The Boy and His Forest Friends

God here, today's tale is a village boy in the outskirts of a grand kingdom. At the edge of town are forests, lots and lots of forests. In this tale, we follow a boy named Eric and all his forest friends. Let us begin.

Eric is tasked with getting water from the river just outside of the town, the town which is surrounded by forest that towers the small village. The boy is sent away by his sweet mother who is holding a baby in her arms, Eric is handed a busted-up bucket.

Eric's mother: "Go fetch us some water so I can clean your brother."

Eric took on any quest from his mother without hesitation. Aiming to prove to his mother how great o son he is, he dashes off with the bucket swinging around at looks of determination on his face.

Eric yells as he is running: "I will be fast!"

She waves to him before heading into the small cottage with smoke coming out of the chimney. A small dirt path leads to the edge of town before trailing off into uncharted land, the river is insights at the edge of the town but the dark forest makes even the toughest people second guess themselves. But not even the gates of hell can stop this little boy from accomplishing his quest for his mother, the boy gulps hard, standing at the edge of the twilight zone, he takes one big step.

Eric pumping himself up: "I can do this, I can do this."

Ruffling his shaggy brown hair and growling at the dark forest as it stares back at him, Eric strikes a fierce stare right back at it, his deep blue eyes could pierce anything. The little knight marches in, stomping on the quiet forest grounds. His resolve is unmatched, reaching the river, fully inside the forest the boy finds himself in a pickle.

Eric: "A tree won't stop me! You hear me forest!"

A gigantic tree tipped over covering the river and its sparkling clean water. The girth of the tree had to be compared to the kingdom's walls. It still didn't stop the little warrior on his grand quest to find his beloved mother water for his charming little baby brother. With a toss of the bucket, he had no other choice but to take the climb up the treachours tree. Slipping on pieces of wood he gets a grip on, Eric grows frustrated by his flailing attempts to advance upward.

A mysterious voice whispers in his ear: "Hey!"

The boy looks over his shoulder frantically, even more, frightened by the fact no one is behind him. After a few seconds of infight, he refocuses on the tasks at hand, with a grit of his teeth and a tight grip, he begins the climb. With a little help from the sticky bark, he slowly makes his way up the enormous tree. Halfway up the tree, another voice whispers in his ear, almost sending him tumbling down. With a lucky break of a piece of bark catching his dirty sleeve. Getting a grip on the tree, he then worries about the voices in his head.

Eric: "If anyone is there, please go awaaay!"

After a few moments of listening to the forest for a response, he continues on with his trek up the grand tree. The river can be heard from the other side as he comes to the top of the tree, his arms hanging over the top of the tree with his tiny head peering over. The glistening river flowed rapidly through the tranquil forest. Eric hung over the tree, catching his breath with big gasps for air, he failed to notice a small fairy-like dragon sitting on the top of the tree waiting for his attention. Finally regained his energy, Eric looks up seeing the fairy dragon staring at him with a wide smile.

Tiny Dragon: "Boo."

Eric: "Ahh!"

Eric lets go sending the dragon in shock as it calls out.

Dragon: "Dryad!"

Eric plummets at great speeds, his back facing the ground and the frightful face staring at the tiny dragon racing towards him. Closing his eyes as he feels the ground close in, scrunching his face to prepare for the impact that never comes. With a peek of his eye, he spots a goddess holding him up with vines as she gives a stern talking to the dragon. Her dark green hair is brushed and shows no tangles, the clothing is 'open', showing a lot more than a child should be shown. Vines wrap her body covering some of her holy white skin. Eric is left speechless as he is cradled to the ground, the dragon snaps him out of it when it lands on his nose.

Dragon tapping his cheek: "Hey, hey kid, hello?"

Eric freaks out: "Ahh get away from me!"

Eric flings the dragon against the tree flatting it on the tree.

Dragon out of wind: "Totally deserved that."

It lands on the ground with a rustle of the vegetation. One shock after another, things start popping out of their hiding hole thinking Eric is gone.

Forest golem: "Is he gone."

The golem cracks its rock joints, moving away from its seated position. The forest comes to life, things of all sizes showed themselves. Eric sits on his bottom in disbelief as the dryad tries to tell the masses to keep hiding.

Dryad shouting: "EVERYONE!"

The forest freezes in its tracks, not a peep from any creature.

Dryad: "He is still here."

She points at Eric sitting with his jaw dropped. Eric slowly stands, in awe, he looks around, every single creature is staring at him. Waiting for him to make a move.

