Willow Creek Village

“I’m walking through the woods with a witch,” I mumbled as I studied the piece of paper with my full name on, wiping spider webs off my face as I stumble through the woods behind said with.

“Still, yes,” Kyo sighed, as he paused his stride to allow me to catch up once more.

“Damn these spider webs,” I hollered as I caught up to him, swiping madly at my face and arms, lucky I didn't give myself any paper cuts.

“What spider webs? I’m walking in front of you and haven’t hit any,” Kyo replied, struggling to stay patient. I suppose I owed him credit for that. He did save me from a weird animal I had never seen before and was now taking me to his village for answers.

“I don’t know, I can’t actually see them, just feel them on me,” I explained, a shiver running down my spine. Kyo studied me for a moment before his eyes lit up.

“You must be able to feel the essence of the forest!” he exclaimed happily.

“The what?” I asked, brushing my arms once more for good measure.

“When we were escaping the bull earlier, I took us from your forest and into mine. We are in an enchanted forest that is filled to the brim with magical essence. You must be able to feel it,” he said smugly as if this should make perfect sense to me.

“That thing was not a bull,” I replied, crossing my arms, crumpling the note. I shoved it hastily into my pocket.

“That’s just what we call them. Beasts like that are usually illusions created by witches, they don’t always look like that.”

“So why were we running away from an illusion?”

“Well, if the witch is powerful enough, the bull can hurt you.” Kyo wrung his hands, worried about something he wasn’t telling me.

"Okay and I'm supposed to be safe in this magical forest where I have to swim through its 'essence?'" I itched my arm, though we hadn't moved for me to hit another cobweb sensation. Kyo looked thoughtful for a moment as he met his chin with pointer finger and thumb.

"Well, you don't have to fight it. You can absorb the essence," Kyo suggested. My eyes widened at the idea. "I just mean the fact that you're a human who can feel the forest's magic means you may not be totally human. You could have magic in you, so by absorbing what the forest has to offer may help you unlock some of your power. I'm doing it right now." Kyo spread his arms and took a few sweeping steps away from me.

I watched him for a moment, scared to move, frightened to breathe, but most of all, fearful to think. I'm not...human? Is that why Kyo received a note with my name on it? Was a witch trying to hurt me with their illusion? Is Kyo tricking me? He has supplied me with more than enough evidence that witches were real. We did escape the bear with a ram’s head by running impossible speeds. We have entered a part of Tree Trunk Grove I don’t recognize. The trees here seem older, more beat up. The bark is scraped off from many and the foliage around us isn’t just green. I’ve spotted pants I’ve never seen before and haven’t seen or heard a single animal. Not a chirp from a bird, squeak from a rodent, or buzz from an insect.

“Violet?” Kyo said, standing in front of me once more.

“You don’t think I’m human?” I whispered, meeting his gaze. His brown eyes softened as he realized my inner turmoil.

“I don’t,” he replied honestly. “I think you’re a witch too.” He ran his hands through his black hair, it flopped lazily to the side. I noted Kyo wasn’t sweaty anymore, did witches get tired when they used their powers?

“Do you want to try to absorb some of the forest’s power?” Kyo asked gently, holding out his hand. I eyed his fingers suspiciously, before placing my quivering hand in his.

“Okay,” I sighed, closing my eyes.

“So, right now you're thinking of the essence as pesky spiderwebs, instead you need to believe what is actually hitting your skin will benefit you, and instead of flinching or brushing it away, accept it.” Kyo took a step backwards, pulling me along with him. I opened my eyes as the first sensation hit me, my muscles tensed, but I didn’t move my free hand to swipe away the webs, just squeezed Kyo’s hand as he guided me through the magic. Tangible magic that I could absorb into my witch-skin.

At that thought I flinched hard, swiping at my face, Kyop snatched my other hand, causing me to meet his eyes. I grimaced, relaxing my arms in defeat, closing my eyes once more, trusting Kyo to lead me through a clear path so I could focus on not hating the sensation of essence on my skin.

I tried focusing on something else. The feeling of Kyo’s skin on mine, how I trusted this man enough to close my eyes and allow him to guide me through a forest I did not recognize. How he saved me, lent me some of his powers so I could keep up with him as we ran.

I opened my eyes realizing I couldn’t feel the spiderwebs anymore.

“Is there no more essence?” I asked, taking my hands back. Kyo cocked his head at me.

