It was a warm Saturday morning, and with a gentle cool breeze, it was, what one would consider, a perfect day. Youngmi stood in front of the open window breathing in the fresh air. She had woken up late in the morning, 10:43 a.m. to be exact. It wasn’t usual for her to sleep in for so long. She had gone to sleep late the night before, having wanted to finish the book she was reading before she had to return it the next day.

 

She took in the sights and sounds and lovely smell of spring of the outside world. Absolutely wonderful. And thus, this day, she decided, was going to be great for reading outside. She stepped away from the window to begin getting ready.

 

After bathing and drying her hair she threw on a simple green dress that reached just below her knees. She walked over to the standing mirror in the corner of her room to make sure that she looked okay. Spinning from left to right she felt content with her appearance, though she debated whether she should put her hair up. In the end she decided against it. She gave one last look in the mirror then moved over to her bed. Youngmi pulled on a pair of socks, grabbed her book, and made her way downstairs.

 

On her way down the staircase she stopped near the bottom to admire the picture of her with her parents. The photo of herself sitting on her mother’s lap while her father fondly looked upon his family. Youngmi’s eyes traveled to her mother, with that beautiful smile that many people had come to love. How many years had it been since she passed? Youngmi counted in her head, five years it had been, such a short time that felt like an eternity. She turned away and continued down the stairs before she could start crying.

 

Youngmi nearly ran into her father as he rounded the corner from the hallway next to the staircase. He grabbed onto her shoulders to steady the girl so she wouldn’t fall down. Youngmi smiled brightly up at her father, and watched as he returned the gesture.

 

“Where are you going out to today?,” the man asked, taking in his daughter’s appearance.

 

“I need to return this book,” she said as she held up said object. “And since it’s such a nice day I was planning to go out to the field and read a book I have been wanting to read for a while now.”

 

The man grinned, his daughter was just like her mother, always reading. Even though the love of his life had passed away he still had a reminder of her. The most beautiful daughter any person could ask for.

 

Shaking his head of thoughts from the past, he reached out to hug Youngmi and kissed the top of her head.

 

“I’m off to work now, I may be home late tonight. Be safe, alright?”

 

Youngmi looked up at her father and nodded her head. “I’ll be okay, nothing bad happens around here anyways.”

 

“Bad things can happen at any moment, even in places you don't expect. I know you’ll be fine though, you’re a smart young woman.”

 

“Of course I am,” she said proudly, “mother was a smart woman, I obviously got it from her. Although her choice in husband was somewhat questionable.”

 

Youngmi’s father laughed at her teasing, not at all offended by her statement. He too wondered sometimes how he was able to obtain such a beautiful, smart, and wonderful woman as his wife had been.

 

“I love you, Youngmi. I have to go now so I’m not late for the train.”

 

“Love you too, dad,” she said as her father turned towards the front door, and slipped his shoes on before exiting the house.

 

Sighing, Youngmi went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. On the table sat a plate with two sandwiches. Youngmi ate the meal that her father had quickly thrown together for her, taking care to not spill anything on her dress.

 

After finishing, Youngmi grabbed her book that she had laid on the table and made her way to the front door. She put on her slightly tattered shoes, which she had been meaning to replace but had constantly forgotten about.

 

Youngmi and her father lived in a small quiet town. Nothing exciting ever really happened, though somehow there was always gossiping amongst the older women. What they talked about was a mystery to Youngmi, though she never concerned herself with such things, she wasn’t interested in senseless gossip.

 

Their house was on the edge of town, with only a ten minute walk from either direction. It was a bit out of the way, but the two occupants of the house rather enjoyed it. Though sometimes it was a bit of a hassle. Especially when it came to returning home with groceries, or making the trek through the cold winters and hot summers. One might think that having a car would be the smarter option, but as the walk wasn’t very long and the town was quite small anyways, Youngmi’s father felt no need to buy one. They were simply content.

 

Youngmi strolled down the main road towards the library. The street seemed to be quite busy, perhaps because of the nice weather. She passed by familiar faces, occasionally receiving a wave or smile, which she gratefully returned.

 

Youngmi finally reached her destination after having been several times by people, just for them to make small talk. It hadn’t bothered her,  but she was a bit impatient.

 

She greeted the librarian as she entered the building. Youngmi made sure to drop off her book at the front desk before heading off to find the book she wanted.

 

It only took a few minutes to get the book that she was so looking forward to reading. She stopped at the front desk to check out her book. And then she was on her way.

 

There was a large field just outside the town, bordering a forest. Although it was a thirty minute walk to reach the field, Youngmi enjoyed every bit of it. She could look at the new spring flowers that had started blooming, and watch as the bees and butterflies fed off their nectar. The sound of the water rushing around rocks as she crossed the bridge over the river was like music. She also happened to spot a few rabbits nibbling on grass. All the wildlife seemed to take delight in the spring day just as she was.

 

Youngmi’s favorite spot in the vast field was under the large tree that sat closest to the forest. She took her time getting there, not really in any rush at all. She wanted to enjoy much of the day as possible.

