Do Kyungsoo laid on his bed, tossing and turning restlessly, listening to the rain drizzle lightly against the window.  It was already midnight and he had just finished re-reading Elantris for what was probably the millionth time.

 The light was turned off in his attic bedroom as he knew that he really ought to go to sleep soon; after all, he did have to wake up bright and early the next morning for school.  But despite knowing he should sleep, Kyungsoo was unable to calm his thoughts and quiet all of his feelings of listlessness.

Rolling over once again, Kyungsoo decided that it was useless to try to fall asleep right now.  Getting up off of his bed, Kyungsoo put on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans over his Batman boxers and threw on an oversized band hoodie over top of his Babe with the Power t-shirt.

Grabbing his flashlight, a lighter, some candles, a water bottle, his pocket knife, and an apple which all got thrown into his shoulder bag, Kyungsoo quietly made his way down the two flights of stairs and to the living room, where he slid his feet into his sneakers and noiselessly made his way out the back door.

Kyungsoo’s house was separated from a small, peaceful forest by his fairly large backyard, complete with an algae filled pond.  As he snuck across the damp grass, Kyungsoo could hear the sounds of the frogs croaking loudly, and the occasional splash as he startled one into the water.

He kept the flashlight off as he made his way across the yard, unwilling to be caught by his mother, but as soon as he reached the edge of the woods, Kyungsoo pulled out the rather old flashlight so that the dull yellow beam could light his path.

Not that he really needed a flashlight.  Kyungsoo was more than familiar with all of the paths in the woods that he so loved, but he knew that a flashlight was a good idea anyway to keep himself from tripping over any newly fallen branches, and to hopefully scare off any bobcats that may be creeping nearby.

The forest was Kyungsoo’s sanctuary.  Ever since he had been a kid, the tall and beautifully old trees that made up the woods always reminded him of the fairy tales and fantasy novels that he so loved.  When he was younger, he would often run off into the tree line to play a game of make-believe, pretending that he was a knight off to rescue a damsel in distress, or maybe he was an elf king protecting his woodland kingdom from those who sought to destroy it.  Whatever the game, it always came to an abrupt end when his mother would call him back for dinner.

As Kyungsoo got older, his games of make-believe were replaced with less adventurous, but just as satisfying bouts of reading, nestled in the branches of some tree or other.  Even then, in the back of Kyungsoo’s mind, he would pretend that the branches of the tree were really the arms of an Ent, holding him up to read over his shoulder.

And on nights like this one, Kyungsoo found himself making his way over to his favorite spot in the middle of the forest, a place he liked to call ‘Spirit Mountain.’  It wasn’t in fact, actually a mountain, just a very large pile of rocks with a stream running around the base of it, but the technicalities were unimportant.  What is important is that Spirit Mountain has a particularly reverent feeling to it.

 For some reason that Kyungsoo attributed to magic, stepping onto Spirit Mountain is like stepping into Fairy Land itself.  There is a wrought iron bench placed precariously on the top of the rocks, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know how it got there.  Again, this is typically attributed to fairy magic.

When, late at night, Kyungsoo finds himself unable to sleep, and the listless feeling and desire for adventure seizes his mind, Kyungsoo walks out to Spirit Mountain, sets out candles, places himself on the bench, and just sits until a sense of calm has once again been restored to him.

Tonight, despite the light rain, is no different.  When Kyungsoo sees Spirit Mountain loom up in front of him, he already feels himself calm down.  Taking a deep breath, he smiles slightly to himself before climbing up to the top where he is greeted by the sight of the wet wrought iron bench, glowing slightly with the reflected light of the full moon.

Setting his bag down, Kyungsoo digs out his candles and his lighter, placing them onto the altar-like stone that rests in front of the bench.  Settling himself down onto the cold metal and curling up inside of his oversized hoodie, Kyungsoo feels the peace begin to take hold.

Shutting his eyes, he listens to the sounds of the insects and small animals of the forest.  The buzzing of the cicadas and rustling of the rabbits are like a balm for his nerves, lulling him into a peaceful almost sleep.

Kyungsoo stays like this for a while, letting the sounds and the smells and feeling of gentle rain drops against his warm skin wash away the restlessness of his spirit.  Soon enough, he feels like he could sleep, a clear sign that it is time to pack up and go.  Reaching out to the candles, Kyungsoo begins the process of blowing them out, but as he extinguishes the flame of the last remaining candle, a hush falls upon his ears.

There are no more sounds of cicadas buzzing in the trees, no more rustling of leaves as the wind blows through their branches, and Kyungsoo is instantly struck with an irrational and uncanny fear that he has never before felt while in his beloved woods.

The moon seems to dim before his eyes and Kyungsoo frantically fumbles around in search of his flashlight, desperate to get out of the woods and into his safe bed.  As his fingers at last close around the flashlight, the heavens open up and the previously light drizzle turns into an all-out downpour, soaking him instantly and making him feel chilled to the bone.

Kyungsoo shivers violently as he begins to climb down the side of the rock pile, but as a luminously bright flash of lightning strikes not twenty feet away from him, accompanied by a bone-rattling boom of thunder, Kyungsoo loses his footing and slips down the pile of rocks, landing in the creek with a splash and slamming his head painfully against a rock.

His head fills with a quiet buzzing as the world goes black around him.