“There’s always essence,” Kyo answered. I looked up as if I could see it, since I could no longer feel it. I walked a few paces ahead of Kyo, no longer feeling the webs. I did a little hop and skip, letting out a gleeful howl. I ducked down, slapping both hands over my mouth remembering that we could very well have been pursued.

“Sorry,” I said quietly as Kyo caught up to me, wearing his own grin.

“No need, we should be safe, we’re right outside Willow Creek Village where I live,” Kyo informed me.

“You live out here?” I asked, squinting through the trees to see if I could spot any buildings. Kyo nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah, it’s easier. Humans aren’t very fond of witches, so most of us just live where they can’t get to us,” Kyo’s eyes watched his feet as we moved through the woods.

“Oh, right,” I replied, embarrassed. Up until now I always thought I was human and they don’t have the best track record. Hate because of religion, race, gender, sexuality. When does it end? When do we accept each other solely on the fact that we are all human?

“Well, to be fair witch trials and stuff were an archaic practice due to religion. Humans have gotten a little more accepting,” I tried weakly, not fully believing that myself, seeing as my friend’s grandmother was ridiculed for living in solitude. I had heard the word witch thrown around when it came to the old woman, and it was almost never in a positive light.

“You’ll understand better when you see the village. We’re allowed to just exist, not having to hide or fake anything,” Kyo clarified. I nodded, understanding well enough.

“So what was it like growing up in the woods surrounded by witches?”

“Oh, it was great. We studied nature, learned from the trees, and studied how to unlock our magic,” Kyo answered excitedly.

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live like humans do?” I asked shyly.

Kyo shrugged. “I did it briefly a couple years ago. I moved to Sunset City for a couple months and didn’t really understand.”

“That makes two of us.” I grinned, earning a smile from Kyo.

“My mother was all about me exploring my options, my dad, however, was not a fan. My parents haven’t really spoken since my move to the city.”

“I’m sorry.” I bumped against Kyo gently.

“It’s not a big deal, I moved back to find my dad had moved, but we still keep in touch.”

My chest tightened as I thought of my mother who abandoned me when I was a baby. Kyo seemed to notice, about to touch my arm to stop my stride, but I pointed out the first building we’ve seen since we started our trek. It was on the other side of a stony creek.

“Is that your village?” I asked, starting for the edge of the water, calculating which stone to hop on first. Kyo knelt to the ground, placing his finger tip on the surface of the water. I watched as several wet stones rearranged themselves to create a bridge for us.

Kyo led me across, looking back for only a moment, causing the bridge to dismantle itself. We approached the first house, it was made of simple bare boards and the windows were holes cut out of the wooden wall. Peering inside, the house looked empty.

“It’s an illusion,” Kyo informed me as he guided me deeper into the village. We passed houses of various sizes, but no people. I watched ahead of me as Kyo seemed to be bowing his head in respect to nothing. He did it several times before I caught up to him in order to whisper:

“I can’t see anyone.” I scanned the area more carefully to make sure. Kyo stopped walking in order to face me.

“Close your eyes,” he commanded gently. I obliged, feeling his fingertips on my temple. I felt warmth fill my head and spread through my body. I opened my eyes, seeing several people watching us, and the houses had transformed into much more extravagant homes made of stone or painted wood. They had windows and sometimes even ornately carved front doors. Kyo led us on until we came up to a little house covered in ivy.

I followed him into the house, finding a woman sitting at a dining table, sipping out of a tea cup that had a marigold hand painted onto it.

“Mother,” Kyo bowed to the beautiful woman who had long, raven hair braided down her side. She wore a silk robe as if we had caught her just waking up.

“Kyo,” she replied in a bored tone. Her eyes locked onto mine and a small smile pulled at her lip.

“Mother, this is Violet, I met her in Tree Trunk Grove being attacked by a bull.”

“Oh?” she cooed as if this was a normal occurrence.

“Yes and she is able to feel and absorb the essence of our forest,” Kyo went on excitedly.

“Well I would hope so,” Kyo’s mother finished her tea, pouring more from a pot that had a whole bushel of marigolds on it. I looked at Kyo who narrowed his eyes.

“Mother, what do you know?” Kyo asked, his tone hardening.

“More than you, obviously,” she replied, sipping from her steaming cup.

“Mother.” Kyo took a step toward the table. His mother sighed and set the tea cup aside.

“Honestly Kyo, I had hoped you’d recognize your bride.”