“Soren! Soren!” My little brother’s voice rang through my ears as I was shaken awake. ‘What time is it?

’ I
thought to myself, looking at the clock on my nightstand. It read 3:40 a.m.
“Theo, what are you doing?” I asked groggily, sitting up.
“I can’t sleep, I had a nightmare.” He said softly. I could hear the shakiness in his voice, it must’ve been
a bad one.
“What am I supposed to do about it? Go back to your room,” I groaned, lying back down.
“Can I stay with you? Pleaseeee?” He whined, shaking me by the shoulder. I sighed, knowing there was no
way out of this.
“Fine, come here,” I said, sitting up and scooting to the other side of the bed so he could get in. His face
lit up and he crawled up and quickly snuggled in next to me.
“Tell me a story? Please?” he asked, looking up at me with pouty eyes. I smiled softly, before speaking,
“Alright, alright. What’ll it be tonight?” I asked, and he took a moment to think.
“Tell me about the adventure one again!” He finally decided.
“That one again? You’ve heard that one so many times,” I groaned, knowing I was going to have to retell
the story for the 25th time.
“Yes! Please?” He pleaded, giving me puppy-dog eyes. I chuckled, knowing there was no way I would be
able to convince him to pick a new one.
“Alright, fine,” I sighed. Theo cheered and snuggled in closer to my side.
“Hmm, ah right, that’s how it goes,” I said, having to think for a moment to remember how the story
went. I couldn’t figure out why, but something felt different this time. It was as if I was reliving the whole
experience. As I started retelling the story, it was as if I was sucked into the alternate reality in which this
story took place…

I // The Game
I was playing as a replacement libero for the Stonewall Valley Griffins volleyball team. Our designated
libero was out for the rest of the season with a broken wrist, so I was brought up. This was the first time
our team had made the provincial finals in 8 years. I was not about to let this opportunity go to waste.
This was my last year on the team, since I would be graduating in the coming summer. It was the last
set. We had won the first one, and lost the second. Whoever scored the winning point would be going
through to nationals. The score was 24-24. Two points. That’s all we needed. It was the other team's
serve. I got into the receiving position. The whistle blows, and the ball came over, and it was close
enough to me, so I went for it,
“Got it!” I yelled, passing it to our setter. ‘Set, send it right, get the hit.. Yes!’ I thought to myself as we
scored the match point.
“One more guys, we got this!” I yelled to my teammates. It was our serve. The whistle blows, and the
ball goes over, to the other team’s libero, and right back over to us. ‘Perfect’ I thought to myself, going
for the receive,
“Got it,” I called, sending it to our setter again. ‘Come on. One more time, guys. This is it. Set, send it
left, shit,’ I thought to myself, when our left hitter was blocked. I felt time stop as I raced forward to get
the dive. I got there barely in time, just getting my hands under the ball, and getting it back up. But, I
had nothing to cushion my fall, since my hands were in front of me. I landed hard on my side, trying to
get myself back up again, but I had done something to my shoulder, and I just fell back to the floor in
pain. I was starting to get a bit dizzy, but I came to my senses when I heard my team celebrating. We
got the point. We were going to nationals. I tried to get up again, but pain rushed through my body
again and I cried out. My teammates noticed, and crowded around me, asking if I was alright. I could
only groan in response, and one of my teammates called for the medic. My father and my younger
brother had run down from the stands, and our coach and our team medic rushed over, and asked,
“Soren! What’s going on, what hurts?” I groaned in pain once again, and I said through gritted teeth,
“Shoulder.” The medic started feeling around my shoulder, asking me where it hurt the most, but I
couldn’t tell, it all hurt. They called an ambulance, and the paramedics got there soon after. They got me
on a stretcher, and got me in the ambulance and drove me to the hospital. My father drove separately
with my brother. They rushed me into the ER and did X-rays right away, gave me some painkillers, and
bandaged me up and put my arm in a sling. My dad and my brother showed up a few minutes later, and
came in right away, asking,
“How is he? What’s wrong?” My father was panting from running up the stairs to the floor I was on,
so was my brother.
“We don’t know yet. We took an X-ray, but the results haven’t come back yet. They should soon.” The
doctor said shortly. The X-rays came in shortly after, and the results weren’t good. I had torn my rotator
cuff and fractured a rib. The doctor told us that both of my injuries were going to take a long time to fully
heal, and I felt a pit form in my stomach. I wasn’t going to be able to play in nationals. The one year I
made it, I wouldn’t be able to play. Too many emotions and thoughts were running through my head.
Sadness, anger, disappointment, too many to count. The doctor left, and my dad and brother sat down
next to my bed. My brother grabbed my hand, and I squeezed it. The rest of the team came by later, with
some “get well soon” balloons and cards. Everyone left eventually, and I was exhausted, so sleep came
easily, albeit uncomfortably.

