Should I indeed be wary of Miss Green Apple? Can I even trust a talking cat? I sit at the kitchen table. I silently watch the frog cut flowers and herbs that she mixes in a sort of small cauldron. She adds a reddish liquid, which, upon contact with the plants, emits a small emerald green flame and a nauseating smell that forces me to put a hand in front of my nose and grimace. What a putrid smell.

-What is that? It smells so bad.

- It's Sparkling Flamewing's drool. Before you ask me the question, it's a creature that lives in the forests. It is mostly found in the Henki forest. It has the fabulous ability to fly at the speed of light while leaving a trail of sparks behind it. It is known for its dazzling beauty and benevolent spirit. But also the stench of its breath. A kind of winged rabbit with the appearance of a dragon. In my memories, it has a rather soft and fluffy coat. Quite silky, no doubt. Its wings are majestic and change color according to the seasons. Its ears are very long and allow it to perceive the slightest noise over a few meters. The Sparkling Flame Wing has the ability to glow in the dark and defend itself with fire. Which rarely happens, it's a peaceful animal. Its drool has the ability to reveal."

-What kind of revelation?

-Spells. Diseases, you have the choice.

 She then turns to me, without me expecting it, she throws a kind of powder at my face that becomes viscous on contact with my skin. This substance seems to eat away at my skin, sting me. Tears come to my eyes. I rub my face to try, in vain, to get rid of the substance. Suddenly, the sensation is withdrawn, everything is back to normal. I open my eyes that I had closed in panic and pain. Miss Green Apple's eyes widen and she seems to swell like a balloon. It takes me a while to realize that I am surrounded by a thin turquoise blue glow with silver accents. My little necklace levitates at my neck level. I then take it in my hand and squeeze it. Is it bewitched? Is it what led me here? A new array of questions takes hold of me.

I feel as if filled with a new energy. The feeling is, I must say, quite new and strange. I feel tingling in my fingertips.

-We know the origin of the curse, she says with a smile in the corner. Would you please remove your necklace?

-I'm not sure that...

-You want to go home, it seems to me. The only way for you to regain your memory is to break the spells. Give me your jewel, I'll take care of it. It will only take me a few minutes.

I put a hand around my neck and unhook the jewel that my grandmother had given me. I watch the jewel sparkle between my hands. The cat's words come back to me. Don't trust this witch. What if he was right?

I don't think my jewel is bewitched. Far from it.

The frog swoops down on me and snatches the jewel from my hands before dropping it, croaking in pain. I catch the jewel, once it's on the ground. I stuff it in my pocket.

- Thank you, for everything but I think I'm going to go!

I rush to my bag.

-Dirty little ingrate! she exclaims. She points her hands at me, some kind of fluid rushes towards me but I dodge it. I grab my cape and my bag and run away. As the frog resumes her attacks.

-Come back here! she yells.

I don't waste a minute and plunge into the village, I slalom between the inhabitants. I jostle some of them in passing who protest. But I don't take the time to stop to help them. I prefer not to turn around for fear of facing her again. I only stop running when I reach the edge of the forest. Without thinking I plunge into it. And run again, the adrenaline gives me the strength to run further and further. I only stop when the city is no longer in my field of vision.

Gasping for breath, my heart racing, I collapse at the foot of a tree. What a race. I am exhausted. Tears sting my eyes yet, none deign to flow on my cheeks surely red from effort.

I clutch my bag to my chest. I'm sure my sports teacher would have been delighted with my performance. I have a stomach ache, even on the verge of vomiting.

It takes me a few minutes to catch my breath. I take my necklace out of my pocket and examine it carefully. She seemed absolutely determined to get it. So is this some form of magic? Is it a stone created by magic? Shaped, sculpted by the greatest magicians in this world? Or is it simply something unexpected? A key for example. I attach it, taking care to hide it under my tunic. I put on my cape because the air is fresh.

What do I do now?

I notice that night is falling. . . And I immediately remember what that frog had told me. What kind of monstrous creatures will I come across? I need to find shelter for the night. My survival level is very low I fear. I dig my knife out of my bag. I'm not sure it will be of any use to me if I get attacked. But at least I have something to defend myself with. I don't even know where to go, which direction to go.

I get up, my heart still beating quite fast in my chest, and my legs shaky. I start walking straight ahead to get away from the city and that witch. In the future, I must be on my guard and avoid giving my trust too easily to strangers. I must find this magician, Iaso, if my memories are correct. It remains to be seen whether this person can really help me.

I walk without knowing where I am going. But the fall of night and the darkness that has set in prevent me from going any further. By the greatest of chances, I discover a hollow in a tree. I just have room to squeeze in and take shelter. I clutch my cape to me. while keeping my knife within reach.

I start to have heavy eyelids. However, I am too terrified to be able to sleep peacefully. I think the night is going to be very long, especially in the company of the happy little creatures that haunt this forest. I just clutched the knife to my chest. I who dreamed of adventure, I think the desire has passed me by. How I look forward to returning to the comfort of the boarding school, I thought ironically.

It's so dark and so cold. It gives me a vague memory of a bivouac evening in the mountains, when I was little. I remember it as if it was yesterday, I must have been thirteen, it was on a summer camp in July. We had set up camp near a small lake to be able to admire the sunrise over the mountains. We had made a campfire after setting up the tents in order to roast marshmallows. The problem was that at nightfall, the temperature change had been radical. Even three of us under the tent, we were very cold, to the point of not being able to sleep well at night.

A real ballet of shadows in the darkness of the night. The forest awakens to an almost mystical symphony. The centuries-old trees, with knotted trunks and sparkling leaves, stand like silent sentinels under the starry sky. The trees sway with the wind. They creak their branches and their tops seem to caress the Milky Way, creating a supernatural-looking tableau of light and shadow. The silvery glow of the moon pierces the dense foliage, and projects dancing patterns on the mossy ground. Fireflies begin to appear and twinkle like diamonds suspended in the air, adding a touch of magic to the scene. I have never seen so many. The wind seems to whisper praises through the leaves. And thus participates in the creation of a melodious concert, which seems to calm and lull the forest into a dreamy tranquility. Stealthy silhouettes move in the shadow, their eyes shine in the darkness. These bright flashes pierce the veil of the night, they shine like lost stars in the vastness of the universe. Luminous beings float gently between the trees, and leave behind them curious trails of ethereal white light. The distant hooting of an owl adds a mysterious note to the nocturnal symphony of the forest.

Goosebumps run through me, I remain silent in front of this spectacle. I don't know if it's because of admiration or fear, but I'm stunned. In fact, a real feeling of sublime slowly invades me. A mixture of wonder and terror are rather the terms. These cut off my breath.

This forest is a place of mystery and wonder, each tree seems to shelter an ancient spirit, a sylvan or I don't know what other creatures that could have come straight out of a Japanese animation film. Each breeze could carry a spell. It's a world where magic is as real as the air we breathe, palpable in every rustle of leaves and every flash of light that I can perceive with my tired eyes, which are soon to close.