Young Writers Society

Chapter 26

I stared at the words carved into the stone of the cave’s wall. Were these even herbs? I looked outside. Night had fallen. Yet the moon shone so brightly that her beams cast a fair glow over every leaf and clover. The shadows seemed to shrink farther into their corners to escape the moon’s smile.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled back my shoulders and left the warmth of the fire. Stepping outside, a cool breeze caressed my cheek as I looked across the cliff over the expanse of the forest. Squinting my eyes, I could make out a large, looming lump of rock, the size of a mountain, on the other end of the wood. Curious, I stared even harder at the foreign object that seemed so big yet small from where I stood. As my eyes adjusted to the moonlight, something about the rock changed. A faint shimmer appeared at the base of the mountain. I rubbed my eyes, thinking that they were tired from the strain.

However, when I looked again, lights had started appearing all over the mountain, crawling up its peak like little lightning bugs. Before long the entire lump was alit with glowing lamps from windows and I could make out that it wasn’t a mountain at all.

It was a castle.

I breathed a sight of relief. There were other people living in this different world. I could seek help from those that dwelt in that castle. With a deciding nod of my head, I moved across to the side of the cliff and began my descent.

Surprisingly, climbing down the cliff wasn’t as hard as I had imagined. The rocks were covered with moss which kept my fingers from getting raw and sore as I clutched them while I searched for a foothold. And when I lost sight of the rocks beneath me, the moon seemed to shift her gaze till she flooded the slippery shadows with her moonlight till I could see my path again. Before long, I had reached the bottom of the cliff.

“That was quite a climb you had just now, miss.” A raspy voice called out from right by my side.

I threw my fist in the air. “Who’s there?” I demanded.

“What? You can’t see me?” The voice sounded surprised.

“No – not at all!”

“Strange. Are you, perhaps, an outsider?” The voice seemed intently inquisitive.

“Yes,” I replied cautiously, “Something like that.”

“Well, the moon appears to welcome you,” the voice muttered, “Therefore, I, Raffi, bid thee welcome too.”

“Raffi … that’s your name?” I asked, lowering my fist.

“Yes – what’s yours?”

“Kkachi.”

There was a sudden pause and I heard the voice suck in a breath.

“Avacë – is it really you?” The voice gasped.

“How do you know that name?” I demanded, raising my fist once again.

“You don’t remember me?”

“I can’t even see you!”

There was a heavy sigh. “True,” the voice sounded sad, “It must be because of all the years that you never returned. And you promised me that you would come back soon!”

Touched by the stranger’s sincerity, I took a step forward. “I’m sorry that I can’t remember you … Raffi. Where we close?”

There was a sniffle. “I thought so. We even skipped across the moon’s barrier together.”

I frowned. “I don’t know what that means – but I’m sorry.”

“You truly have forgotten haven’t you.”

I shrugged sadly and nodded my head.

“Well, I know how to get you to see me. It worked last time when you first came here years ago. I think it will work again.” There was a rustle in the bushes and I watched, fascinated, as the branches bent and parted under invisible hands. “I always carry some with me, in case of emergencies.” A flask suddenly appeared. “Drink up.”

I took the flask slowly. Opening up the lid, I took a sniff. There was no odour. “What is it?” I asked cautiously.

“Only the purest water from the very spring where the moon’s first light fell when she appeared in Quonxi. It has many healing properties but also gifts newcomers with vision of this world.”

“It will help me see you?” I asked.

“I hope so.”

“It is,” the voice replied, “it’s from the springs that were touched by the

Steeling my resolve, I took a tiny sip. Instantly, my head was filled with a light so bright I thought I would go blind. I felt dizzy and could no longer feel the ground beneath my feet. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my hands against my head.

Then, as soon as it’d came, the light was gone. Carefully, I opened my eyes. Everything was the same – yet it wasn’t. In between the bush and me, the air rippled and I could make out different colours. They weren’t the normal colors from the spectrum of the rainbow. Rather, these appeared to be of variant degrees of shadows. And standing within those shades stood a little man.

He was approximately the size of a dwarf, with a large nose and small feet. His hair was snow white, or as white as a shadow would let it be, and his grey eyes appeared to be laughing at me.

“There, milady,” he chuckled, “See me now?”

I nodded. “Are all creatures of this world invisible?” I asked, thinking of my secret candle friend.

The little man shook his head. “Not all. A few of us were born when the moon was at her weakest. As you can see, that left our bodies more sheer than others. Pray, allow me to re-introduce myself.” He knelt before me and lowered his cap. “I’m Raffi, guardian of the gate.”

“What gate?” I asked, still slightly dizzy from the drink.

“The magic portal that brought you into Quanxi.”

“Oh, you mean the waterfall?”

The dwarf shrugged. “Waterfall, door, gate – it’s different for every newcomer.”

“There are others?!” I asked.

Raffi nodded. “There are some, though very few and far in between. I do believe that you and your mother were one of the last to discover this world. From what I hear, talk has been that all the other portals have been shut.”

