The Shadows Beyond The Trees

Ep. 0 — Epilogue

It was the beginning of winter, yet the ground was already covered with snow. Nillie was a short girl so she had a lot of trouble getting through the snow, as it was knee deep on someone who is about 5 feet tall. Nillie however, is 4 foot 2 and can barely even lift a leg in the snow. She didn’t hate winter as all of her other friends did because she knew something about the forest that circled their little town. She knew about the shadows that lurk beyond the trees. She also knew that those very shadows are scared of snow so winter is the safest time of the year. Whenever summer came around again Nillie would always try and convince her friends to stay home and not go out after dark. Though her friends never listened and simply told her, “No way! We’re going to meet our boyfriends in a clearing in the woods.”

Nillie’s friends didn’t know who those boys were or rather, what they were. Their so-called “boyfriends” were really the disguised shadows of the forest. Though the shadows that disguise themselves are usually very fond of humans. That’s why Nillie never did anything to keep her friends from leaving their houses. Whenever she sees her friends when they come visit her during the summer, she usually sees kiss marks on their necks and scolds them for being so reckless. She usually makes a remark about how they should act based on their ages. Saying things like, “We’re 16, come on, you girls should be more responsible with your time.” or, “Really, You guys should be studying, not messing around with boys.”

“Nillie, COME. ON. Live a little.” That’s what the girls would always say in return. Though she didn’t like it, Nillie always put up with it until winter. She would sometimes find herself waking up in the middle of the woods with a fur coat- that wasn’t hers- wrapped around her. Nillie never took the coat back home with her because she always had the thought, It’s his. She didn’t know who “he” was, just what he looked like. She always remembers a slim, tall man with a very handsome face. She could even say he was attractive, but whenever she tried to think about what his name was, she would end up passing out. Whenever she would be zoned out, her thoughts would almost always circle back to him. All she could remember was his age— 20—his birthday—August 15th— his favorite person—her— and his favorite thing to do—Run in the woods with his wolf. Whatever that means. She could remember his voice saying, “I love you most, always” though she didn’t know why those words stuck to her like glue. All she knew was that she needed to find him.

Though she knew she needed to, Nillie was always scared of what she’d find if she found him. She didn’t know what she would say or do or even if she would want to hug him. Nillie sometimes thought that it would probably be best if she didn’t find him in the first place or if she stopped thinking about him. Though she tried and tried, Nillie could never get him out of her head. When she told her friends, they looked at each other with sly smiles on their faces. One of the girls- named Mary- had said, “Maybe you're in love with him so you should definitely find him!”

“Yeah, you should!” another girl-named Beth- shouted in agreement.

“W-wait! What if he’s like a perv or something!” refuted Nillie

“No way!” Beth said with a shake of her head, followed with wave of her hand to dismiss what Nillie had just said.

This hadn’t calmed her nerves, but rather quite the opposite. Just the feeling that she would forget him put her on edge, let alone never ever finding him. Nillie knew she had a past with him or maybe a part of her life she forgot.

Authors Note:

HEEEEEEYYOOOOOOO! So, to clear a few things up before chapter one I decided to write this message. So, to start off with please give me some honest input about the chapters. Like if you notice bad grammar, a bad plot-line, etc. Just tell me what you like about my story and what you dislike about it. Now for the characters. The main 3 are Nillianna or Nillie, Mikaela or Mika, and finally Aumani or Aumi. The first two named—Nillie and Mika—are both girls. Mika is nonbinary by word only at the beginning, but they slowly transitions throughout the story. Also, Mikaela is pronounced Me-ki-la and Aumani is pronounced Aw-man-i, hope this helps.

Again, please put your honest thoughts in the comments so I can further improve on my story writing. Thank you and enjoy the story my sunshines!