John was always an introverted individual who valued solitude above social interaction. He read books all day and took lengthy strolls around the nearby forests. However, one day, things changed. John heard a voice speak his name while he was traveling through the woods. There was nobody there as he turned to glance around. He dismissed it, reasoning that his imagination was only playing tricks on him. But whenever he was by himself, the voice would return. He couldn't comprehend what it was saying to him, but he could sense that it was requesting something.
The voice was stronger than ever one night while John slept. It appeared to be coming from his head. He stood up and went to the window where he noticed a man standing outside calling for him to come in. John was unable to stop. He put his shoes on before leaving into the night. He was taken by the figure far into the forest till they reached a clearing. In the center of the area, a fire was blazing, and a crowd had gathered around it. John received a warm welcome from them and had a sense of belonging he had never experienced before. While they talked to him in the same odd language as the voice had, John was fully able to comprehend them.
He stayed up all night with them, hearing their tales and laughing along with them. They said they would see him again shortly when it came time to go. John was a different person as of that day. He spent more time with his new buddies and less time alone. He assimilated into their society and picked up their language. But as time went on, John started to sense a problem. The group of people never appeared to get older, and they remained in the woods. They discussed topics that John couldn't grasp, and occasionally they would vanish for days at a time.Then, all of a sudden, they vanished. There was no indication of the group, and the clearing seemed deserted. While John was once again alone, he was aware that things would never be the same again. His experience changed him, and he was aware that he would never be the same.
