The Forest Kids

Chapter 1

I knew that as soon as I walked down those stone steps I was there. The stone steps were hidden off by a path in Lake Levander Park. It was the path right behind the red cabin. Molly told me to meet her here. I guess I didn't know what to expect. I've never really been to Lake Lavender before. Molly's dad works here as a park ranger so she always talks about it. But not like this. She was telling me how she found something 'truly brilliant'. I had my doubts. I mean, she's Molly.
I heard the October breeze. It was calm. The sun was hitting its golden hour. Everything seemed perfect but... Something just felt... off. I turned back to the gravel path I was on before, thinking that maybe I was being followed. Molly did tell me to meet her by myself.

"Phillip!"
I flinched in fright as I quickly turn my head back to the steps. At the bottom, I see a small girl with short, messy black hair. Her bangs almost covered the bottom of her eyes. She had light skin and was dressed in a black, oversized t-shirt with a pair of black ripped jeans.
"Molly, please don't scare me like that." I put my hand on my chest, trying to catch my breath. "Oh! Sorry!" Molly shouted as she ran up the steps to meet me. Her black combat boots made loud thuds on the steps as she ran to me. As she almost reached me, I could see that her boot got caught on the step below me. She made a high-pitched yelp as I reached forward. I wrapped my arms under hers as I barely caught her.
"You okay?" I asked. Molly struggled to pull herself up. She nodded. "You have to be more careful, Molly." I sighed as she regained balance. "I know. I must have gotten too excited." I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was upset. She looked at the ground. We were silent for a couple of seconds. I could tell she was embarrassed. Molly has always been like that I guess.
I've known Molly since we were little kids. We met from our parents being friends. They always tried to get us to date, even when we were in elementary school. It never really worked out though. Molly and I are more like siblings than partners.  Molly always got embarrassed over things that not a lot of other people cared about. I felt bad because I never knew what to say to help her feel better.

"So, what did you want me to see?" I rested my hand behind my head. It brushed the bottom of my messy bun. Molly looked up at me with a little smile on her face. " Oh, c'mon Molly!" I grabbed both of her arms and started to shake her. "You've been asking me to come all day!" Molly started giggling. "Okay! Okay!" She pushed me off of her arms.

"Follow me!" She grabbed my arm and we made it down the steps. They were cracked and had moss and grass growing from the inside. Molly kept dragging me along as we both laughed. At the bottom, there was a dirt-paved path with trees lining it. The trees were symmetrical with each other. Not like the trees near the cabin where they were scattered around. These were lined perfectly with each other. The sky could be seen perfectly. It felt like a pathway to another world. As we walked, Molly lost grip of my arm as she slowly started to speed up. I stopped as she started to giggle. She started to freely dance and giggle as she ran on. I couldn't help but smile. I wonder what made her so happy.
She turned to me. "C'mon Philly!" Molly kept along the path. "Don't call me that!" I chuckled. I jogged towards her as she kept moving forward.

Finally, she stopped at the last two trees as I finally caught up to her. I was panting, trying to catch my breath again. But a sound caught my attention. It sounded like... voices. But it was only me and Molly there. Right?
"This is what I wanted to show you." I looked over my side. Molly moved further than I thought. I looked into the distance. She was standing under a huge weeping willow tree. I walked over to her. The hanging branches were waving in the wind. It almost looked like they were dancing.
"I understand why these trees are your favorite now." I looked over at Molly. She was gently running her thumb across one of the leaves of a long branch. Her messy hair was flowing with the branches. She looked at me and smiled.

"Phillip. I this might seem a little odd." Molly said as she started fixing my scarf.
"You're always odd." I chuckled. I lightly tapped her hand and she stopped. "I think I'll handle whatever this is."
Molly giggled. She reached up and moved my brown bangs away from my eyes. She smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back. I took her hand as she looked up at me. "Phillip, will you-"
"Hello?" An echoed voice interrupted. We looked toward the source of the sound, behind the willow tree. "Sam? Is that you?"
I looked at Molly in alarm. "Who is that?" I whispered. "I don't know! I thought no one was back here!" Molly whispered back. "Oh shoot, what if this place is off-limits?" I looked at Molly's hands, they were shaking.
"Hey, it's ok. I'll explain everything to them." I rested my hand on Molly's shoulder. "They'll understand, okay?" I slowly passed Molly. "Phillip, don't!" She came after me.
"Hello?" I cried out. I shoved the branches away from my body as I made my way to the opposite side of the tree.
"My apologies, we didn't know this place was-" I stopped. A couple of feet in front of me was a tiny little girl. She looked very young to be by herself.  She was short and stubby and had little pigtails on the top of her head. Freckles cover her chubby little face. She wore round glasses and had round eyes. In her hand, was a bucket of water. She looked at Molly and I. After a few seconds, her face lit up with astonishment.

"Um... I'm so sorry. We didn't know anyone lived back here." I apologized. The girl gazed at us. I didn't know if she was trying to think of something to say or if she just was confused.
"We can go if we're not supposed to be here, it's fine." I turned to Molly and before I was able to do anything else, the girl yelled "Wait! Don't go!" Her voice was high-pitched with a mid-western accent. I turned to her.
"Please don't go! No one has passed the willow tree in forever!" Molly and I looked at each other, and then back at the girl. "Oh please say you'll help us!" She put her bucket down and reached for something in the apron she was wearing. Molly walked towards her and knelt in front of her.
"I'm sorry, we don't know what you're talking about. Could you explain?" The girl stopped and looked up at Molly. The girl lightly grabbed Molly's arm and tugged.
"Can you come with me?" The girl requested. Molly looked back at me. She looked muddled. I was also. Maybe this girl needed help. I sighed and we both nodded. Molly glanced back at the girl.
"Okay, we'll come with you. Can you tell me what your name is?" She asked calmingly. The girl looked up at Molly, then at me, then back at Molly.
"Lily."
I wandered towards Molly and stopped near her side.
"Ok Lily, let's go." Molly got up and glimpsed at me. We both turned to Lily, who took hold of her bucket and took a few steps before turning back at us. Molly and I followed her. Wherever she wanted to take us.