"The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe-man who destroys it."

― Gautama Buddha

Since the beginning of life, Mother Nature has nurtured every organism and cradled them in her bosom. With the help of nature and its magic, organisms evolved and gave rise to species totally different from their origin. All the animals used Mother Nature's power through Pluntis or the plants and trees, the messengers of nature that wield incredible power and kindness. The Pluntis whispered messages from Mother Nature. Every member of the kingdom Plantae had one soul-the Pluntis. Mankind lived happily with all the organisms and Pluntis in the wild, but a group of humans wanted more. They couldn't get themselves to follow one rule of nature: never kill if not for hunger. Mother Nature punished such people who misused her power by stripping them of any contact with Pluntis and thereby magic.

After centuries, man evolved into an advanced being, living by his own deeds, and the magic of Pluntis had become long forgotten, except in an enchanted forest hidden from the rest of the world. There lived the Dhadhoodi and the Nagas, along with other magical creatures. They still lived like the original early Lemurians. They could communicate with the forest and listen to the whispers of Pluntis. They wielded the magical powers of Pluntis. The Dhadhoodi lived like ancient cavemen, clad in animal leathers and dried leaves, and lived as hunters. They performed magical spells using herbs and the magic of Pluntis after training, and they had the power of PRITHVI (the land); they could make plants grow and bloom everywhere. The more powerful were the Nagas (half human, half serpent). The Nagas were shapeshifters; they could transform into other organisms, and each Naga wielded power over one of the five elements of nature:

AGNI (FIRE)
APAS (WATER)
PRITHVI (LAND)
AKASHA (ETHER)
VAYU (AIR)

MILY'S P.O.V

The wild has always been my home, and everything that comes with it, my family. I am a Dhadhoodi, a being that looks just like humans outside the wild. We Dhadhoodi are born to serve every being of Mother Nature. I was told that my birth had been very different from the normal births in our world. Normally, the great lord Suryat (the sun) sends a beam of flame to sever the umbilical cord, indicating his blessing and permission for acceptance into the clan. But He did not send a beam for my birth. They waited 20 hours, but the beam never came.

Rumors sparked in the Dhadhoodi village about the strange incident of my birth. The rest of my clan thought I was cursed. I grew up in the Thalava's shelter. My parents had abandoned me, perhaps begging the Thalava never to tell the clan who they were. The only other thing I knew about my birth was that I was born on the 12th of July.

Things became worse when I started my training. It was then that I discovered that I was a Manorupa. I use the energy of memories to channel the magic of Pluntis. Normally, Dhahoodi power comes from using emotions-fear, anger, pain, and happiness-to channel the power of Pluntis. That was called Samvedana. Their magic penetrates another person's body through the realm of emotions. They had to just concentrate on their empathy for someone, summon the power of Pluntis, and crash through a person's realm of pain to cut the pain away using Prithvi's magical vines. But I have to go through someone's realm of memories while using up my memory in return. The whole day becomes completely blank when I wake up the next day. It was an affliction that affected Dhadhoodis once in a century, and lucky me, I was born as this century's Manorupa. This was enough for the other Dhadhoodis to confirm the feeling that I was a curse to the wild.

The whole village, even though seemingly nice to my face, talked behind my back. Most parents warned their children not to mix with me. The only Dhadhoodi friend I had was Iniya. Iniya didn't care that her parents had asked her not to talk to me.
Pluntis are the plants and trees-every tree and everything that belongs to the plant kingdom.

They are all one life, the Pluntis. They whisper as they rustle their leaves. They are the wisest beings that inhabit the earth.

Apart from us Dhadhoodi, beings that looked like us were the Nagas-or to be precise, they looked like every being; they are shapeshifters. They were the most powerful beings, only next to Mother Nature and Suryat (the sun). I always admired the Nagas and Pluntis (the flora: all the trees and plants) more than my own species. I loved them. Maybe because I was named after one of the most powerful Nagas of all time, Mother Emily.

I was standing at the borders of the wild, the thick groove separating the wild from the dirty world-the land that has been attacked by greedy humans, the generations that have forgotten the existence of Mother Nature and lost the power to sense the whispers of Pluntis (flora) or to talk to Dhadhus (animals). I had seen the world vividly through the visions of man-made poisons and garbage polluting beautiful rivers and landscapes as shown by Altras, a Naga-in fact, the only Naga alive now.

