After taking a short rest I continued to trudge through the forest at a pace I would be able to maintain, always following Istan's trail markers. As I went on, I could tell that Istan had fallen behind the Forest Mother. But she was leaving such an obvious trail for us a child could follow it. My thoughts kept going over the events leading to my plan to run away. There was no way that I would be going back to the village now. The one thing I thought I was doing right and the only thing keeping me there turned out to be moot. What was the point of enduring all the heartache and tears? As all my peers derided me for being different. All those years of being alone while those around me found love. If I was forced to go back, I feel like something inside would break forever. A small part of me was still hoping that something grand would come of Forest Mother seeking our help. But has she ever really needed us before? Why would she need us now?

The sun was starting to set when I heard a strange noise. It sounded like a many small voices were holding a grand party. It was coming from a beautiful tree cascading with white flowers.

I carefully approached the tree. There were lots of things moving in the branches. I could tell that they had wings and were able to communicate. What was in there?

As I took another step a small voice cried out from the tree. "Elf! There is an Elf, we need to flee!"

The branches quickly got very noisy and small figures flew from the tree in every direction. It was now my turn to be shocked. It was not the first time that I had ever seen fairies, but I had never gotten close to them. They were too smart and hard to catch. Also, they were highly intelligent, so it felt wrong to hunt them even if it was just to talk to them.

In my moment of surprise, I heard a strong voice call out, "Stop! It's only Leafia, we don't need to worry."

As the fairies halted their flight, I could not help but ask, "Um, how do you know me?"

A dignified little man flew out of the tree in my direction. "We have been watching you for a long time. Ever since you were a little girl. We could tell that you were gentle and would not hurt us. We were going to show ourselves to you years ago but you were called to guard the Mother. There are too many elves around Mother so we do not risk going there. We also do not want to bother Mother too much. Without the elves around, we would visit her every 10 years or so."

"How can you go that long without visiting? You would only be able to see her a few times in your life."

As I said those words the forest around me broke out in laughter. Once the man in front of me regained his calm and stabilized his flight he said, "You elves still have so much to learn. You are such a young race. Things are not always as they seem. As leader of the fairies in this part of the woods, I have seen more than a thousand years. In this forest only Faun and the Mother are older than I. Even the greatest tree in the forest was not a sapling when I was born."

"But I have seen Fairies taken by hawks?" Several fairies shuddered as I said that.

"Just because we do not age does not mean we can not die. We were wanting to show ourselves to you to teach you and help you learn. We knew you had a gentle spirit that was full of adventure and also an open mind. We could help you grow beyond the limits of what you now know."

"Now I really wish I had found a way to turn down that calling. I spent almost 20 years rotting way protecting a person who needs no protection," I could not help but mumble. I should have left the village. Who am I to think that I can fit in? I could have spent my time with the Fairies instead of the elves. All the elves seem to hate me anyway. The only reason they put up with me is that they know they can't beat me. They never cared for me. None of them did. Emotionally I could not take it and broke down sobbing again. I wish I had run away 20 years ago. I already knew back then that I did not fit in, but I still had a sliver of hope that something would change. Why did I stay? As I sat slumped on the ground, I felt a small weight on my shoulder. A tiny hand started to stroke my cheek.

"It is not too late. Once you finish helping Mother on this task I am sure you can find your place." The fairy sat there for some time, soothing my aching heart. As my tears slowed, I realized that we were surrounded by other flitting wings. Apparently as I was crying most of the fairies had come back. Now they were surrounding the two of us and looking at me with eyes of concern. They were beautiful. I took one great breath and let it go.

"I am glad to see that you have calmed down," the little fairy on my shoulder said to me. "I wish we could have more time to spend together, but this quest of Mother's is of great importance. If we do not succeed the forest may die. Go find Mother. She will need yours and Istan's skill to save Faun. Mother is peaceful and has little experience with how cruel the world can be. She has never had to struggle for her life and I am afraid she will not be ready when the time comes."

I nodded, feeling lighter somehow. These words gave me the strength needed to press forward. I left the fairies and continued on the path Mother had left for us. Once I saw the trail of death left in the woods, I knew that the Fairy was right. Mother would need my help. This was not something she could face on her own.

***

"Leafia, are you alright?" Emily asked me in concern.

Apparently I had been lost in thought. Since I could feel a tear running down my cheek it would be useless to say I was okay. "I was thinking about some things. Let's just say I have had a hard few days."

"You must have had a rough time. I do not know what you have been through, but I can understand a little bit of how you feel. Until a few days ago, I had no idea whose woods I settled down next to. I was quite shaken when she started to move. I started to think living in this village might have been a mistake. I have never been so frightened in my life!"

"Your husband seemed fine though. To think that he would yell at the Forest Mother! If he were an elf, I would think he had nerves of steel and a death wish to try something like that."

"I know, Humans have no understanding of the spirits of the world. They are blind enough to think that the first Dryad was just another guest." Emily started to nervously laugh. I could tell her laughter was largely due to the stress she went through today. Once Emily was finally able to compose herself she s.h.i.+fted the conversation back to me. "What about you? You have been following Forest mother for a little while. What is it like?"

"Hard." I said simply, which gained me an inquisitive look from Emily. "Everything I thought I knew has been overturned. I mean, she created a sacred pond, a holy s.p.a.ce where we were forbidden to enter. All just so we would not bother her too much. Who else would do that?" I also started to laugh with a mixture of frustration and self-deprecation. I wanted to stay stoic. But with all the stress I had gone through in the last few days, soon both of us were chuckling.

"I can't blame her too much though, I mean for wanting to avoid the attention. You elves seem to be capable of some extreme devotion. Just look at Istan! He has already raised me to the level of a demiG.o.d. And all I can do is grow some flowers." I could not help but let out some real laughter at this.

The laughter managed to calm my heart letting me look over the past few days with some additional clarity. "All I really know is that over the past few days I feel like a leaf caught in a whirlwind."

"Ah ha!" Emily said in excitement. "I have figured it out!"

"What did you figure out?" I asked. For some reason the smile on her face was making me feel cautious. I reminded me of a predator who had just found his prize.

"What I am going to call you. You are Leafia the leaf caught in a whirlwind. I am just going to call you Leafy."

"You know you are only saving one sound. It is not like it is saving you anything. Why not just leave it be?" It's not that I disliked the name. I just really did not understand the point.

The predatory smile turned triumphant. "Don't you mean Leaf it be, Leafy?" All I could do in the face of her grin was hang my head in pretended resignation. That way I could hide my smile for a moment longer….