II // Tree People
I woke up with a start on a cold, hard surface. ‘This isn’t the hospital,’ I thought to myself. This
definitely wasn’t the hospital, ‘Am I dead?’ I pinched myself in the arm, and yelped at the stinging
sensation. ‘Nope. Definitely not dead,’ I thought. Then I noticed something. I looked down at my hands,
and had to stop myself from screaming. My skin had turned to a sickly gray-ish color, it was slightly
translucent, and I could see the bones in my hands and wrists. I was confused, to say the least. ‘What the
hell is going on?’ I asked myself, finally looking around to survey my surroundings. There wasn’t much to
see, just rock. I figured I was in some sort of cave, but I could see no way out. There was barely any light,
but to my surprise, I could see quite well. I didn’t know how, or why, but it was helpful in finding my way
out of the cave. I walked through the winding tunnel for a while until I finally found the entrance. I
stepped out into the light, and I squinted, letting my eyes adjust to the light. Once my eyes had adjusted, I
looked around, surveying my surroundings. I was surrounded by forest. Tall Redwood and Cypress trees
that seemed to go on for miles and miles. I found that the cave was on top of a small mountain, and I
walked down the trail, searching for any signs of life or civilization. I couldn’t see anything through the

trees, so I started to make my way into the forest. As I was making my way through the forest, I got an
eerie feeling that I was being watched or followed. I heard a twig snap behind me, and I whipped my head
around. I squinted my eyes, but there was nothing that I could see. I kept on walking, but the feeling never
stopped. I kept making my way through the forest, occasionally looking behind me, convinced I was being
followed. Or at least watched. The forest went on for miles and miles, I couldn't even see 10 feet in front of
me because there were so many plants and bushes in my way. I should have been paying more attention to
where I was putting my feet, because I caught my foot on a root and tripped, landing face first in the dirt. I
groaned, turning over so I was on my back, wiping the dirt off my face. I must’ve hit my head pretty hard-
My vision was blurry, and the world seemed to be spinning. I closed my eyes, trying to right myself. I came
to my senses after a moment, but I must have been delirious, because the leaves and plants seemed to
have formed into faces. I reached out to touch one of them, thinking that they were just the plants, but I
yelped and recoiled when my hand came into contact with something that felt too similar to human skin. I
scrambled backwards, and the leafy figure screamed and jumped back as well, putting its hands- or what I
thought were hands- out in mock surrender, saying,
“Woah! Easy! I’m not going to hurt you!”
‘Okay. The plants are alive, and talking, and have faces,’ I thought to myself, trying to process what was
happening.
“You’re.. a plant,” I said. The plant creature seemed confused.
“Yes?” It said in response.
“And you’re talking. And you look like a human,” I said. The plant creature seemed even more confused
by this.
“Yes?” It tilted its head, as if it was studying me.
“Okay.. What the fuck is going on? Is this some sort of lucid dream?” I asked, not liking the shakiness of
my voice.
“I assure you this is not a dream. Are there no Leaflings in your realm?” The creature asked.
“No, we do not have.. Leaflings.. Where I come from,” I said.
“Oh,” It said. I tilted my head to the side, studying the leaf creature. The creature mimicked my
movements, seeming to study me as well. Suddenly, its features started to morph. The leaves and twigs
slowly disappeared, and were replaced by skin.
“Is this what creatures look like where you come from?” The creature asked. My mouth fell open in
shock, my brain not being able to process what was happening.
“Uh huh,” I said, nodding. I had to physically shut my mouth, and I just stared at the creature in shock.
Neither me nor the creature said a word, until the creature spoke,
“So… what is your name?” All I answered with was,
“Okay, what the actual fuck is going on?! I must be dreaming, I’ve gotta be dreaming, right?” I said,
pinching myself.
“No, no. I assure you, this is not a dream.. Strange creature,” I didn’t have time to respond, my vision
started to go black, and I felt myself falling. The shock must have been too much for my body to process.

