|Prologue|
Her little feet crunched along the forest floor, cold and prickled with soft grass. She’d run out without shoes again—something daddy had told her not to do here. It was dangerous, he’d said, to run around a farm with no shoes. Too many things to cut little toes. Too many prickles and rocks and scraps of wood to splinter her feet. But she thought it was fun to dance in the swaying grass and feel the tingling that seeped from the earth—so much so that she wanted daddy to feel it too. But when she’d told him about it, he only looked at her funny and told her to go back inside. And she thought he must have been angry at her to make her go inside when it was still daytime out. But she’d listened.
She’d gone much further than the farm this time... but she’d be okay with his anger if he could just find her.
It was so dark. Leaves danced in swirling patterns, somehow visible in the dark. Even the stars wheeling overhead didn’t care to cast their light this far into the forest, yet everything around her remained just barely visible. As if lit from an inner glow.
The urge to go exploring had come to her out of nowhere. Daddy had been fighting with Grandpa again, and they’d left her behind like a forgotten dream. He’d never done that before. So, after sitting quietly and waiting a while, she’d made up her mind to go look for him.
For hours, she’d stumbled in the fading light, looking at her surroundings with new eyes. The fields she’d looked on with such delight, filled with the tender shoots of plants, now seemed endless and looming. The sky that had been bright blue on her first day, hung with a heavy, ominous gray that seemed to darken with every step. Even the animals—the sweet cows grandpa had let her pat and the funny pigs that rolled in the mud of an old storm puddle—had disappeared for the night, leaving the air unerringly quiet.
And her father... he was nowhere to be found.
So, she’d kept walking. Past the barn, beyond those fields, and into the trees where the grass was green, vibrant, and soft beneath her bare feet. Only when the sun set did she get truly scared. Until she saw the light in the distance.
There was something different about these trees. She didn’t know why, but every so often a light would pop up and she would go chasing after it until it disappeared, plunging her into darkness again. It wasn’t until the third time that she thought maybe the light was playing with her. And she began to wait.
Every time she stopped to wait, the light would appear again, and she’d start running. Tripping over roots and skipping over rocks, she danced with a sureness she’d only known for the short time she’d been in this forest.
But now the light was gone. She had no idea how far she’d gone or in what direction she could return. The momentary fun she’d had playing with the light had faded, and the darkness became a living thing.
The fear that she’d forgotten now returned tenfold. Where was she? She wanted her dad to come pick her up and carry her home. She wanted to see her mom again, to be wrapped in her arms till her tears dried up. Nothing about this was fun anymore. The wind no longer felt mysterious, it was scary and cold. The dark and the way the trees loomed closer made her tremble.
Are you lost?
She jumped. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. A scream was clawing its way up her throat as she turned and turned, searching for whoever had spoken to her.
Don’t cry.
The little girl quickly wiped away any traces of tears. “I’m not crying.” But even as she said it, more tears poured down. She’d been walking so long her feet hurt and her stomach ached. And though she was scared, after that second time she’d heard them speak, she knew which way to turn.
The wind whispered through the trees, carrying a murmur of voices as she crept closer and closer to where the figure stood. Light broke through the canopy, illuminating a large, round face. Whoever he was, he wasn’t moving, and all of his features were shrouded by a hood. Further she went, her feet suddenly sliding over something smooth and cold—stone, worn down with age. Her heart thumped wildly, hands shaking as she danced between the desire to move forward, and the urge to run.
“Who are you?” Her little voice shook. She took another step closer.
Footsteps thundered towards her, the night crushed with sound. Her name was called, hands reaching out to grab her. She screamed.
