Songs of the Ethereal Realm

Part I

Chapter 1

Hi.

My name is Esme, and this is my story.

I need to start with the moment that changed everything, but in doing so, I need to get into the mindset I had before all of this happened. I have to figure out where it all went wrong, and how exactly I got so lost that things turned out the way they did.

So I was out in the woods and I thought that...

***

The desire to belong proves difficult when I don't even feel at home with myself. Spending time in nature brought me closer to the unfamiliar yet comforting way of the human soul's search for another.

The forest hums with vitality like a living being.

The wind hisses in my ears and flows through my hair. My wings flutter behind me. One tree trunk after another, my body slips with my eyes squeezed in anticipation. Sometimes one takes me by surprise, and my hands bump into it before I collide with it. The rough surface presses into my palms as if the tree is trying to catch me. The first time I increased my speed, I lost count of the number of concussions I got. Whenever I underestimate myself, it's a good reminder that there was a time when I was worse. But just when I think I am getting the hang of it, the forest comes along and proves me wrong. It's like it's testing me to see if I am worthy of being a part of it.

I went back each time, day after day, not letting my failures defeat me. First, I walked for a while, taking in the movements of every living organism, and like a whisper, the message came to me, "You can go now."

Today, my bedroom walls suffocated me; I couldn't sit still for a moment. After sucking all the oxygen out of the room, I opened the doors of my closet until they creaked. In the darkest and dustiest corner was a box wrapped in a messy bow. The jade-green dress my grandmother had given me last Christmas glowed in the daylight. It gave off a musty smell when I took it out of the box. I sprayed it from top to bottom with fragrance and tried it on. The translucent fabric reached my ankles, and its weight was barely noticeable. Her voice echoed in my head as if the fabric contained her essence, "Where is the dress that I gave you?" It's kept right next to my feelings for you, dear Evelyn.

Now the hem is embellished with sticks, for the wildness of the forest does not take pity on expensive fabrics.

The sun-drenched forest gives way to the river Arcana, shimmering in the sun. The stream ripples over rocks and branches. It means I have crossed the boundaries of the Institute... Again. I am not too worried; if you have wings, you can escape any situation. I descend slowly, swinging my body forward until it is vertical to the ground. This technique sounds easy in theory, but it took me a whole year to get the hang of it. Being a human with real wings proved to be ridiculously difficult.

My feet touch the damp grass as I approach the river. I let my hand slide through the stream and the cold presses against my skin. When I pull it out again, it is bright red. Based on the curve the river takes and the shapes of the surrounding trees, I have not strayed too far off.

Forest, I wish you could talk to me. Be my friend so we can have conversations.

A rustling startles me, and I look around in confusion. Did the forest actually answer me? After all, I live in a magical world... but still. An amorphous figure moves through the trees. My heart pounds as I make my wings vanish and hurry behind the thickest tree trunk in sight. The figure forms into a man limping along the river path. I take a few steps back; maybe I should leave. He keeps glancing back as if expecting someone or something to follow him. His curly hair falls in wisps on his sweaty forehead. The agony in his expression looks like a gore show I can't look away from. The khaki clothing would camouflage him well if he wasn't breathing so hard and making so much noise. And besides, he also keeps muttering something under his breath. A madman, perhaps? Or a Shaman, they always talk to spirits as if it were the most normal thing in the world.