Chapter 1
Prologue- The Girl in the Forest of Spirits
The gaping wide moon hovering in the night sky above seemed almost too bright, as if it were purposely embroidered. But the gentle pouring of moonlight made the colours in the darkness glow more richly. In the day, the forest would be a lush luxuriant green endowed with fertile hills, with teal moss boulders scattered all over- bringing about the eternal respite of spring. The arid winds would then blow through the clumps of trees, cutting the thin air like a scythe. But in the darkness, it seemed as though they were squirming about, like malformed wriggling tentacles tangled amongst each other- the quiet interlude almost clawing the dusky twilight.
The lull between night and day in the forest seemed to continue like an endless cycle, but tonight yielded a first strange calmness.
Tucked under a wizened old wisteria, above the valleys of flora, an open cage placed peeking out from beneath its branches that hung, cold and shivering, in the frigid night. It was sombre-looking, unlike anything else in the forest. Despite its iron bars being bathed under the same moonlight, it did not shine but withdrew further into darkness. It was as if it repudiated anything on the outside from approaching it, even mere luminescence. The heaviness that could be felt billowing around the surrounding could only be described as heavy as rising dark water.
There was a separate thing that was being shined upon by the light. It was not the cage, but rather the girl who was within.
The girl was attired with dirty rags similar to what a beggar would wear. It must’ve been several days since she was able to last wash, since there was dirt smeared over here and there. Occasionally, the moon would get covered by clouds for slight moments before reappearing once more, and every time the moonlight would descend once again upon the girls skin making her shine brightly every time. The resident of the cage resembled her detachment to her quarters- her tinge of whiteness seemed so far off reminiscent against the place where the black bars were dispatched from, a land of treacherous skies and loughs brimming with fathomless gloom.
“Those moons...”
There they both were, a perfect pair. Ripping massive holes through the heavens, they seemed like a pair of eyes themselves. They seemed to stare at her. Looking up through the forest, she would wondered what they would look like from the top of a tree.
“They’re so pretty.”
She lifted her hand and tried to touch the moons, but there was no way she could reach. It was okay though, because the moons were places no human could reach.
“Hey, up there, you pretty moons!” she screamed as loud as her tiny lungs could muster.
“Can you... won’t you eat me...?!”
The two moons began to sway back and forth and her heart began to beat faster.
“Leave, human.”
A resonant, thunderous voice shook the darkness to its roots. Hearing the voice made her seem happy, and she made a large, cheeky grin.
I’m so happy, she thought.
“Leave. I dislike humans.”
