The wet dew touches my hooves lightly as I walk through the forest.

I skim the ground,

looking for daisies like my father told me to do. I’ve always been tasked with menial tasks since I
was little. It doesn’t help that I’m the runt of my family. My three older siblings exceed me in
everything except hiding. Whenever we play hide and seek they can never find me! My older
sister Anneli says it’s because I’m so small. I think she’s just jealous of my ability to blend in, it’s
one of the many benefits of being a wallflower. Anneli is the oldest out of all of us. She’s quick
tempered and as strong as an ox. She rarely talks to me but when she does, she’s usually
scolding me for something I did wrong. The second oldest is Heimo, he’s quiet and reserved;
always daydreaming about god knows what. Sometimes I catch him smiling when he looks off
into the distance. The last child before me is Jasmin, and she’s the meanest out of all of them.
We unfortunately share a room, and she’s always putting bugs in my bed. She says I deserve it
but wont tell me why. My fathers name is Tapio and he’s the most caring person I’ve ever met.
He always treats me with kindness and warmth even though I mess up all the time.

The wind tickles the back of my neck as I leisurely walk back home and the sun warms
my face as it rises. Our home is deep in the forest surrounded by giant trees and plants that
hide its location. As I draw closer I can hear the bickering of my siblings. As per usual they’re
probably arguing about who had the best catch today. Everyday is the same. They fight over
who’s catch is the biggest while I stand and watch in the background. I can hunt as well but
because my siblings are older than me they get to do all the hunting. It’s annoying but it's my
fathers rule. I think he just doesn’t want the others to bully me. I’m 24 and a grown adult and it’s
frustrating that he still acts like I’m 12. Sighing, I walk into the clay building to give my father the
daisies I picked. When I enter the kitchen he’s nowhere to be found. “Father?” I say quietly.
Puzzled, I called for him again but no response was given. I shrugged the unnerving feeling
away as I put the daisies into a container. Maybe he went out to hunt as well? While
contemplating where he might be I hear a quiet rustle come from my fathers office. After setting
the container down I move lightly on my feet over to the door. I open the door quietly and peek
in. What the hell? I see in the standing mirror my father crouched over a bag in the corner crying
silently. The tears run down his cheeks like waterfalls. He doesn’t move to wipe them away or
even sniffle. He just sits there. Still as a tree. I watch in awe until he suddenly moved. After
quickly putting the bag back in his closet he turned to face the mirror. Careful not to make a
sound, I prance back into the kitchen at high speed. I frantically begin to stuff the rest of the
daisies into the container to look busy. After about 5 minutes my father comes out of his room.
He gives me a lazy grin and apologizes, saying he was sleeping.

That night after dinner I told my family I would be sleeping in the hammock outside our
house. My father cautioned me against it, saying that it’s too dangerous to sleep alone outside. I
couldn't care less though because I wanted to be able to sneak back into my fathers office
without my family but mainly Jasmin noticing. Since we share a room together, she would be the
first to notice I was gone. After a long lecture about safety, my father helped me set up several
trip wires and traps around the hammock. He said wanted to make sure I was protected from
the beasts that roamed the forest. Sometimes I don’t know if he actually trusts me or not. All my
other siblings can stay out without the help of our father but not me? I just don’t understand it.
What could be in that room that made him cry that much? Does it have something to do with
Mom? He rarely talks about her, but when he does he looks happy. The urge to know is making
my brain itch in anticipation. I definitely need to see what’s in that room.