 

Youngmi plopped herself down next to the tree. She looked up to the sky for a few seconds, just watching the few wispy clouds that were there. She began daydreaming of what it would be like to just fly up there and rest on a cloud as she read her book. But dreams are just dreams.

 

Her attention finally was brought back to reality, and she flipped to the first chapter of her book to begin her adventure. Page after page was a new place, a new character, and so many emotions you could fill a bathtub with them. A brand new world to get into, completely different from her own. That is why Youngmi loved books so much. She could enter a new reality as many times as she wanted, and not have to worry about losing the one she already had.

 

It hadn’t been very long since she started diving into the story when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to her right only to find that there was nothing. Just the grass and branches of trees moving due the soft breeze. She was about to return to reading her book when she once again saw something. It seemed to be a flash of light, which was strange, she thought, since there was nothing and no one there to produce such a thing. Youngmi stood up to see if she could get a better look, and there it was. A bright purple light floating around. The girl rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t just imagining it. But when she opened them again it was still there, flittering about. Completely forgetting about her book, Youngmi chased after the sparkling light. She desperately needed to know what it was; what could possibly be causing this phenomenon that was happening before her very eyes.

 

The light vanished as she came upon it, only 3 feet from where it had been. A bit disappointed, after all, things like this aren’t an everyday occurrence, she sat down and pouted. But just as she thought about returning to the tree her eyes landed on something, the likes of which she had never seen before. The strangest thing, besides the light of course, that she had ever seen in her entire life.

 

Now perhaps she had been reading too many fairy tales. Maybe, in fact, this was all a dream. Because if it wasn’t a dream, what could possibly explain what she was looking at.

 

In front of the girl was a tunnel. Not just any sort of tunnel, no, this tunnel was made of trees. Trees bent over and braided together to create something so mystifyingly beautiful; no human could ever imagine such a thing to exist.

 

After getting over her shock of everything she had been witnessing, Youngmi jumped up from her spot on the ground and ran up to passageway. She looked all around the inside, admiring the way the trees wrapped around each other. Her attention was quickly taken away when she saw a flash of purple light down the tunnel. Curiosity got the best of her and she began her way through. She hesitated to move a few times on her journey, Youngmi knew that what she was doing may be a bad idea, but she just had to know what was going on. And so she continued, wondering where she would end up once she reached the other side.

 

After twelve minutes or so of walking, Youngmi started to think there would be no end. However, after another few minutes, it was then that she saw light, the sun, shining brightly; she figured she had finally made it and rushed the rest of the way until she made it out.

 

What lay before her was a simple forest. Trees that looked like they went on for miles. She was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t something more exciting. After seeing that sparkling purple light and going through the tunnel made of trees, she had been sure that something even more magical lay in wait for her. But as her eyes roamed over the vast expanse of trees, she realized she was wrong.

Having decided she had grown tired of her now pointless and unsatisfactory venture, she turned around so that she could return to the field, and her book.

 

What she had expected, when she turned around, was for there to be a tunnel, made out of trees, that she had passed through only seconds before. But there was nothing, no tunnel whatsoever. Just forest. She spun in every direction, but no matter which way she looked there was only forest. No tunnel to speak of. It was as if it never existed in the first place.

 

Youngmi then sat down, not knowing what to do. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She had known it wouldn’t be a good idea, but she did it anyway. Really though, she should have listened to herself back there when she first thought about turning around. But now, here she was, stuck in a forest and not completely sure where that forest was. Was it the same forest bordering the field? It had to be, what other forest could it possibly be?

 

The girl really just wanted to sit there and cry, but she knew that would get her nowhere. This forest had to have a way out, as any forest should. So she stood up, took in a breath of air, breathed out, and started walking. She didn’t know where to go but any way should do, right? As long as she came out, it didn't really matter where, she would be happy. Maybe she would end up in the next town over, or just end up back in the field where her book was waiting to be finished. Either way, she was determined to get out.

 

Youngmi decided to go in the direction that the light went. She had seen it just after she stood up, it was quite far away but she had still managed to see it.

 

After everything that had happened she was really starting to believe that this was a dream. And any minute now she would wake up to find herself under the big tree.

 

 

Sanha watched as the girl made her way around trees and over fallen branches of the massive forest in which he resided.

 

It was an accident, it really was. She wasn’t meant to see him when he went out into the human world. He had only gone out because he had never been there before, it was exciting to visit a completely new world. But when he noticed the human girl not far off from where he was, the excitement was over. He knew he had to get back before she noticed him.

 

On his trip he had taken on a human form, a stark difference from his true form. For, you see, he was a will-o’-the-wisp, a type of fairy. The kind that emit a bright light, and if you were to approach it would disappear from sight.

 

And it was at that moment that he realized being a bright floating light was more of a curse. The girl had seen him and was walking towards him. He started off to the tunnel hoping he could reach the end in time before the human girl could step foot inside. That was the only way for the tunnel to close. He wasn’t so lucky however, because when he turned around, there she was, in the tunnel. He took off, adrenaline now racing, he messed up big time.

 

And now as he hid behind a bush watching the human girl tromping through the woods, he knew he would later face the consequences of his misdeed. The boy was not ready to face the punishment awaiting him back home. Although he was really hoping that none of the other boys ran into her, then maybe he’d be spared from whatever punishment that were to be inflicted upon him.

