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Chapter One: Where are the Stars?
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That morning, little Eli found both her and her snug little bed deep in the middle of a vast forest. The trees rose high up above like giants, and their branches and leaves spread far and wide, filling up the entire sky. She has never seen trees so big in her whole life! The sunlight that fell through the gaps showered the forest in a dream-like glow. Dream, yes— Eli believed it was another one of her strange dreams — nothing unusual — and she instead fancied herself a little ant in the presence of giants to pass the time.
Then she realized soon enough that this was no dream. There was no waking up even after all the pinching and breath-holds that she did. Her eyes began to burn with tears. She cried out for her mother and father and more even when her throat went sore from shouting and the air of her lungs was gone.
Nobody came for her. Eli lifelessly collapsed on her bed. The sounds of the forest filled that her silence; it was as if all the chattering and chirping and creaking challenged each other’s noises. The little girl's imagination ran wild with thoughts of frightening bears, terrible wolves, and snakes — heavens forbid — lurking behind the shadows of the giant trees. She was just a nine-year-old girl, after all, and she doubted that all the blankets in the world could protect her from the claws and the fangs and everything that could pierce her soft fair skin. So she shivered in silence under her blankets, scrunching her long blond hair in frustration, and refused to come out.
Hours passed, and the little girl's stomach grumbled. She hasn't had breakfast yet and she has never skipped a meal in her life up until now. She thought of her mother's fried eggs, and all the spices she would scatter in it— and the grumblings of her stomach grew louder. No more thinking about food for her. She was now calm enough to peek her head out of the blanket, but she still did not dare to go beyond her bed for fear of her frail life. But waiting brought nothing but more hunger. It became terribly clear to her at this time that nobody would come to her aid.
Hunger, and maybe something else deep inside, made her turn deep into the forest. A dangerous idea formed in her head. "I didn't have a choice," Eli kept repeating to herself. "It's just for a while, anyway. I'll find something to eat, then I'll run as fast as I can back to this bed." Of course, the fear of claws and fangs still lingered deep inside her heart, but once she decided to do something, it was a done deal. Though the ground was dirty, filled with many sharp and dangerous things, and she had no shoes to cover her bare feet, the giant trees had giant roots crawling all over the forest floor. Just beside her bed was a root stooped low enough to hop on — almost as if welcoming her to this strange world.
Eli took a first shy step with one foot, then the other, then with all the courage she had in her little heart, leaped out of her bed and into the naked forest, wearing nothing but her blue nightgown. Oh, how cold the winds were outside her blanket! She was almost tempted to go back to bed, but her aching stomach and her iron will kept her in place. The roots were so big and wide that she could easily walk on top of them comfortably (that may have to do with her size), and when she reached dead ends she simply hopped on another root and went along. She also kept herself to the brighter patches of sunlight, for her fear of snakes and crawling things down the forest floor was strong. The places she could search for food was not that much though— not without leaving sight of her bed, and that would not do. Eli quickly gave up on the giant trees, as whatever fruits they bore would be laughably out of her reach. Instead, she opted for searching berries in the tall ferny undergrowth, or maybe a stream if she was lucky. There were curious squishy blue mushrooms sticking out of the roots, but they smelled medicine-like bitter and were probably poisonous.
In some of the low bushes grew bright red berries that looked mouth-watering delicious, but it was too far down for her short arms from on top the roots. No matter how hungry she was, her imagination brought snakes and spiders, hidden under fallen leaves and twigs, licking lips as they eagerly wait for her fair legs to go down so they can drag her to their nests and feast on her. So she pressed on top of the roots with an angry stomach. Sometimes she would catch the sight of rabbits and squirrels hopping and scurrying around the forest floor and she would be tempted to go down to pet them (along with the promise of delicious red berries), but her fear of spiders and snakes were greater still. Instead, she tried singing a song with her cute voice to attract them, much like the princesses in her favorite movies.
> Hello little forest friends,
>
> come and play, come and play~
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> Hello little forest friends,
>
> come up here and play~
It was a silly song she made on the spot. Of course, unlike those movies, neither rabbit nor squirrel understood human words, and so she was mostly ignored or even avoided by them. The woodland creatures did not like strange noises, and hers was very quite strange. She has forgotten about staying silent and not attracting predators — but none came that day, and you shall know why soon. Giving up, she continued walking along the root-paths, still keeping eye on her bed.
After a while, her legs grew tired and weary, and they soon gave up on her as she collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. She was too tired and too thirsty to even cry. The constant dull pangs of hunger were too much, to the point where she thought she could eat leaves just to get by. In fact, that was what she did: she reached for the leaves from the undergrowth and tried munching on it— only to spit everything out with a terrible cough. The bitter taste did not leave her tongue no matter how much she wiped it with the sleeves of her nightgown.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The forest was even noisier than before. She lay down the great roots with ragged breaths when she noticed one of the squishy blue mushrooms sticking out right in front of her. Suddenly she did not mind the smell anymore, and the mushroom looked a lot more scrumptious than any other feast. Eli would normally never eat any kind of mushrooms growing on the ground (she prefers them cooked, by her mother if possible), but her mind was muddled by everything that has happened to her. She grabbed and pulled it with what little strength she had left — and it gave quite a fight — until it finally gave in. She did not eat it immediately; no, she gave it a long hard look, and a little spark of sense came back to her eyes.