I wait patiently in the hammock for hours. Passing the time by counting the leaves on the tree in
front of me. Everyone else has gone to sleep except my father. His office light still glows faintly
in the dark. I wonder if he’s crying again. The mourning face of my father fills my thoughts as I
tiptoe to the window. Peering through the window I see that he is holding the bag again. This
time he’s not crying. He’s just sitting in his chair and patting the bag like it’s a dog. He opens the
top of the satchel and a giant monstrous mouth appears. The giant teeth and tongue protrude
out of the bag as the bag as a whole begins to move. Bewildered, I watch as my father puts
both feet into the creature's mouth. The creature grins in delight and begins to swallow my
father quickly. Horrified, I start screaming for it to stop. I run back into the house as fast as I can.
When I get to the office I hear the sounds of large gulps. Slamming the door open, I see only my
fathers head sticking out of the creature. He turns his head slightly at the sound of the noise.
“Toivo?” he says breathlessly while he’s being further eaten by the bag. He quickly shouts
before he’s swallowed all the way that the bag is not eating him but that it’s a mimic that holds
things. It’s not eating him? Confused, I frantically search for the book on creatures that my father
has on his bookshelf. I skim the top shelf and cannot find it. My eyes begin to water as I start on
the second shelf. I let out a cry of relief when I finally spotted the book. After wiping my eyes I
reach for the book. I scan quickly for the creatures with ‘M’ names.

The book says that mimics are shapechangers that store and eat things. While the mimic
remains motionless it is indistinguishable from an ordinary object. I glance back at the mimic
which looks like a bag again. Should I go in it as well? I reluctantly walk over to the chair and sit
down. I lift up the top and stick my feet into the slimy mouth. Immediately my body begins
descending into the mimic. Next thing I know my feet are hitting something squishy. I fall over as
I hear my father call out to me. After picking myself off the slimy ground, I freeze when I see my
father standing next to two skeletons. The air around me feels cold and I can’t bring myself to
move. My father’s face looks overwhelmed with sadness. He motions for me to come closer so I
do. As I get closer I can see a pendant hanging from the body to the right. “What is this?” I ask
in confusion. Exhaling my father begins to explain. He tells me that I am not his real child. My
mothers name was Aada and my real fathers name was Mika. When I was still in the womb, my
mother and father made a deal with a demon to keep me alive. Due to the deal, when I was
born, I looked different from my parents. My light mahogany skin and scarlet eyes were the only
things that made me look different from average satyrs but they were enough to let the whole
world know that I had the mark of a demon. When the village found out about this it caused an
uproar and my parents were executed for making a deal with the demon.

My father– No, Tapio begins sobbing while I stare at him in disbelief. These skeletons are my
parents? “Why did you keep them in this thing?” I ask as I begin moving over to the remains. “I
wanted to resurrect them but I couldn’t find anyone in time. I’ve never had the strength to
properly bury them.” Tapio says meekly. “So you decided to leave them here to rot instead of
burying them?” I whisper coldly while reaching for the pendant on what I assume to be my
mothers body. I open the pendant and find a piece of paper. The paper contains a map of an
island I’ve never seen before. I turn to Tapio quickly and ask what it is. “It was the place your
parents wanted to go to once you were born. They knew that they'd be outcast so they picked a
place with minimal amounts of people.” He says with watery eyes. He then goes on to explain
that they had connections with the people on the island and that they had built a home for them
before they died. I’ve heard enough. I need to get out of this thing. “Let me out” I demand.
Sulking, Tapio knocks on the walls three times. Suddenly the floors start moving and a large
hole appears. Then the next thing I know I’m hitting my face on the hard wooden floor. Tapio’s
feet appear next to me. Looking up, I see him looming over me in a cowardly stance. He’s
holding the backpack tightly in his hands. I rip the backpack out of his hands angrily and
proceed to leave the office. I hear him calling my name as I make my way towards my bedroom.
I grab all my hunting tools and clothes before heading to the kitchen. I can still hear Tapio
panting and pleading behind me as I grab food. Looking at the bag around my shoulder, I
reluctantly open the top and put all I have into the monster. I hear my sisters and brother now
shouting at me. Asking me what I’m doing and where I’m going. I pay little attention to them as I
open the front door and abruptly tell them I’m leaving and that I will not be coming back. I say
goodbye quickly and run out the door as screams erupt from inside the home. All I can focus on
right now is the island I saw. I have to find it. I will find it.