Creatures Of The Forest

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“Hi, friend. I was scared you would not show up today.” Lena crouched beside the fence that separated her home from the national park. She smiled at Nido.

“No, I was afraid you wouldn't come. I'm used to the rain outside. The smell of wet sand is a breath of fresh air.” Nido’s ears tapered and his nose flared as his sense of smell heightened.

“I brought you some chocolate. I hope you like it. I'd like to hear more about Deer Boy…..and oh, the kitten girl. Did she finally learn to pur?” Lena’s eyes popped as she readied for her imagination to be dazzled. She passed Nido the chocolate through the bars of the fence. Then she settled on the damp sand and folded her legs.

The sound of water droplets forming puddles filled the air. Mild wind caressed Lena’s hair and stroked the furs on Nido’s tail. Drenched bunnies snuggled together in a patch and lightning bugs shimmered in the gloomy evening. Lena and Nido were once again absorbed by each other's presence and they relished every minute of it. Lena had met Nido weeks ago when she escaped into the forest and they had formed a friendship ever since. “Our people are sick. We came here looking for a cure,” he had said the first time they met.

“……and that's how she learned to pur. It was so funny when Kao got his antlers stuck on a tree.” Nido was now speaking and giggling with a mouth a little too full of chocolate. “What is in this? It tastes so nice.” He snorted. His long face suddenly turned pale. “I have to go check on the others now,” he said without waiting for an answer. “Our elders think we are getting closer to the cure. My grandpa can smell it now. I only came because I promised to_”

“Lena!! Get away from that….Wolf? Boy?” A woman came speeding from behind Lena. She picked up a stone and threw it across the fence.

Lena jolted. Her once-smiling face turned sour. “Mom stop! That's my friend Nido.” She waved her hands in front of her mother.

Mira frantically grabbed her daughter and backed away from the fence. Nido retreated and sprinted further into the park leaving deep paw prints in the mud.

---

Back in their home, Mira paced up and down the hallway restless and confused. “Go to your room now,” she commanded Lena who was now weeping on the sofa.

“Honey, you need to calm down. She is only nine. She couldn't have known any better.” Rick, Lena’s father tried to hold his wife but she declined. He gently squeezed Lena’s arm as she walked past him to her room.

“It is all my fault. She wasn't even afraid. I should not have been filling her head with all those stories from my grandmother. I've always believed them to be superstition.” Mira finally sank into Rick’s embrace.

“Then that's all they are Honey. Superstitious beliefs.” Rick gently rubbed her back.

“No. I saw it with my own eyes. The creatures of the forest are real and they are very bad omen.” she withdrew and looked into his eyes with sadness in hers. “That is why we never went to the forest alone as kids. It is said that if you ever see a creature of the forest, you may not survive to see the next day.”

Mira came from a very ancient tribe called khalak. The tribe was gifted with healing powers and knowledge of the forest. Her grandmother was a healer. She had told her that in the beginning of time, some of the Khalak tribe let greed take the best of them. They started to hoard herbs and knowledge for themselves so that they would be in control of Khalak. The gods were very angry with them so they cursed and banished them to the forest. The greedy Khalaks suddenly developed features that resembled hybrids between humans and animals. The gods also cursed their 2100th generation with a plague that only a Khalak herb from a young healer would cure. The ancient Khalak lore believed that the creatures of the forest still roamed the earth in the shadows at night.

Mira always believed the stories to be just tales but the night's revelation made her question everything she believed. She had traveled miles away from home because she didn't want to be a healer like her grandmother. She wanted a different life and she got it but it seemed now that she could not run away from Khalak forever.

Her eyes fell on a shelf where a striking white flower bloomed in a small brown vase. She noticed the petals were moving even faster. She had noticed slight movement from the petals all week but she dismissed it as the wind from outside. The flower was the only thing she took from Khalak and her daughter was drawn to it. She would care for it to keep it blooming. Lena found great pleasure in being outdoors and tending to plants.

“Oh no!” Mira gasped at a sudden realization that was budding in her head.

“Mom! Dad! I think I'm going to get sick.” Lena sauntered from her room before collapsing.

Her parents rushed to her side and Rick picked her in his arms. Her eyes began to twitch. “Let us get her to the hospital. I told you. It is a bad omen.” Panic colored Mira.

As Rick carried Lena up, she grabbed his arm and began to mutter “Their healing is in the flower,” repeatedly. Her eyes opened. Mira begged her parents to let her go back to the fence. She needed to help Nico and his tribe.

“How do you know that the flower is going to heal them?” Mira asked.

“It is just something inside of me that I cannot explain.” she retorted.

Mira looked at the depth and conviction in her daughter's eyes. She needed no further confirmation. The realization was that her daughter was a healer. Khalak hadn't come for her after all. Healing and knowledge had found Lena.

Lena and her Parents reached the fence to find the hybrid tribe waiting. Some of them were emerging slowly from behind the foliages while Nido and a dozen others stood beside the fence. Gentle howling, growling, hissing, and chirping filled the air. Nido hesitantly came forward.

Lena also took steps forward holding the flower. “Your healing,” She muttered as she stared at Nido.”Maybe one day, you'll be healed of these features and you will not have to lurk in the forest anymore.”

“Maybe not. The forest is a part of us now as we are of it.” Nido smiled with gratitude in his eyes. His ears tapered and he let out a short howl.

Lena looked over at Catgirl. She purred and her whiskers moved slightly. Deer boy nodded and smiled. “We have heard so much about you.” His antlers brushed a tree branch.

“They can always come back here, right? The rest of the world doesn't need to know about them.” Lena looked at her parents.

They nodded and held her in a tight embrace.