Eric projects his voice: "Hello, uh, forest creatures! I am Eric, a soldier on a quest to get water!"

The boy dust himself off, patting his butt before beginning the climb up the great tree once again, ignoring the whole population of the forest watching him quietly as he climbs up.

Dryad on his level as the vines carries her around: "Aren't you a brave boy."

Eric ignores her: "One foot after the other."

The dryad slowly slips the vines around his arms, raising him up and over the tree with ease.

Eric: "Thank you mam, but now I need to do this."

He searches for the bucket through the foilage, his search comes up empty as he grows more frantic in his search. Eric digs through the ground, hoping the dirt-covered up the bucket.

Eric: "Where, where is it!"

He stresses out until finally giving up after his great journey to get here, the once-unstoppable force that would stop at nothing to complete his valiant quest. The warrior hung his head low, ashamed of his failure. The marvelous dryad gentle and elegantly glided down beside him, her vines raised his chin to face her.

Dryad: "Don't be down mighty warrior, look how far you've gotten, through the scary forest, over a mountain of a tree, and still pushed through."

Eric sniffling: "Yeah but my mom wants water for my brother."

Dryad: "Well sometimes not all quests can be taken on by one person."

A vine flowed down holding his bucket, the bucket sat on his lap as the vine rubbed past him brushing his hair as it passed.

Eric was baffled: "H-how!"

Dryad giggled: "Well little one, when you threw the bucket, it got caught on a branch from one of the fellow trees."

She pointed at the big oak tree sitting beside the collapsed tree, Eric couldn't get his head around the idea of all these living creatures. Then his mind completely exploded when the tree started moving in a swaying motion, seemingly waving a branch at him as if it's living. The proud little warrior could only be awestruck at the events that played out.

Eric: "Miss Dryad lady, why are you helping me?"

Eric dips his relic of a bucket into the crystal clear water, taking in as much as he possibly can. Eric pulled the bucket out of the water with all his might, getting it out of the river was the easy step, the next was getting over the tree and home. Eric paid no attention to the dryad's efforts in trying to help him, she made throat-clearing noises at first.

Dryad: "Ahem, Ahem."

Eric: "Are you feeling okay, my mom has a medicine that can help your throat."

Dryad continues her mailing efforts: "Wow, that bucket looks pretty heavy. Maybe someone can help."

Eric: "No it is not that heavy, I got it."

Eric makes his way up the tree, holding the bucket with an arm and his teeth while climbing with the rest of his limbs. Dryad was next to be awestruck at the little boy's determination as he slowly but surely carried that bucket filled with water up the huge tree. Dryad tried all her tricks but the kid was determined until she had enough and just lifted him over the tree.

Dryad: "If you only asked, I would have helped you."

Eric: "But I didn't need your help lady."

The creature of the forest scattered through the trees, hiding. The small dragon landed on Eric's shoulder.

Dragon whisper in his ear: "Lady dryad likes to help people, like a lot, and you know. You didn't accept her help."

The dragon directs his attention to the beautiful dryad who showed a hint of frustration on her brow. Her arms were crossed as she turned her back and pouted.

Eric felt bad: "Lady Dryad?"

Dryad answers with cheer in her voice as she turns around: "Yes?"

Eric: "Can you help me carry the bucket back to my village lady dryad."

Dryad grew a wonderful smile: "I would be delighted to!"

She swings vines around him and the bucket, taking off at insane speeds down the path.

Eric yells: "SLOW DOWN!"

Dryad laughs a chaotic laugh: "What is wrong! I thought you wanted to complete your quest!"

Eric: "YEAH, BUT I DON'T WANT TO DIE BEFORE I GET THERE!"

The two zoomed through the quiet forest, causing quite a ruckus along the way. Upon reaching the edge of the forest, they both held a grin. The dryad let down Eric, handing him back the bucket still filled to the brim with water. Eric hops a few steps out of the forest before turning around to the empty forest.

Eric: "Hello! Lady Dryad!"

A whisper from the winds seep into his ear: "You are always welcome into MY forest Eric."

The message brighten his features as he thought it was fake and he would never see them again. The joyful young lad skipped to his mother humming a tune song by his mother.

Now that is an experience Eric will never forget, the boy will grow up to be a powerful king of both the humans and mythical creatures alike. With help from both sides, he brings two very different lives into one. Later in life, he is given the title of 'King of both worlds'. That is the end of our tale about the boy and his forest friends, more will come. Some are happy, others, not so much, but anything can happen in a mythical world.

SEE YOU LATER GOD OUT