Leo opened his eyes. 'What happened to me?' He thought. 'I swear I was about to be a pancake against the roof of a cave.' Instead, he was outside staring at the night sky. He watched as the moon followed its nightly path across the sky.
Leo looked down, he was in a clearing, trees circling from all sides. He walked over to one and put his hand on its trunk. It felt cool against his sweaty palms. The tree was smooth, and chocolate brown. His gaze followed up the tree, it was huge. He looked at the top, these trees were like none other, their leaves were glowing all different colours of red, blue, purple, yellow, and white. It was magnificent! "How had this place not been discovered, as bright and colourful as it was?" He wondered. He looked through the trees; the light from leaves made everything in sight bright and colourful.
As beautiful the place was, Leo knew he needed to leave. He needed to get away from this place, to his family. "Might as well start walking." He started down hill, walking around rocks and roots, continuing to examine the beautiful trees.
Something in a nearby bush rustled, Leo turned his head to the bush. He stood still, fear enveloping him. He examined the bush, waiting for whatever was in it to reveal itself.
It was then that he realized the bush was like any other bush. It didn't glow like the trees, it remained a cool, pine green. Forgetting the noise, He looked around and noticed everything seemed like a normal forest, the rocks, bushes, and even the leaves on the ground. He looked at the foliage above him. 'Why was it that the leaves on these trees were emitting such a strange light?' He wondered. He kept walking, pondering the question. 'Maybe something happened to me. That man did say I hit my head,' I thought. 'Maybe I'm dreaming, or hallucinating.'
A faint roar tugged Leo from his trance. It was quiet, yet, constant. His curiosity took over, pulling him towards the noise wondering what it was. He walked for what seemed to be an hour, the noise getting louder with each step. Gradually the forest opened into another clearing. Directly in front of him was a large pond, against a mossy wall. A waterfall cascaded down onto the rocks below, pooling into a smaller pond, then overflowing the large pond with crystal clear water. The fall created a mist that reflected the light of the trees creating a permanent rainbow.
Something caught Leo's eye in the water below as he looked down at the pond. Little lights were swirling around in the water, growing dimmer and brighter. He stepped towards the edge of the pond where a few lights swam around. When he leaned closer to the edge and knelt down, the lights swam away. He sat there for a while and noticed a light grow stronger. It kept growing until the light shaped into a small, blue, glowing fish. He dipped his hand into the water and the fish fled to the depths taking it's light with it.
Leo looked down into the water and watched his reflection ripple as it became clear. The water stilled, as did his reflection. His eyes widened wide and he jumped, spun around, and looked frantically for what he had seen. Slowly, he looked back at the water. Reflecting off of it was a boy, his age, size and facial structure. It seemed as if he was looking at himself, but not. The boy in the reflection had snow like hair and his eyes fashioned a vibrant green scaled pattern. Leo stared at the reflection, and the reflection stared back. 'This can't be me, who is that?' He thought while he and the reflection continued their staring contest.
An idea came to Leo. He reached to the back of his head and pulled a few strands of hair from his scalp. Looking at the hair he sighed, normal ordinary brown. Looking back at the water was the white haired boy still staring at him. Maybe it was a trick of the light. Leo watched the reflection, a look of disappointment written on his face.
Leo looked past the pond. The path ahead did not seem preferable. Jagged rocks littered the way above the pond. He stood, considering his options.
Leo turned around deciding to try another path. He started to the forest, walking along the pond. A cold wisp of air stung his cheek. He pulled his arms close to his body. Another cold breeze filled the air. A flock of birds fled from the trees into the safety of the night sky. A shiver went down his spine, something didn't feel right.
In the depths of the forest a twig snapped. 'It's nothing,' Leo told himself 'Just my imagination.' He continued walking towards the forest, concentrating on the sounds he made with each step. Another snap came from the forest, this time much louder than before. His body stiffened and he held his breath, heart racing. He peered past the trees, looking for the source of the sound. A rustle came from a nearby tree. Looking up at the large tree he saw a bird. "Had this small creature made all the noise?" He thought. The leaves of the tree began to shake. Another noise came from the forest. It sounded as if someone was rapidly firing a gun. Leo looked into the forest, slightly puzzled, but mostly afraid.
A light shone into Leo's eyes. He looked up and saw a yellow orb in the sky. He squinted thinking, 'is that the sun?' The orb grew closer and closer. At the base of this bright light was a thick brown trunk. Realization of what was coming struck him. He stumbled backwards, away from the tree. He felt his feet slip out from under him as he landed in a slick mud, splashing into the freezing water. He looked up, the tree was only metres from him, there was no time to move.
