"Fairy Crossing Chapter One" by Corrine ´Princess Muffin´ Hunsher

Ah, the woods. My second home. The smell of damp leaves, the crunch-crunch
of twigs beneath my feet, the never-ending love song of the birds in the canopy above;
total bliss. Further and further into the woods I went, letting nothing but total instincts
direct me to my unknown destination. I’ve never gone this far into the woods before,
but I didn’t want to turn back yet. With every step I took into the dark abyss of trees and
fog, I felt all sense of humanity leave me. I was becoming one with nature.

Suddenly, I stopped. I found myself in front of an unpaved path, one had never
seen before in all of the three years I had been exploring in these woods. The way seemed
sinister, especially the way the shadows danced across it. The path looked old as if not used
for over millennia. “Should I go on?” I thought to myself as I took an uneasy step towards
that mysterious path. And as if by an invisible switch that was flicked on inside my brain,
I took another, and another. Soon I was at a fast pace, gaining speed with every step I took.

Faster and faster I went. Not realizing I was running now, I almost tripped over
my own feet when I had stopped. Before me laid a field of green. In the middle stood
an oak giant with its hair a deep sage and powerful oak arms hidden beneath. I sensed
something different about this tree, and strange, just like that unpaved path I was just
traveling upon. Cautiously I walked towards the tree, awake and alert. The hairs on the
back of my neck stood on end as my feet came to a rest at the foot of this silent giant
of wonders. My eyes averted downward (and to this day I still don’t know why) to a
strange ring of clumped grass that seemed to surround the tree, as if locking it in some
sort of prison.

Without thinking, I laid my hand upon the trunk of the oak giant, but instead
of my hand laying to rest on its coarse surface, it went right through! Surprised, I lost
my balance a bit an tried to pull my hand out of the tree, but to no avail. My hand
would not come out. An icy feeling spread through my chest, gripping at my heart.
Again I pulled and tugged at my arm to get the giant to let go of my hand, but
suddenly, I felt something tug back. With a startled cry, I was pulled into the tree, but I
felt no pain. It was more like a gushing wind, mixed with the tiniest pricks from hot
embers. It was dark and dreadfully terrifying. Then with another tug I was pulled away
from that exotic, horrid feeling, and pulled into the bright sunshine.