Fae-ish: 1

The leaves spoke with each step I took. They cracked and rustled, wept and laughed, scolded and protested.

But inside my house next to the forest my family guffawed and chugged beer. I guess that why I was out here, because I was never one for raucous or boisterous actions. I was the quiet one in my family aka for weirdo. Mom had married into a family of part going drunkards who never found the time for silence. I suppose that word wasn't even allowed in my house, the only time I found silence was in the forest or late at night. Dad must've been the worst one of all he-hawing and slamming his fist into the already broken den table. I found it hard that mom and he had connected enough to marry, because she was the exact opposite of him.

So I found solace out here in the woods alone. It was a place where I could sing without someone telling me to shut up, and without my dad criticizing all my peculiarities. I suppose it would have been better if I had been a boy like my little brother. Thinking about him now made me shake my head. Brandon my fifteen year old brother had grace, strength and healthy lungs for talking up a storm, whereas I had clumsiness, fragility and the love of all things quiet.

I closed my eyes at the thought of inferiority. All I would ever be is that seventeen year old nerdy daughter who spent her days tripping in the woods and reading books long into the night.

The air tasted of freedom. The sun no longer shone on my dark brown skin, instead I was greeted with a cool breeze, like the forest was a separate world. That's why I loved it so much; it made me happy to be alone out here where I could think.

Everything was going great so far, but then I felt my foot catch onto a tree root and I went sprawling onto the hard earth.

But it didn't hurt.

Weird.

I didn't feel like getting up and dusting myself off.

I'll just lay here until the sun goes down....maybe I'll stay here forever.

A flare of fire changed all of that.

I scrambled up, if there was one thing I was afraid of it was fire.

It was a burning tree looming over me.

I backed away fast wondering why I hadn't seen that before tripping over the root again and landing on my butt.

"Ow!"

That time it did hurt. Ugh really bad.

Then I saw something strange in the flaming tree. I saw a face, then the limbs appeared and it became a whole body stretched two-dimensional along the tree.

I opened my mouth to scream.

"Shhhhhh." A soft voice lulled in my ear.

I crab walked backwards thinking it was a ghost.

Then I blinked and when I opened my eyes the flames were gone and the tree was, still a tree. It was the same like nothing had happened.

"Wow."

I stood up with shaking legs and walked around the tree touching it and examining it for any sight of the boy.

"Looking for something."

I jumped at the voice.

"Hey, names Aiden."

A tall boy with caramel skin and curly black hair held his hand out to me.

I held my hand to my chest to control my breathing.

The boy. No. Where had he come from?

"Aidennnnnnn." I said his name slowly and dragged the end out.

I looked at him like I had never seen a creature like him before.

He frowned at me and then dropped his hand.

"I guess I'm being too friendly."

I backed away from him hitting the tree.

"Where did you come from?"

He smirked and said in his deep voice, "My mother's womb."

"Ha ha freaking ha." I glared at him.

"Sarcasm is a very interesting thing is it not."

"Cut the crap Aiden I know you were on that tree."

The look on his face made me doubt my sanity.

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Ye-ye-yes." I stammered.

"And since we're talking about what we know, you should know me."

All I knew was that we had one class together and that was the one I ditched occasionally. Gym.

"Yah I know you."

"Since I told you my name can you tell me yours?"

I turned around in the direction I had come.

He was creeping me out; it was time to get back home. Sigh. I had no idea that freaks roamed the woods.

I looked at him once more before I turned around and left.

"Essence, my name is Essence."