• I was on the edge of the woods, just wandering with no real destination. The trees were tall and the trunks were thick and rough. The light above was filtering weakly through the canopy, but I realized there was a break in the trees a little ways off, a distant light; I wanted to see what was there. I drug my hand across the tree trunks as I walked, feeling the bark scrape lightly across my palm. I felt at home here, like there was only this, and nothing else had ever waited for me but this place. After a few minutes, the break came into sight. Excited, I dashed the last several yards and broke through the tree line. It was so beautiful. A wild field stretches across a wide expanse, trees lining all sides like sentinels. As I stepped into the meadow, I realized my skin began to glow with a faint light. I smiled. This was the most extraordinary place I had ever encountered. I sprinted across the grass and weeds, laughing to no one…but then I stopped. Something was coming. I spun around, looking at the edge of the trees for anyone who might be near; then I noticed the sky. Dark clouds rolled quickly across the sky, a cloak over the sun. They broiled with an unbroken storm, and dread spread into my mind. Cera… A whisper in the back of my mind made me turn around. I wasn’t even sure if I had heard my name, but I felt a slight tug within me. I was needed there. I bounded across the field and sprinted through the trees. The more I ran, the more urgent it seemed to get there. Eventually I realized that the trees were going by too fast for a human’s ability. Without further thought, I increased my speed, the trees a blur around me. I was getting so close. I stopped abruptly, sensing just how far I had come in such a short time. There wasn’t much farther to go. Hesitantly, I walked through the trees. It was bright again. I raised my face to the sky and saw it was clear; I had left it behind in my race to get here. Uncertain, but not having any reason to feel afraid, I resumed my path through the trees. That peace started to sink into me again, and I raised my hand to brush against the trees. The bark was smooth now. A little startled, I looked around at the trees. They weren’t dark and rough like the ones I had known before; these were completely different. The farther I walked, the smoother the bark got, and the trees seemed to lighten in color, almost as if they had been bleached of it under the sun. I smiled lightly to myself; then I saw it. Just a few feet away, I could see the trees ended. It surprised me that I hadn’t seen that before, but I stepped gingerly past the line of the trees…and gaped in wonder. The building was old, that was for sure, but it was the condition it was in that struck me. Old stone crumbled within itself, the walls concaving in the center. One lone wall stood on the side closest to me, but the top was a jagged slope toward the ground, the stones undoubtedly part of the rubble now. Lightly stained windows barely kept their hold, glittering pieces cast about the ruin. There was a sorrow here, but – like the flowered vines that crept up the old ruin – there was also a deep sort of unperturbed peace. This place hadn’t been known for years beyond years, forgotten. A whisper resounded within me again, and as I turned, I had to catch my breath. The trees…they were beautiful. No bark marred their surface, instead they were of pure white wood, as if light itself had seeped into them. There were no leaves, but the branches twisted around each other in such a way that they were an art form in themselves. On the edge of the branches, tiny white buds decorated the trees. I stepped forward, and as I did, the wood seemed almost to be humming lightly, more in my mind than to my ears. One of the delicate buds hovered just at my eye level, and – with a light finger – I brushed its soft petals. It slowly unfolded, blooming before my eyes. Small petals opened, and a little droplet of light sparked from the flower, lifting up a few inches above the blossom before bursting and dissipating into the air, leaving a slight shimmer in its wake. I turned back, the little tug coming again. A marker stood before me, a grave from years past. The white stone shimmered slightly in the sun, casting a light glow around it, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. A large blossom like the ones on the trees, stay closed behind the marker. It was taller than I, little light bluish veins stretching across the underside of the petals. It called to me again, urgent this time. I walked quickly to it, not knowing what was to come next. It started slowly at first. The petals seemed to shudder infinitesimally, then began to part. The blossom slowly unfolded, and as it did so, the blossoms on the trees surrounding did the same, sending beautiful bursts of light dancing around me. I stepped back as the flower opened, and I realized there was something within its heart. I watched in awe as a fair girl became unveiled from within. Her skin was fair, hair long and white, and she seemed almost more part of the flower than a person within. A slight light emanated from her as the petals revealed her fully. I could feel the look of wonderment plastered to my face when she opened her eyes. I had expected them to be white like the rest of her, but her eyes shone a silver hue, a shimmer of light from within. She smiled at me – such a beautiful expression – and raised one hand to me, the palm facing up. Her lips moved, but no sound reached my ears. Instead, I could hear her voice within me, a song of such beauty and clarity that tears came to my eyes. It wasn’t until after the sound had started to fade that I understood what she had told me. “Wait…”