Saturday arrived with good weather. The storm front had passed and already the wind had died down. It was sunny, clear and fresh. Much like Andrew's mood. He had sent thoughts to his dad before he slept, thanking him for guiding him to find a new frontier in the forest, even if it was indirectly. He was also grateful to have his friends visiting. Admittedly it wasn’t Andrew’s house they were there to see, but the forest had an allure for all kids his age. Andrew and his buddies were no exception.

Mom had left last night for her midnight shift, and would only be back in the afternoon, doing another double shift. So he jumped out of bed, made some toast and thought about what he should prepare to eat in the forest. He hadn’t told mom he was going to explore, but he had mentioned that his friends were coming over. She had asked him to keep the place clean, so that wouldn’t be a problem because they wouldn’t even be in the house.

They were going to climb that magical looking tree in the clearing and discover for themselves if there were any witches or fairies. He made some sandwiches for his packed lunch and a few extra in case the other guys wanted some. He even made allowances for if Joshua's sister decided to come along. Although he still really hoped she wouldn’t. Time seemed to pass slowly until midmorning when he heard the doorbell and he rushed to meet his friends.

Josh and Tim had full backpacks and were raring to go exploring. This time they had brought their bicycles, which they parked on the drive. Andrew was happy to see that Julie wasn’t with them. Good, they wouldn’t have a bossy bee curtailing all their fun. Andrew picked up his pack and flask of water and they made for the back fence where the secret entrance to the forest beckoned.

Tim was excitedly telling Josh about all that they discovered yesterday and Josh was beaming with anticipation.

“I hope we get to stroke some rabbits and maybe even a deer!” as he spoke, his eyes sparkled and his grin seemed to stretch from ear to ear. Josh had always had a soft spot for animals and had plenty of pets at home.

All three boys had the scrawny appearance of growing young lads, although Josh was definitely the plumpest of the three and Andrew the most sturdy because of his active lifestyle with soccer training over the years. Each of them was much of a height, With Josh having straight black hair that was clearly getting too long, as his fringe kept slipping down in front of his eyes and he would have to flick it back. When he did that, his buck teeth would stick out making him look a little like a mole. Some of the bullies at school had targeted him for that.

Tim on the other hand had blond hair and blue eyes. His fair skin and freckles blushed whenever he got excited. He was also the target of some bullies, but since the three of them had been friends, like forever, they had devised plans to avoid the older boys and Josh had the added security of his older sister, ever protective and not afraid of those bullies in the least.

Andrew had run-of-the-mill brown hair and eyes. His hair was nicely cropped by mom, and he had a charming smile that caused adorable dimples. Dad had always told him he would have to fight off the girls with his handsome smile. He wasn’t exactly sure what dad meant, but never-the-less it only made him grin wider at the memory. He had also been targeted by bullies, but that had been before he got into sport. The added bulk and popularity seemed to give them pause. With his recent tragedy, and group of vulnerable friends they were probably circling like sharks, but they hadn’t bothered him yet.

Bringing his mind back to the here and now, Andrew considered that with all the banter about yesterday's exciting encounter with the rabbit. He felt they definitely needed something equally, or even more exciting to happen today to make his friends come over more often.

Despite Josh’s wishes to stroke a deer. Andrew had his doubts about approaching wildlife bigger than a rabbit, but he kept the chatter going. Whichever way he looked at it, it was a win for him. He would definitely find his ball now with everyone’s help since mom always said, “many hands make light work” and besides that, they could make the forest clearing their new base to hang out.

He imagined sitting in the topmost branches scouting out for wicked witches and protecting the wildlife. He liked the thought of that and was reminded of being a knight in his stories. He knew they were silly ideas, but everyone’s enthusiasm had seeped into his soul and he had been sad for so long, that this whole adventure was a way for him to step aside from his grief and revel in just being happy.

They moved to the edge of the forest through the sliding panel in the fence and started looking for the soccer ball. They searched for what seemed like hours, but despite their best efforts, they still couldn't find it. It made no sense unless someone had taken it. Someone or something.

"I guess it's lost," said Tim eventually. Boredom had taken its bite of their enthusiasm.

"Maybe it's in that clearing you mentioned.” said Josh. They had moved progressively deeper and were closer to the clearing than the house.

The clearing was much more hospitable today, with the mossy area surrounded by trees. The tall tree at the edge standing like a lone old soldier at guard. The smell of the mushrooms was even more pronounced now as Andrew stood on some as he ambled through the thicket.

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"I don't know if this is a good idea," said Josh. "It looks kind of creepy."

"Come on," said Andrew. "It's not that bad and it’s where we saw the rabbit.”

They gathered into the clearing and looked around. There were even more mushrooms growing all around the edges of the clearing than the day before, new ones having sprouted overnight and the air was filled with their earthy musty smell.

"This is weird," said Josh. "I don't like it here."

"It's just a clearing," said Tim. "There's nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m not afraid!” snapped Josh and both Andrew and Tim smirked. They knew he was nervous and that somehow allayed their own trepidation, even though it did have an ominous feeling about it..

They started to make their way across the clearing, towards the base of the big tree, but then they heard a noise. It sounded like someone was laughing. It tinkled all around them, seeming to reverberate. It was innocent laughter, but still it made Andrew shiver. His feelings of being observed intensified.

"Did you hear that?" asked Tim in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah," said Andrew, feeling compelled to whisper too. "It's coming from over here.” He pointed towards the large tree. “Do you think the tree can talk?”