 

However, things didn’t seem to be in his favor, because at that moment a crow swooped down and landed on the boy’s head. He knew that he was caught and he prepared himself. The crow began to attack the poor boy by pecking at his head and clawing his hair.

 

“Ow, ow, please stop! I’m sorry!”

 

For a second the crow stopped his assault on the boy’s forehead, but only for a second. The crow once again started pecking at him.

 

Sanha flailed his arms and grabbed at the crow, but the bird flew off towards the nearest tree and perched itself on a low hanging branch. And suddenly the bird was no longer a bird. It had transformed itself into a boy that looked no older than Sanha.

 

“You know you’re in trouble, right?,” the boy, which was once a crow, announced.

 

“Please don’t tell on me! I’m begging you! I don’t want my dinner taken away again!”

 

The boy above him just smirked. “I’m telling the Prince, maybe I’ll get your portion of dinner tonight.”

 

“You filthy bird!”

 

Sanha reached down to grab a rock to throw, but the boy had changed back into a crow and was currently flying off in the direction of their shared home.

 

That was it, Sanha was doomed. But maybe not, he thought to himself. If he caught the bird before he got home then maybe he would be safe.

 

Sanha was once again in his true form and chasing after the boy, desperate to get the bird before he could be tattled on.

 

It was official. Youngmi was lost. Or at least she figured so.

 

She had been walking forward in a straight line, she was sure of it. However, things seemed strange, it felt like she had been going in circles. It was the third time she passed the fallen tree covered in moss. Earlier when she noticed it, it had been to her left. But on her third trip around, it was now to her right. The forest was messing with her, she thought, it just had to be.

 

The girl started rubbing her temples, she felt a headache coming on.

 

The sound of rustling leaves brought her attention to the log to her right, only to see something she definitely was not expecting. A fox.

 

Youngmi started freaking out, there was no way she was about to get attacked by a fox. She quickly searched for a large stick amongst the leaves and other flora on the forest floor. Once she found what she was looking for she began swinging.

 

The fox, though, was moving toward her. It somehow looked as if it was amused by the situation rather than frightened.

 

As the fox was approaching her, Youngmi was slowly going backwards, still swinging her giant stick.

 

Thump!

 

She had tripped. In her attempt to keep the fox away she didn’t notice the tree root that extended out of the ground. The girl was now laying on her back, with eyes closed. She was now waiting for what she had been trying to avoid. But it never came.

 

Youngmi peeked open an eye. And there it was. A hand?

 

She opened her eyes, and staring back at her was a boy. Youngmi sat up and looked all around her but the fox was nowhere to be seen. She was certainly confused.

 

“Are you not going to take my hand?”

 

Her focus was now on the boy in front of her, with his hand extended in her direction. She hesitantly reached out and grabbed it. The boy pulled her up quite hastily, which forced her to steady herself once she was on her feet.

 

Youngmi took a good look at the boy. He was rather short, she noted. She wondered if he was middle school aged, he certainly looked much younger than her. He seemed charming, kind of cute with his slightly crossed eyes.

 

The boy took that opportunity to speak, seeing as how she wasn’t.

 

“Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

 

Youngmi was pulled out of her thoughts and simply nodded at him.

 

“I’m okay,” she said.

 

“Good! Well, now that I’m sure you’re not hurt, what is your name?,” he chirped.

 

The girl was slightly taken aback by his demeanor. He was quite… cheerful. A little bit too cheerful for her taste.

 

“Youngmi.”

 

“Ah, well it’s nice to meet you Youngmi, I’m Myungjun,” the boy grinned at her. She was getting kind of creeped out by his constant smiling.

 

“How did you get here? You shouldn’t be here, you know.”

 

She just shook her head at this, “I’m not exactly sure what happened. I came through the tunnel and then it was gone, and now I’m lost, I don’t know where I am, I’m positive I’ve been through this area several times…”

 

“Well,” he interrupted the girl’s rambling, “I can help you.”

 

“You can?” Youngmi looked at him almost disbelievingly.

 

“Of course I can, I do live here,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

 

Youngmi was unsure of what to do, but seeing as it was the only (and smarter, she hoped) option, she nodded her head. If he lived there then surely he knew a way out.

 

The boy understood the small nod.

 

“Follow me,” he smiled, “We’ll be there in no time.”

 

She didn’t know where ‘there’ was but she hoped it was a way out. She really did not want to be in the forest any longer. Youngmi was putting all her trust in this boy to get her someplace safe.

 

And so they moved on.

 

It had to have been an hour since the pair started walking. Youngmi was quickly losing hope in ever getting out. She was also questioning if the boy had any idea where he was leading them.

 

The boy suddenly stopped, causing Youngmi to slam into his back, as she wasn’t exactly paying much attention.

 

“Why did you stop?”

 

He turned around and looked at her, a grave look on his face.

 

She knew, she somehow knew what he was about to say, and she was absolutely dreading it. She didn’t want to hear the words that were ready to spill out of his mouth, but spill they did.

 

“We’re lost.”