanned the entire
path. It took Nova very little time to decide that she could certainly
not go under, over, or through this wall. Wanting to put as much
space between her and the icy pool as possible, she promptly stepped around
the wall, which did not extend beyond the road. Feeling a bit more
secure now with a wall between her and the spontaneously formed ice, Nova
slowed her run to a walk. She put Sam down, and the two proceeded
on together.
Nova and Sam had been walking
for about an hour after encountering the wall. Nova was just thinking
about how she would be late for dinner when she noticed a plain wooden
door in the middle of the path. She looked behind it and on either
side but failed to discover a need for this door. She took the simple
brass knob in hand and turned it in an attempt to open the door.
She pulled violently, but the mass simply would not budge. Remembering
the key, she removed it from her pocket. The key, which now glowed
lime green continuously rather than pulsating, fit perfectly into the keyhole
beneath the knob. The door now moved freely and Nova quickly flung
it open and was relieved to discover that there was a grass hill behind
it rather than more forest.
Overcome with joy at the prospect
of finally getting out of the frightful wood that she felt had completely
consumed her, Nova dashed through the door and up the hill, hoping to roll
down the other side. It was too late when Nova realized that the
other side of the hill was not a gentle slope. It was a cliff—a deep,
ravenous gorge. Nova screamed frantically as her body hurtled towards
the razor-sharp boulders down below, but her cries were in vain, heard
only by her squealing hedgehog.