What do you think of when you think of paper? Possibly the physical object, or the art that can be put on it. Maybe you think of books and giant libraries. Or even the flow of a music sheet, just waiting to be brought to life, filling the world with song. Perhaps you think of where paper comes from-- of great, tall evergreens towering high into the sky, with smells of nature all around you. Paper can do so many colorful and wonderful things if one knows how to use it.
Which is where you find yourself now. In the middle of, well, a forest. A forest filled and filled with paper.
Once long hidden by a thick veil of mist, it opens up to you, and even then you can hardly see. Origami creatures skitter across the ground, while pink paper flamingos take off into the fog. The grass, you notice, is shredded newspaper painted light green, each blade carefully propped up from the dirt. Pencils make up the trunks of the trees, towering high and exploding into a beautiful array of pastel leaves. Colorful flowers made of construction paper litter the grass.
Further you walk, the forest becoming more alive as you go. The mist is still heavy but a glimpse of bright blue sky shines through. You come to a clearing and the wildlife swarms it. Extinct creatures from long past, or mythical creatures told of only in legend, you can see them all here. Observing the clearing more, you find it's less of a forest and more of a large garden. A fountain sits neatly in the center surrounded by neatly placed stepping stones. Tiny insects play their paper instruments and music notes float off into the breeze. Whatever glimpse of the sky you had before is now gone. Instead, there are phoenixes made of paper lanterns and living kites filling the sky. A small, origami bunny approaches you, and turning to its side you see writing on their back.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
"Which way will you go?"
Another question. Looking up, there's many paths to take that you didn't notice before. One path is more forest, yet dinosaurs with long necks tower above the treetops. Another path is behind a gate leading to what seems to be a paper mache maze covered in paper roses, with walls almost as tall as the trees. The rightmost path, a bit out of the way, leads to a river-- only unlike the fountain the water is made out of paper this time. If you squint you can see it's as deep as any ocean. The last path is the one behind you, the way you came. Only now it's an open field with scrolls floating in the wind.
So young artist-- which way will you go?