> Hello little mushroom friend,
>
> come and play, come and play~
>
> Hello little mushroom friend,
>
> come up here and play~
That was no spark of sense, but a spark of madness. She pinched her nose, said a silent prayer, and threw the mushroom into her mouth. She chewed and chewed it hard — it was rubbery like squid and as bitter as crushed pills — but soon the bitterness gave way to a sweetness that oozed from inside it. And deliciously sweet it was indeed! Eli could have sworn that the nectar-like liquid was in fact, honey. She ran with care, barefoot steps pitter-pattering across the surface of the giant roots, excitedly plucking all the blue mushrooms she could find and squeezed the honey out of them straight to her mouth with her tiny fists. And there were a lot of these mushrooms— a lot more with plenty to spare for supper and tea!
The hour passed, and she was satisfied. Now that her mind was working perfectly, she scolded herself for playing such a dangerous game, then praised herself for winning. Eli walked back to her bed with bolder steps, with all the mushrooms she could carry within her frail little arms when her legs began to wobble. She collapsed on her own weight and the mushrooms rolled all over the roots and down below. Eli did not understand, but the mushroom nectar she drank was known as the "Rum of the Forest", and no sooner did everything double and bloom like rainbows around her. She blacked out and her limp body rolled down the forest floor, lost and alone.
Eli woke up with a massive headache. Her mouth tasted like bile and she had scratches all over her skin from falling off the root, and her left ankle hurt more than anything. Through the gaps of the treetops she saw the sky dotted orange. It was sunset, but she wasn't sure. She was still stuck on the forest floor as there were no roots low enough to climb to. In fact, the giant roots blocked her view; the little girl did not know where her bed was anymore! Eli's eyes grew wet tears once more and her lungs were ready to scream — but that she did not do.
The forest was eerily quiet. The sounds of birds and critters were gone, and only the wind and a great rustling of trees from afar. Something was coming. Eli hurriedly limped under an arched root that rose slightly above the ground and waited.
A pony popped out from the bushes. It had silky hair and a very regal caramel fur. Eli almost went out of her hiding spot but her sprained ankle stopped her in place. The pony galloped around innocently, sniffing the fresh forest air and the earthly ground, until he came to the bushes with those red berries she couldn't reach from the roots. The pony sniffed them gingerly and, satisfied it didn't smell poisonous, ate everything up— berry and bush and all. You could have seen the glee in the pony's pretty face. Eli was about to sing a song to befriend it when the pony collapsed on its own just like she did.
Then the great rustling from afar drew nearer and nearer. The giant trees were being shaken by something even bigger! Eli's curiosity would've gotten the better of her and she would peek a bit outside and see what the if not for her ankle (and what little luck she had).
A great shadow came upon the sunset-tinged lands. From the sky fell a giant black tree — a shiny black hairy tree — and the earth trembled. A net-like web struck the unconscious pony like lightning and reeled him high up above the sky. More of those hairy black trees struck the earth and an earthquake began. The black trees were no trees at all, but legs of the giant spiders that roamed this part of the forest! Their legs were so tall that the spiders' bellies shook the treetops, bringing a shower of leaves and twigs and apples-like fruits in their wake.
It was a terrible storm. Giant hairy spiders legs and their web-nets that plundered everything breathing rained down from the sky, and the shaking of the earth from their steps like a mighty thunderstorm that shook the heart. Poor little Eli was crouched down under a giant root, shivered like a helpless puppy, keeping fear and everything else she felt in muffled cries. Suddenly, everything felt real. She realized that this was no kind forest, no gentle song, and that if her luck was any less than it already was, she would have been spider supper by now. Her hunger was gone, and only fear of the world remained.
The great shaking of the earth finally ceased as the last light of the day gave way for the night. Soon all was dark and the lively sounds of the forest returned. She crept out of her hiding spot, teary-eyed and soul-burdened, and limped listlessly around while keeping the pain in her ankle and her bare soles by biting her lip. The soft light of the full moon poured down from the treetops and guided her path, and soon she found a root low enough to climb.
She walked along the roots in search for her bed, her previous cheer from before completely doused. Perhaps, for the first time since she woke up in this forest, deep inside her heart of hearts, she truly wished to return home. She wanted to see her father sing his silly songs to her. She wanted her mother to read her a bedtime story. She wanted the comfortable darkness of her bedroom, not the oppressive chill of the forest. Her heavy heart could take it no longer, and she sang her favorite song so to keep herself steady.
> Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
>
> How I wonder what you are.
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> Up above the world so high,
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> Like a diamond in the sky.
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>
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> Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
>
> How I wonder what you are.
Eli looked up to the sky by instinct, but the treetops covered a magnificent view of the night sky. She was too tired to even feel sad. After wandering for what seemed like forever, by luck or by fate, she caught sight of her little bed right under a beam of moonlight.
As soon as she sunk deep into the mattress, a wave of comfort washed over her. This was home. Fatigue and everything came crashing down all at once, and she slept heavily under the light of the moon without even bothering to cover herself with a blanket. But it was no problem, for there were no bugs that night, or at any other night; they feared the spiders that lived in the ruins at this part of the Eternal Forest.
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Come, little fairies, frolic on my gardens bright and calm,
Sweet as honey, kind as spring, and soft as a gentle psalm;
Welcome to your paradise due.
Dance and be merry, forget the winter nights,
Forget the madness beyond those yonder lights—
for the Goddess smiles upon you.
Deforestations [https://i.imgur.com/sWJHvYi.png]