The Trees Whisper my Name

Mysterious Amulet

The family stepped outside one by one, ready to get the work finished so they could go back inside. Sarah made her way to the shed beside the house to get the gardening tools that she needed. Dustin and their dad also walked that way to get tools for repairing the fence, and Riley just needed the wagon to carry the fire wood so she would be off faster than everyone else. Grabbing hold of the handle and making sure all of the wheels were intact, Riley started off into the woods, following the man made path.

"Oh, Riley! Be careful and don't get lost!" Her dad shouted after her before she could walk too far away.
Riley waved as she walked away, signaling that she heard and understood what he said. She pulled the wagon down the path and disappeared among the trees. As she walked she sighed in relief, and dramatically placed her hand to her chest."At least he didn't say we had to cut down any trees. Picking up sticks is so much easier."

She picked up twigs, she picked up sticks, and she picked up spare logs strewn around the forest floor. A few times she would have to break up the large sticks she saw in order to have them fit in the wagon. As time passed, it got warmer so she didn't feel like she needed her jacket anymore and she lay it over the side of the wagon.

After she lay her jacket over the side, she looked around.
"Well, dad isn't here... it wont hurt if I explore or play around a little bit." She laughed to herself, dropping the handle of the wagon and wondering off the path a little bit. She didn't want to get lost, so she made sure the wagon was still in her sights as she explored. Riley enjoyed going into the woods and exploring. For as long as she's lived in the woods, she never got tired of exploring. It seemed like every time she went out to go explore, the woods seemed to change.

While she was twirling around a slim oak tree, something shining a little further into the woods caught her eye. She took a couple of steps in that direction before stopping for a moment and turning her head back to the wagon.
"I should grab my coat and tie it to a tree so I don't get lost."  Riley thought, turning and walking to the wagon; occasionally turning back to make sure the shine that caught her eye didn't go away.

After grabbing her coat and walking back to the spot that she was previously at, she tied her coat around the same slim oak tree and turned her head to the shine a little ways away. Seeing it still there, she started walking towards it. 
"What are you?" Riley asked, mostly to herself as she approached the light. It was a bright green light that looked enclosed in a larger tree trunk, with what looked like glowing gold strips in the trees bark.

 As Riley approached the tree, she lifted a hand up to stroke the trunk of it, admiring the gold streaks and how the tree seemed magical. She peered into the tree to see what was causing the green glow, and she saw a beautiful carved wood amulet with clay and glass beads around the string holding the amulet. Riley backed up a little from the tree and looked around.
"Did- did someone loose this? Why is it glowing?" she looked into the tree again.
"I don't think it would be right if I took it... but it does look really cool"

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew from behind her, pushing leaves in spirals past where she stood and making her take a step forward to steady herself. She brushed the hair out of her face just as she heard a soft voice whisper in the wind.

"Take it~"

Riley gave a sharp turn of her head and looked behind her.
"Who- who is that? Is anyone there?" She asked, turning in all directions and taking a couple steps away from the tree. As she stepped away, another gust of wind surrounded her and gently continued to push her forward. At first Riley was scared, she started sweating and picking at her hands; but she started to calm down when the wind stopped pushing her and dissipated. After a few moments, another soft, warm whisper made it's way to her ears. 

"Take the amulet~"

Riley closed her eyes and crouched to the ground, covering her head and ears in fear. She didn't understand what was happening and she was afraid. As she sat, another gentle gust of wind blew past her and for a moment she felt a hand on her shoulder. It felt reassuring but it startled her and she jumped up, turning around to see if anyone was behind her. She saw no one there. Riley slowly turned back to the tree and stared at the green glow at the center of it. She slowly walked forward, slowly reached out, and ever so carefully plucked the wooden amulet from it's place at the center of the tree.

All of a sudden, the strong winds came back and briefly spun around Riley, lifting her into the air for a moment. As soon as her hands touched the amulet, Riley saw creatures pop up from around the forest; creatures that she had not noticed before. When she was turned around by the wind, a fae creature stood before her. It was a tree-like creature with branches and vines covering their body. Even though the creatures were not attacking her, and the dryad was smiling at her, Riley grew more afraid of what she saw because it was unfamiliar to her. 

Riley began to run, clutching the amulet she plucked from the tree. She dodged through the trees and stayed a fair distance from all of the creatures she could somehow now see. She almost passed by the tree with her coat tied to it and had to quickly stumble back and untie it with shaky hands; breaking into another run back to the wagon with amulet and coat in hand. She run up to the wagon, threw the jacket and amulet into it, picked up the handle, and turned around on the path wanting only to go home and not see the unfamiliar creatures anymore.