My village fears the forest. Why? I just do not know. No one has ever told me why. It is like they are trying to keep something from me. The only reply I get is “Do not go beyond the forest’s border,” or sometimes they just respond “Do not enter or else you will die.” Other times I do not get any answer at all. Naturally, I question it. What could be in there that my village can not even tell me about? From the outside, It seemed like an ordinary forest. Birds chirping, sometimes small animals could be seen in the bushes, and tall healthy trees that could be seen from miles on end. I thought about these things as I looked into the forest. What could be so dangerous about it? 

I do not think anyone actually knew what was so dangerous about it. The closest thing I came across was the legend of the forest. My cousin, Drew, and I were up late one night. We were talking about the forest and he told me the story. I vividly remember it because I heard it when I was very young. I can only recall something about a magical pond. It probably faded from my memory because it sounded like something from a fairy tale. As I continued looking at the forest something caught my eye. A small deer was staring straight at me. Mesmerized, I walked closer and closer. Its bright green eyes seemed to pull me in. Twigs broke under my feet. I looked down and I realized I was in the forest. I looked up and the deer was gone. I laughed to my self. It was all a myth. There was no terror lying in the forest. I continued walking. Squirrels and rabbits looked at me, astonished. Birds started chirping out of pitch melodies. I grew tired. I do not know how long I had been walking. My feet ached and I wanted to rest. I leaned against the trunk of a large tree and settled down. I was swallowed in sleep’s calm darkness. 

A cold breeze made me shiver and I awoke from my slumber. I rose from the ground and started walking back to the village. I could hear shouts of villagers. Alarm captured my body as I heard the name they were calling out. Drew. I felt as if my heart dropped thousands of feet. I felt my adrenaline pumping through my body and I started to run as fast as I could. My lungs were overcome by fear which made it hard to breathe. It was at least five minutes until I saw sight of the village. I heard cries and mournes as I neared it. As I got closer to the scene, I knew what had happened. Women wiped their eyes of incessant tears. My father was standing looking sorrowfully at my cousin. My eyes started to water and I found myself crying hysterically at the sight. My father looked at me and motioned for me to come. My soul felt like it had just caught on fire. Drew was the only one who could calm me, but Drew was gone. The fire from my soul spread throughout my body. There was nothing I could do except run. The wind whipped my face, my legs hurt, and my head was pounding. Before I knew it I was back in the forest. Back to the place my village feared for generations. I did not care anymore. I sprinted away from the village. Suddenly, I tripped on a large rock and fell hard against the ground. I felt something grab my leg. Then, everything went black. 

A bright light showed through my eyelids and I open them. A girl was sitting beside me. She looked familiar, except I knew I had never seen her before. Her bright green eyes reminded me of the dear’s. She has long brown hair and freckles scattered on her face. She was wearing a dress similar to mine. Everything seemed normal, but her ears were not normal ears. They were ears like those of a dear, soft and pointy. The girl smiled and asked how I felt. I did not answer her question. Instead, I asked my own. Who are you? “I am Fawn, a deer-being. I saw you in trouble so I rescued you,” she replied. What has brought you into the forest? The thoughts of Drew raced back to my mind. My eyes flooded with tears. Fawn replied, “Drew?” “Yes, how did you know? He was my best friend. I do not know what I am going to do without him,” I replied shakingly. She wiped my tears with a soft cloth. “I have been watching your village for many years now.” I looked at her confused. Suddenly she transformed into the same deer I had seen the first time into the forest. I was shocked, but for some reason it all made sense. “Now, have some food and get to bed.” The food tasted very strange, but I ate it anyway. When I was done, I noticed all of my wounds from the fall were healed. In minutes I was fast asleep. I spent a few days with Fawn. She told me about all sorts of different things. She talked about the wonderful things she and her other fellow animal-people did. A few days later, I finally asked about the legend of the forest. She agreed to tell me and I eagerly sat up to listen. “Long ago,” Fawn began, “Eulia, the mother of the animal-people, created us, her children because she was tired of the humans’ foolishness and careless actions. To ensure our safety, she would lay a curse on any outsiders to enter the forest. The only law the animal-people had to follow was to never touch the Pond of Fate. Eulia said that whoever touches the water of the Pond will get to know anything they want, but they will suffer their worst nightmare. The humans would never even think twice before touching the water. Eulia got tired of watching the same thing over and over again. She explained that first the human would touch the water and ask something like “What is my future?” or “When will I die?” Then, she would watch them suffer greatly as they experienced their worst fear.” I quivered at the end of her story. I asked if she could take me to the pond. “I do not know,” she replied, “Not after what I have just told you. Your human instincts will make it too dangerous.” “Please. I will not touch it. I promise,” I say. “Fine,” replies Fawn. “Just remember the consequences that come to those who do.” 

The day after, we journeyed to the pond. We walked for hours and as we got deeper into the forest, the bird’s chirps’ quieted and everything became darker. It became silent. The only sound I heard was the leaves crunching with each step we took. I was growing very tired until we came across a bright blue light. As we ventured further, the Pond of Fate came into sight. Its shape was a perfect circle. The moon’s light shown upon the pond making it sparkle and glow. I was hypnotized by its beauty and walked closer. “Do not touch the water,” Fawn reminded me, “You do not know what could happen.” I looked at the water and saw Drew’s reflection. I was in disbelief. I look back at Fawn and before she could say anything I put my hands into the water. Before I could ask my question, something grabbed my hands and pulled me into the pond. I screamed in desperation. My head went under. I could not see a thing. Everything went cold and I thought I was dead. 

I heard a familiar voice. “Zoe! Zoe! Wake up!” I thought I was dreaming. I opened my eyes. It was Drew! When I saw him I cried with joy and hugged him. “Drew you are alive! How?” Drew responded, “I was never dead.” I was so confused. “What? But, but I saw you. You were dead. You were laying on your bed and everyone from the village was there.” Drew said, “Zoe, it does not matter now. Let’s travel back to the village.” We hopped on the back of Drew’s horse and started our way back to the village. I was so happy to see Drew. I was about to hug him again until everything around me began to fade. Drew was disappearing into thin air. “Drew! What is happening?” I said alarmed. Things started to get dark again. Soon, I was on the ground. I could not get up. I screamed Drew’s name. Where is he? He was with me just a second ago. The sound echoed again and again in my head. My father came into view. “Drew is gone,” he said as he helped me get up. I started asking questions. “Where are Drew and Fawn?” “Drew is dead,” My father replied calmly, “And who is Fawn.” I grew calm by the feeling of sadness. Drew was gone and Fawn as well, if she even existed. Drew was gone now, but I had to keep living. I fell into my father’s arms and was reassured by his warmth that everything was going to be okay.