The other boys looked uncomfortable, but then the laughter intensified and Andrew’s curiosity won over his anxiety.

As one, the three boys moved closer to the large tree and following the sound of laughter looked behind it.

There, sitting on a rock, right on the edge of the clearing and propped in place by some gnarly roots from the big tree, was a girl. She was about Andrew's age, with long, black hair and very green eyes. She was wearing a long, flowing dress that seemed to shimmer as she observed them indifferently.

If Andrew had to guess, her dress was made from many leaves sewn together, but that was a crazy idea, it must just be a new fashion style or pattern or something. Josh was just staring at her, his mouth open, but she didn’t seem to mind. Andrew nudged him and he closed it abruptly. Tim seemed the least effected by her presence. He was still focussed on looking for the ball. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed how different she was.

"Hello," said the girl. "My name is Willow."

"Hi," said Andrew tentatively. He had to clear his throat and try again. "I'm Andrew. These are my friends Tim and Josh."

"It's nice to meet you," said Willow, pretending not to notice their discomfort at her presence. "What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for my soccer ball," said Andrew, bolder now that introductions were out the way. "Did you see it?"

“Not here," said Willow. "But I can help you look for it."

"Thanks," said Andrew. “We’ve been searching for ages, and it couldn’t have gone far.” He was about to explain more, but she moved then and he lost his train of thought. The leaves on the dress shimmering as she moved.

Willow was nimble and quick, but the way she spoke was quite strange, as if she had an accent. Andrew couldn’t quite place it and soon forgot about it as he tried to understand her words, which were almost musical in his mind. He could see she was having the same effect on the other two.

Before things got awkward, she sprang up and led them through the forest, her bare feet were also a surprise and yet she was so calm and serene that no-one said anything.

As she walked, it was as if the branches and leaves bent out of her way, she glided through and between them so easily. Unfortunately, they sprang back into place directly after she passed, so the boys were struggling to keep up. Eventually they got to where she suddenly stopped, and since Andrew was ahead of his friends, he saw her looking up. He did the same and spied his ball stuck in a tree, right towards the end of a branch. The only way he would get it down would be to climb up along the branch. How it had gotten there was definitely a mystery. There was no way he could have kicked his ball this far into the forest, let alone treed it so well.

He looked at Willow and she smiled. As if she could read his mind. Her green eyes seemed to reflect both intelligence and age despite her looking so young. He almost took a step back, but Tim, right behind him broke the spell and blurted out, “Blimey Andy, how did you lose your ball here?”

“I.. I don’t know.” Andrew said and turned to them. “Come on, lets get it down. Tim, you hoist me up. I’ll climb along the branch until I can reach it.”

Andrew, Tim, and Josh set to work on getting the soccer ball down from the tree. Tim took out some rope, but didn’t seem to know what to do with it. Andrew took out his axe and realized that it too wasn’t useful and so put it away. Instead he asked Tim to hoist him up, and Andrew carefully made his way along the branch until he reached the ball.

After scrabbling through some of the branches at the end of the strong branch he was perched on, he finally got into a position to grab it. Once he had it secured, he started to climb back down, but as he did, he lost his balance and with a yell, he fell.

He landed with a thud on the ground, and the ball went flying. Josh and Tim rushed over to him, but he was unhurt. Only a minor scrape on his arm from when he tried to cling on, and an aching butt, but most of all his pride was bruised. He lay on his back, winded and turned his head from side to side. Something flashed in the corner of his eye from deeper in the thicket, but when his friends crowded around him, he forgot about it almost immediately.

He sat up then and looked for Willow, but Willow was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?" asked Andrew. His fall and bruised backside forgotten.

"I don't know," said Tim. "But she was definitely here a minute ago."

"Maybe she's a spirit," said Josh.

"No, she's not a spirit," said Tim. "She's a wood elf."

"A wood elf?" asked Josh. "You've been reading Lord of the Rings, too much."

"More like watching the movie, no-one reads those big books anymore." Tim retorted.

“I’m not sure…” Andrew said thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the forest. “She didn’t really have pointy ears. Did any of you notice?”

“Oh, yeah, that's right. But she must be some kind of woodlands creature for sure. Did you see how she moved through the brush, the way she shimmered and all the trees seemed to move to get out her way, and how else could she just disappear?” Tim was adamant with the idea that Willow was not a normal girl.

"Maybe," said Josh. “And its the most likely explanation that makes sense. My sister says, 'always doubt everything until you can prove it', but the evidence seems to hold up.” Josh even seemed to puff out his chest at his scientific method statement. It was really annoying, but then what he said was correct. They had no proof, only guesses.

Josh and Tim were determined to classify Willow as something other than human. That surety gave Andrew pause. He was the one wanting to fight witches, but now that it came to it, he wasn’t prepared to admit there were any unnatural beings, but that also didn’t explain how she disappeared. At least, not yet.

"Whomever she is," said Andrew, not backing either of them, ”she helped us find my ball. So thanks, Willow.” he said loudly into the forest, just to make sure she wasn't angry at them, then in a more sedate tone, “Lets head back to the clearing and see if she is waiting for us there.”

The boys collected the ball and set to the task of backtracking to the clearing with a determination seldom seen in one's so boisterous moments before. The forest had suddenly become a very different place from the one they had entered. It now seemed to have eyes everywhere and every noise was a potential threat.