Suddenly, a vine shot at me, taking me off guard. It twirled around my thighs and shot me up through the branches and perched me on the topmost branch. The leaves bent close to me and tickled me. It was Pluntis' way of giving a hug.

"He... Hehe... stop tickling, Pluntis!" I wrapped my hands around the branch, gave it a tight hug, and moved my lips close to the bark to plant a kiss.

I looked around. From this height, I could see the sky more clearly. Crimson diffused and dulled the blue of the sky. I saw the sea of Wysteria Isle glisten and reflect the evening sun as it extinguished in its lap. I muttered a prayer for Lord Suryat. The waves lapped the shores, and my feet felt drawn to the spot.

I traced the pathway formed by the giant round stones of pastel shades. I didn't have to count them. I knew there were 1,000 stones-the 1,000 miles: the footsteps taken by Thalir and Adhyan, the legendary lovers. Thalir was a nature spirit, and Adhyan was one of the early humans. They had married and taken this path. The Pluntis rejoiced in the purity and power of their love. Mother Nature was so moved by their love that, as a gift to them, she created the wild. Their eldest child became the first Naga, and the rest became the Dhadhoodis, our clan.

"Mily, where are you?" A voice echoed inside my skull. It was Seashells; he was at the bottom of the tree, his ginger fur dripping with mud. In no time, he climbed up the tree with his tiny claws, sat next to me, and started grooming.

Seashells was my soul companion, the animal that was willing to merge with a Dhadhoodi's soul. That way, we both become one and could assume each other's form like an animagus (mrigarupa); I could turn into a ginger cat whenever I wanted. And in whichever form, if I got killed, it would kill Seashells also! Seashells would only exist inside me, and only when I was in his form, he would be awake. I always felt that it was unfair to the animals-that this custom was no different from the way humans treat animals.

It was a choice that not many Dhadhoodi took.

I don't know what got into me, but Seashells convinced me to merge with him. The key being that only animagi are allowed to go outside the wild without prior permission from the Thalava. And I always wanted to visit the human world. I thought that maybe humans had a chance-maybe there was a chance that they would see and realize their mistakes.
Seashells had already cleaned himself up, sat in my lap, and started purring.

"This is your last day as your own self; why don't you go and enjoy it away from me?"

We were merging tonight, the night of my eighteenth birthday.

Seashells purred and proceeded to sleep in my lap without answering. I sat there petting Seashells. I kept drinking in the scenery and saw the towering cliff standing above the forest. I wondered what the humans who stood there and looked below at these forests saw. I knew that one day, I'd go there and see for myself.

I tried to get a view of the cliff that towered above our forest, and my eyes searched for that dear silhouette that appeared by this time every year on my birthday. There it was-the only soul that delivered a gift on my birthday. I held the tree for the sacred magic of the wild and sent a vine sprouting from my hands to catch my gift on time. I pulled the vine towards me and disentangled the scroll from it.

I untied the satin ribbon-red, as always.

The illegible cursive, the handwriting I have come to love so much in the last 10 years.

----------------------------------------------------------------Dear Dad,Today marks the 10th anniversary of your passing. No words or actions could ever truly express how much I miss you-the pulse of your veins against my wrist, the familiar scent of your favorite black leather jacket. It's hard to believe it's been so long, yet not a day goes by that I don't feel your presence. I've joined medical college now, at Sovereign Medical College, not too far from here. You always said one day we'd explore that forbidden forest near the beach together. I still hold onto that promise. Sometimes, I don't even believe you're really gone. I don't know how long I'll keep lying to myself, pretending you're just a heartbeat away.This year, I'm honoring your memory as always. Here's the poem I've written, just like you taught me to do, about the love I've yet to know.

1000 Miles of Love

The ode to my tempests, the symphony writhing inside my chest, come sing me a lullaby and annul me of these bones piercing my flesh. Behold the yellow moon, as she gazes at us both, locking eyes through her craters from a sunset 1000 miles away.All my love, Raghav---

A/N:

Happy Diwali all to all Indians and happy spooky Halloween to those celebrating. I was very insecure of posting this chapter I do not know why but it felt so boring like I am over burdening it with too much info and making it sound like a boring mythology textbook. But I really hope you like it as Mily's identity gets revealed piece by piece.