Willowwood Forest

Chapter 2

he next morning, I was back in my part of the forest, tending to my daily tasks. After Willow died, her enchantment left the land a little... off. For one, the lighting in the forest is definitely inconsistent. Sometimes the densely wooded areas glow like a bright summer day, while the open clearings are as dark and uninviting as dusk. Strange, right? That's where I come in. My job is to manage the shadow errors in the forest. Those "freaky eyes," as Aspen called them? They evolved with me to help with my craft, letting me see the subtle shifts in light that others miss.

I began my morning with a slow stroll, my eyes darting around, catching every flicker of movement and shadow. These moments where I'm alone are the best parts of the day. I don't feel obligated to prove anything to anyone. Just me and the forest.

I scratched at the collar of my shirt. They give us collared uniforms to wear in the forest, as if we're office workers or something. My dad used to work in one of those stuffy places. One thing I'm grateful to have this job for is that I don't have to worry about being confined like that. Anyways, each of us received different-coloured ties based on our assignment—mine's purple. They thought black was "too formal." Not the worst colour to get, I suppose.

As I walked, I kept scanning the ground, checking for shadows that didn't quite belong—shadows that were too thick or too thin, or even ones that bent in the wrong direction. The shadows weren't the only thing I was worrying about. I felt like I was being watched, eyes drilling into my skin. The sounds of faint footsteps occasionally didn't help either.

After some walking, I found an error quickly. Under a few weeping willows, blanketed in leaves, was a generous amount of light under it. I went down on the ground and placed my hand against it. My eyes were focused, concentrating on my job. My hands began to tingle, growing warmer. Eventually, black smoke-like gas seeped from my hands and began to spread.

Every time I make a correction, it leaves me wondering. The story goes that Willow's magic enchanted the forest. If her magic was so good, why would we need to be here to correct problems? Then again, Ollie could have always tampered with it as she died.

Slowly the smoke flowed into the surrounding area, correcting the incorrect light balance.

Afterwards, I got off the ground. My hands still tingled, buzzing with warmth. As I was examining them, an ice-cold breeze tickled my neck, leaving nothing but a chill going down my spine.

I'm not who you think I am, I heard in the distance. Quickly, I scanned the area surrounding me. No one was around.

My eyes narrowed, trying to find the person talking.

"Real funny prank, who said that?," I said. All I heard in response was silence. The willows grew somber; their branches hung a little lower. It was eerily quiet in the forest.

I shook it off. It was just the wind. Besides, I hadn't gotten much sleep last night; my eyes were heavy. Walking out of the weeping willow clearing, I heard someone for real this time.

"Paige!," someone called out. I looked to my left and there was one of the kids who worked here too, Asher. His eyebrows furrowed, a frown plastered on his face.

"What's?," I called out awkwardly as he got closer. We don't usually talk often.

He dashed to me, then bent over and panted. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"One sec," he breathed, holding up a finger. "There's a problem."

I fidgeted with my fingers, waiting for him to continue. Asher usually hangs around the bushy meadows of the forest, while I took on the forested area so our paths don't cross usually. He's also shorter than me, which could also help with me not seeing him.

Eventually, he stood up straight. "Sorry," he adjusted his glasses. "I had to run here from the whole other side of the forest,"

"Okay...?," I said, tapping my foot impatiently.

"You know how you have those snakes right?," He asked. Cleared his throat. "They're being a little.....friendly"

I continued to fidget with my fingers. "How..so?"

Asher untied his ivory green tie, put his hand down his shirt. I turned my head, wishing to be anywhere but here at this moment. Eventually, after a few seconds of rummaging, he pulled out a black snake.

He handed me the snake, which began to curl around my arm lovingly. "Your snakes have been touching me all day."

I looked down at the snake. It's another shadowsnake. Soft, black tails with purple eyes that glow. Each of us has a certain species we need to control, and since shadowsnakes travel by teleporting through shadows, it was unanimous that they were the species I took care of.

I gritted my teeth. ".. My bad."

"Just don't do it again. I have my own things to do."

"Right."

Asher fixed his collar, then turned away. "Good luck finding the rest of them." He frowned as he walked.

I was left with a snake curled in my arm, seemingly excited to see me. I wasn't. These snakes were nothing but a nuisance. "I guess we gotta find the rest of you, huh?," I said to the snake like it spoke English.

For some reason, it nodded, then tapped my fingers with its head. Yeah, that might be a smarter way to find them.

I crouched down, snake in hand, and tapped my other hand on the ground again. I focused on the ground, concentrating on one certain spot. Soon, my hands grew warm, and I was able to make a little orb of shadow.

Waiting for the snakes to appear, I sat down on the ground and relaxed. It wasn't too cold out, which was nice. The snake was still curled on my arm so I took some time to examine it.

Weirdly, i was pretty sure this one had a defect, usually shadowsnakes have sharp yellow eyes. The one with me had purple ones. I shrugged it off. The little thing was going up and down my arm, getting used to my scent. Great.

Suddenly I heard a noise coming from the orb. The snakes had arrived.