The forest was quiet, save for a few birds chirping here and there, it was peaceful. The flowers flourished in vibrant colors and scents, and the insects flitted about drinking the nectar. This forest was ruled by an unknown power, something beyond a god. It kept the forest pure, eliminating any trespassers in brutal ways. The entity never wanted anything tainting its precious land.

Her steps crashed through the soft dirt and fallen leaves.

Her hair was wild and matted, her feet were bruised and blistered from running, and her clothes were stained with blood and filth.

Despite all this, she never stopped even to catch her breath.

She had to run, they were after her.

Naturally, the commotion spread through the forest, reaching the ruler in a heartbeat. They were angered, who dared to disrupt the calm of this magical forest? The creature set off in search of this girl to send her away with a gruesome end.

They were so focused on the girl that they didn’t notice the men behind her.  Their torches blazed through the dark and their shouts echoed off the trees. These men had hurt many people, and they were set on the girl’s suffering. A tree root caused the girl to trip, making her fall into a swampy gathering of mud and leaves. A sickening crack of bones sounded from her left leg, her entire body from the neck down covered in mud.

She rolled around quickly to face the men in a last bout of defiance before her bitter end, baring her teeth and screaming. There was no hope of her escape. The men were closing in quickly, and the entity just noticed them yelling.

In no more than ten seconds, they observed the group and concluded that they had caused more damage to their forest than the poor girl. Their brutish bodies crushed all sorts of treasured plants and their horses trampled smaller wildlife. The men closed around the girl, wielding all sorts of weapons, carrying the intent to kill with a glint in their eyes.

It was bloody, oh so bloody.

Her guttural shrieks pierced the air, they could be heard for miles.

The men had left her there, turning back the way they came and expecting to be home before it got dark.

They were wrong.

The entity controlling the forest hated humans, but they had a secret. A secret they vowed never to reach another soul’s knowledge. The men trooped off laughing, unaware they would suffer.

Some exploded into a pool of blood, others were pinned to trees by sharp spikes and left to die a slow painful death, none of them had a merciful ending. When the men were reduced to nothing but bloody pulps and pincushions, the creature returned to the girl.

She was dying, and there was no way of saving her. Tears ran down her face, leaving visible trails through the grime on her face and neck.

“Am I dying?” she croaked.

“Yes. I am sorry.”

“I’m afraid, why does it hurt so much? What about all those people saying it’s peaceful? I don’t want to die! My family needs me!”

“Sometimes things just die, and you can’t prepare yourself for it at all. Life isn’t cruel, it’s just largely indifferent to your struggles. I’m sorry this has happened to you, you shouldn’t die like this.”

A gentle hand pushed itself onto her chest, holding her down. The girl tried her best to get up, but her body didn’t have the energy to do more than just wiggle. From the place where the creature’s hand rested, flowers began to grow. Roots from the ground slowly wrapped around the girl’s body, dissolving her pain and her flesh with it.

She continued to cry while this happened, seemingly not aware her body was reshaping. The sound of her wails quieted as she passed on, her eyes clouding over in a pearly white. Her body contorted, twisting and turning around into the shape of a tree, growing higher and higher until it reached the same height as all the other trees.

This is where she will rest, along with all the others.

The entity sighed, moving through the forest and feeling souls reach out from all sides, brushing their

figure,  as a sign of thanks. Not all who entered the forest had ill intent, after all.

“We will take her from here.” the souls whispered.

Her soul was welcomed into their loving embrace.

She was home.