“You know my mother?” I grabbed Raffi’s sleeve. Its material was soft and grassy, and as cool as the ripples of a pool.

He shrugged me off. “Of course, I know Ÿĩşŧƍƞ! My mother was her greatest friend. In fact, my mother was the one who encouraged your mother to bring you to Quanxi. Tell me, how is the great lady doing?”

I bent my head low. “She’s dead.”

Raffi started back and then collapsed to the forest’s floor. “No, no, no! That can’t be.” The dwarf was shaking all over. He lifted his head to look at me with tears in his eyes. “How did she …”

I bent on my knee and wiped a tear from the dwarf’s cheek. “I don’t know,” I said, “My memories have been wiped by magic and I can’t remember. A friend has given me a list of herbs for me to collect in Quanxi that will restore them.”

Raffi sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Then I shall help you,” he declared while getting to his feet. “I shall be your guide. What are the herbs that you need to collect?”

I bit my lip and then recited the strange list that had been written back on the cave’s wall.

“Laughing Grass from a widow’s meadow. Weeping Willow Tears in the lonely forest. A Kelpie’s salty fins of truth.”

Raffi bit his lip. “Hmm. A rather odd set of items to collect. I’m not even sure we want to go near a kelpie,” he muttered under his breath before straightening his back with resolve. “But I think I know where to go for those ‘willow tears.’”

“You do?” I asked

He nodded. “There is only one forest in the entire of Quanxi. I guess that makes it lonely … though how an entire wood of trees get lonesome, I don’t understand.”

“That’s wonderful, Raffi!” I exclaimed, “Where’s the forest?”

The dwarf raised a brow. “You’re standing in it.”

I turned and looked about at the circled grove of ancient elm trees that hung their withered, wizened heads above my own. They seemed bowed down by their years of life, the secrets of Quanxi laying beneath their canvas of rough bark. As I stared back at the elms, I could almost imagine a heavy sigh emit through their leaves. They did seem lonely.

Taking a couple hesitant steps, I reached out and lay a hand gently upon the branch of the nearest tree. I stood there quietly, breathing in the smell of moss and bark, the solitude and sadness, and the comfort of the wood. Then, so slowly at first that I barely noticed, there was a slight throbbing beneath my palm. It sounded like a heartbeat, growing stronger and stronger till it was thumping so strongly against the tree’s bark that I thought the wooden seams would burst.

Yanking my hand away, I watched as the tree shook, twisted and turned until it split suddenly into two! Then, like butterflies pouring out of a meadow, stepped out wonderful creatures from the tree’s heart. Small like children, the creatures looked almost human, except for their mossy hair, green-tinted skin, and leafy clothes.

Laughing and chattering excitedly, the creatures linked hands and began dancing in a circle all around Raffi and me. Their brown eyes twinkled brightly as they lifted their small faces to the moon. They continued to spin and dance around us, till I grabbed Raffi’s arm.

“What are they?” I asked him in a whisper.

“I believe they are wood nymphs,” Raffi whispered back, not taking his eyes off of the children, “No one has seen them for years. They disappeared when the portals first opened. We thought Quanxi had lost them forever.”

The children finally stopped dancing, and turned as one towards me.

“Thank you for setting us free,” they said in voices that breathed like the wind, “Our fathers promised us that one day you would return to play with us.”

“I?”

“Yes, Avacë,” spoke a little boy, “We used to watch you dance as a child years ago. Sometimes your fingertips would brush against our fathers’ branches and we would almost be set free. But you were still too young and not strong enough. Now the power that is in you has unlocked the key to our fathers’ hearts.”

“Why were you trapped?” I asked.

A young girl stepped forward. “I’m the oldest and I remember best. It was years ago, before you or your mother was born. A great power was wrought, but it was not of Quanxi. It tore a rift and portals were opened to another world, the very same which you herald from.” She paused. “Do you perhaps know the power I speak of?”

I bit my lip. “I think my grandmother had been born.”

The nymph nodded. “Our fathers sensed the birth of new life that had caused this rift. Terrified for our safety, they swallowed us to keep us safe till further investigation. But, once they realized that there was no danger – it was too late.”

“What happened?” Raffi asked.

“Their bark had hardened,” the boy nymph stated, “Only the hands of that power which they had run away from would free their children.” He turned to me and bowed. “Is there anything we can do to thank you?”

“Do you know of a weeping willow?” I asked, “I need her tears to bring back my memory.”

The nymphs gathered together, their little heads bumping against each other as they whispered urgently. Then, they all turned as one with arms outstretched till they were pointing deep within the forest.

“She of which you speak is our mother,” they spoke in unison, “You shall find her at the heart of this wood, mourning over the loss of her children. Comfort her and send her our love, for we are still too weak to see her ourselves.”

I bowed. “Thank you, children. I hope we meet again.”

“Good luck Avacë, bringer of good fortune. Choose your paths wisely. For you will either face glory or destruction.”

With that the nymphs departed in search of their other brothers and sisters, till they faded from sight among the trees. Left behind, Raffi and I faced the way the children had pointed and started down the path into the dark of the lonely forest.