III // The Village

I woke up with a start, but this time, it wasn’t on the cold ground of the forest where I had passed out.
I looked around, and saw that I was in some sort of hut. I heard voices outside, and I recognized the voice
of the tree creature I had met, but I could only make out the last part of what it was saying,
“I mean.. Did you see his skin? He has to be!” They insisted. I then heard a second voice, one I didn’t
recognize. It was deeper, more stern and gruff,
“We don’t know for sure, Willow. We can’t jump to conclusions yet. We don’t know if he truly is the
chosen one. For all we know it could just be another of Kieran’s tricks,” The voice said. ‘Who’s Kieran?
Chosen one? What is going on here?’ So many questions were running through my mind, but my thoughts
were interrupted when a man and the tree creature walked through the door of the hut. But this wasn’t an
ordinary man. This creature had big gray and black speckled wings protruding from between his
shoulder-blades, that were long enough to almost touch the floor. But what confused me the most was he
had a striking resemblance to my father. And the little tree creature had an uncanny resemblance to my
little brother.
“Oh! Good, you’re awake,” The tree creature said, smiling at me. I awkwardly smiled back.
“Where am I? Who are you people?” I asked, still very frightened and confused.
“Oh, of course. Where are our manners? I am Eret, and this is Willow. If you’d follow us, I’d rather show
you where you are,” The winged man said. I followed them outside, and was met with a bustling village,
consisting of log cabins, small huts, and old-looking wooden buildings.
“Welcome to Lumina Cove,” Eret said, gesturing to the busy village surrounding us. Everyone walking
around looked like Willow or Eret. Some had wolf ears, some had different looking wings, some even
looked like cat hybrids. Eret brought me back into the tent, and sat me down. I couldn’t place his facial
expression.
“So. Down to business. How did you get here? Judging by your reactions to everything you’ve seen
here, you’re clearly not from around here… But looking at your hands and your eyes, something tells me
you belong here,” Eret said, looking me directly in the eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m just as confused as you are. I have no idea how I got here, or why I’m here, or why my
hands look like this. Last night I was in a hospital bed with a torn rotator cuff, and fractured ribs, and now
I’m here,” I did my best explaining, and Eret waited for me to finish, before letting out a long sigh.
“We’ve been told a prophecy. Our Elders had told us the legend of Aros. A god believed to control the
element of fire and manipulate the shadows. The prophecy foretold of his descendant coming to us in our
time of need. It is said that he will have gray, translucent skin, and dark red eyes. Judging by that
description, you fit the bill kid,” Eret explained.
“Wait… What are you trying to say?” I asked, still trying to process.
“Welcome home, chosen one,” He said, getting down on one knee in front of me.
“What? No no no. This isn’t right. I’m not the son of a god!” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
“The prophecy has been spoken. You have been sent to set us free,” Eret insisted.
“No, this has to be a mistake! I’m no foretold hero or some shit, I’m just.. Me,” I said, chuckling
nervously. I refused to believe that I was the descendant of a god. ‘There’s no way it’s true,’ I thought to
myself. Eret sighed and stood up.
“Deny it all you want kid, but destiny is destiny,” He said, looking at me. My head was reeling with so
many thoughts and questions. I wanted answers, and I wanted to know what was going on, but I also
wanted nothing to do with this ‘prophecy’. This wasn’t me, I wasn’t a leader, or some hero, meant to save a
civilization from some ominous villain no one knew a thing about. Eret let out a sigh,
“Look. I get that this is a lot. If you don’t believe me, fine. If you tell me no right now, you can walk out of
this tent with no responsibility whatsoever, and we’ll find a way to get you home as fast as possible,” He
said, standing up and starting to walk away, but he stopped when I spoke,
“Fine. I’ll stay,” I said.
“But,” I continued, “I have no idea what I’m doing. I didn’t even know I had powers until now, do you
really expect me to know how to use them?” I said. Eret chuckled.
“Alright. We better get you trained then,” He said.
IV // The training grounds
I’d thought that Eret would be taking me to train, yet Willow was leading me to the training grounds out in
the woods. They led me through the forest, and I could hear the fleeting whispers of other leaflings
amongst the trees.
“Did you hear that Eret thinks they’re the chosen one?”, one whispered.
“What? There’s no way. They’re human!”, the other replied
“Well Eret thinks otherwise.”, the first said.
“They didn’t even know that they had powers, how do you expect them to be able to take down
Kieran?” the second retorted.
I tried my best to block out the voices as Willow led me through the trees. They led me into a clearing in
the forest. At first it looked like a normal clearing in the woods, but then I noticed the weapon racks along
one of the tree-lines, filled with all kinds of weapons, like long swords, short swords, bo staffs, daggers,
throwing knives, hand axes, larger axes, bows and shields.
“You can choose from any of the weapons on the wall,” Willow said, “Eret had something to take care
of, he’ll be here shortly,” I made my way over to the racks of weapons, skimming through all of them. I
picked up a bo staff. I turned around to say something to Willow, but they were gone. I spent a little while
messing around, doing moves with the staff that were most likely horribly incorrect. I continued my very
sloppy, self-guided practice until I heard a sudden movement in the bushes. I whipped around, but I could
see nothing through the thick of the forest. I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that I was something- or
someone's- prey. I did my best to shrug it off, continuing on with my terrible defense maneuvers; I don’t
even know if you could even call them that. After a few minutes, I heard movement again. It was behind
me this time. No, this time it was different, it wasn’t just rustling bushes.