The trees began to change.
It wasn't just their shape—though they were taller now, stretched unnaturally like they had been pulled toward the heavens by unseen threads—it was the air itself. Thicker. Heavier. Humming with something ancient. Something alive.
I glanced at the wolf beside me—Gray. Yea! You heard me right, call him gray due to the color of his fur. He walked slowly now, his body low and alert, ears flicking at every unnatural sound.
We had crossed some kind of threshold.
I didn't see it. I didn't hear it. But I felt it.
The moment we passed beneath the twisted arch of silver-veined vines, the world dimmed.
Light filtered through the canopy above, but it wasn't sunlight. It shimmered… glowed… like starlight trapped between leaves. The air smelled of mint and thunder, and my skin prickled as if touched by ghostly fingers.
"This is it…" I whispered. "This must be the enchanted part of the Jungle Forest."
My voice sounded distant. Like it didn't belong to me.
Then the visions began.
At first, they were small—barely noticeable. A glimpse of my grandmother standing by her herbal shelf, humming her favorite lullaby. I blinked and she was gone.
A moment later, I saw Shila, laughing as she stirred a potion in our apothecary home. Her eyes sparkled as she teased me about always being too serious. But when I reached for her, my hand passed through her like smoke.
I froze.
"What…?"
Gray paused ahead and looked back. His golden eyes narrowed, watching me carefully.
"I just saw…" I whispered.
But he didn't move. Didn't react. As if he expected this.
Then it got worse.
Shapes drifted through the trees like memories taking form. My mother's voice came next, soft and sweet, calling my name.
"Sophie… baby, come here…"
I turned around, heart in my throat—and there she was.
She looked exactly the same as I remembered. Beautiful. Smiling. Wearing her green travel dress, her curls loose around her shoulders. My father stood beside her, arms wide, laughing the way he used to.
They were right there.
"Mama…? Papa?"
I took a step forward. Another. Tears filled my eyes. I ran—just two steps—reaching out, heart pounding with hope.
They faded.
Dissolved into the mist like dreams broken by dawn.
"No!" I shouted, stumbling forward, clawing the air where they had just stood. "Please! Please don't go!"
I dropped to my knees, trembling.
A soft nudge came at my back. I turned and found Gray beside me, his head low, his expression solemn. His golden eyes seemed… sad.
"What is this place?" I asked, wiping my face. "Why is it doing this to me?"
He didn't answer. Of course, he couldn't.
But somehow, I felt like… he knew.
The forest was testing me.
Not with monsters. Not with fire or beasts.
But with the very thing I was weakest against—grief.
It was like the trees could hear my soul.
Suddenly, I heard laughter. Children's laughter. Familiar voices. My old apprentices at the apothecary—Shila, Hemi, and even little June. They ran past me in a blur, barefoot and wild, calling for me to come play.
"Come on, Sophie!" June giggled. "You're always so boring!"
I stood frozen. My heart begged me to chase them.
But Gray growled low and stood in front of me. His fur bristled. His growl wasn't playful—it was warning.
They aren't real.
That's when I realized what this part of the forest really was.
A place of soul illusions.
It didn't show your fears.
It showed your longings.
It tempted your heart to stray. It gave you what you wanted most, only to leave you broken when you reached for it.
It wasn't evil. But it was dangerous.
Gray turned and began walking again. I followed, my legs shaky, my breath unsteady.
As we passed beneath another arch of glimmering vines, I whispered to him, "They looked so real…"
He paused—just a moment—and looked back.
Then he stepped beside me, brushing his head against my hand, grounding me in the present.
"I'm still here," I murmured, more to myself than him. "I still have to get the Miracle Leaf. Grandma's still waiting for me."
I took a shaky breath and gripped my satchel tighter.
Whatever this forest was trying to show me, I had to remember…
They're not real.
But my grandmother's illness is.
My purpose is.
Gray continued leading the way, and I followed.
But the pain… it lingered.
And somewhere deep inside, I wondered:
If the forest can twist memories… can it also twist fate?