A dryad is a tree nymph or tree spirit in Greek mythology; Drys (δρῦς) signifies "oak" in Greek.
"You came back."
You smile at the young boy offering his own smile at you in return.
"I did."
You still remember the first time you met the mysterious spirit of the old birch forest. It was a few months ago. Your father worked as a lumberjack and together both you and him would go out and start collecting wood from the nearby forest . However since his leg injury it's been solely on you to make ends meat and go get the wood yourself. It wasn't an easy feat. To help save yourself the trip, instead of going up the mountain to get the regular oaks and maple trees and bring them all the way down the mountain, you decided to go towards the nearby Birch tree forest. Your father did warn you before about the place-
"Do you ever know why we never go near those woods, Y/n?"
"No. Why?"
"Because it's haunted."
"Haunted? Haunted how?"
"Many years ago, there was a group of lumberjacks who were ran out. They saw their axes went flying, the trees spoke, and one of them even went missing. I'm telling you that place is nothing but trouble."
You never took him seriously of course. You've never heard of such things from anyone else who you spoke too. So you decided ond day as your father was still healing, you grabbed the axe and made your way out down the valley instead of up the mountain. Until you came across the first of the White tree line. You weren't very strong by yourself so you decided to venture inwards until you found one thing enough to chop down and easily carry back. The moment you stepped past the treeline-
It was as if no other life was there.
The singing birds stopped singing. No squirrels ran up the trees. And there wasn't a single insect in sight. Only the grass and the white trees. Odd certainly but not really too out of the ordinary in your mind however it almost felt like you were being watched. Nah that was crazy. You were just paranoid from the ghost stories. Eventually you found a good enough tree. A few years old at most and the tree you walked forward to was very thin. It'd make quick but thin firewood you could quickly sell for cheap. Stopping a yard away from the thin trunk, you sat the heavy axe down very quick to roll your sore shoulder from carrying it for so long. Before gripping it tightly, swinging it high above your head-
You froze solid.
Standing before your eyes ...was a young boy.
He couldn't have been older than eleven as he stood there staring at you with a concerned look. You stood there also staring at him and blinking before slowly lowering your axe to the ground.
"Where did you come from?.. Y'know you shouldn't approach strangers especially ones carrying weapons. That's dangerous and it's especially dangerous to get in front of someone who's trying to chop down a tree."
"I don't want you to cut down my trees," he answered bluntly making you blink.
"Oh. Am I trespassing on someone's property?"
"Yes!"
"I see. Where's your parents then?" You looked around but you didn't see anyone else besides the boy. Did you pass someone's house and missed it?
"They're..still asleep. But you can't come here! You don't have permission to take these trees!" He pointed behind you with a stern look. "Go away!"
You didn't know what to make out of it...but if this part of someone's property then maybe you shouldn't cause trouble. "Alright." You hoisted the axe back back over your shoulder. "I don't want to cause trouble so I'll leave."
He seemed surprised. "Wait. Really? Usually I have to chase everyone out."
"No. I'll leave. You just make sure you get on home too. Ok?"
He nodded still looking surprised by you and you left. You felt disappointed by your luck but figured it was better than starting a fight with an unknown family. Your father was surprised when you got home and asked why you were back so soon. When you told him he went extremely red with anger.
"You encountered a Driad?!"
You blinked confused. "Driad?"
"Tree fae! That's what haunts those woods! Didn't I warn you?," he scolded you with a frown, "You're lucky that spirit let you go with just a warning. What if he had made a tree fall on you? Or he followed you home to haunt us? Next time I tell you about something listen to me!
You did. You really did. For the next month you went up the mountain to get wood instead of of the birch woods and thankfully nothing happened but you couldn't help but feel guilty about what happened. You felt like you disturbed a sacred area and now you had to right the wrongs. Despite your father's warnings and your better judgement, you decided to go back but this time with offerings. Some food, money, and incense since that's what spirits like right?
The pattern repeated itself. You went back to the Birch forest only this time without the axe and like before you felt like you were being watched the moment you stepped into the woods. White trees surrounded your body as you walked swiveling your head this way and that making your way back to where you first saw the spirit. You'd just leave it by the tree he was defending and leave-
"What are you doing back here?"
You jumped with a gasp whirling around and coming face to face back with him. he stared at your wide eyes with that curious stare he had before.
You sighed in relief before smiling and holding out the basket towards him bowing. "Im not here to cut down anything I swear! I came to apologize!"
There was silence as you didn't dare look up, however you felt the basket leave your hands and there was silence still.
"..Thank you." You looked up. He was still there holding the basket but now smiling and looking at the food and money in awe. "This is very kind of you. What is your name?"
"Y/n. What's yours?"
"Muichiro! Do you wanna come play with me?"
You blinked before smiling wider. "Sure."
