The sun was shining brightly and lit the dirty beaten path little Tommy was walking on. It was in the middle of the day and the heatwave was just beginning. The young boy was determinedly keeping up a fast pace through the slightly cooler forest. He was supposed to get to his house near the middle of it by the big weeping willow and the Great Crystal lake.

Whistling under his nose, his eyes almost as bring as the blazing sun high above his unruly blond head, a wide toothy smile graced his freckled face. He loved going home after school not because he would go and play the countless video games, which his parents would always give him on holidays, but because he had the chance to admire the nature and its raw beauty – full of wonder and yet to be touched by the destructive hands of man.

Not many of his peers could see the appeal of the tall trees, seemingly endlessly ascending towards the sky and dissipating in the ocean of blues, and the short grass that ever so slightly grazed his bare ankles. Tommy, however, was blessed with the opportunity to witness such astonishing greenery every day and he cherished all those moments when his eyes would spot something different, new, from the day before even if it was the same old path swirling in between the strong hundreds of years old trees with the most fascinating creatures taking refuge in their crowns.

Every day he would stop at a random part of the path and listen to the sounds of the woods. The whistling of the wind gently ruffling the leaves, the tweeting of chipper birds – he felt one with nature.

Today he was lucky enough to see a gorgeous stag with the most, to Tommy, complicated pattern of antlers on top of its brown furry head. Its ears perked up when it heard Tommy's hesitant footsteps too close to comfort for the, as the boy would describe, magical creature. Startled black eyes connected in a staring match with the nine-year-old's light gray ones, which were full of childish curiosity and were shining with hope for the animal not to run away.

He tried to stay still as to not frighten the skittish thing and waited with bated breath. The stag sniffed in the air, its muzzle pointing in his direction, it flicked its ears and listened in. When it didn't deem the boy dangerous, it leaned down and ate some of the green grass that was still adorned with water drops from the incessant rain yesterday.

With small cautious steps Tommy approached the busy animal. He stretched a tiny freckled pale hand in a shy manner, endeavouring to pet the silky fur. The stag just looked at him with a silent questioning stare, it was puzzled by the actions of the human. The few stray sun rays that found their way through the deep tree crown above their beings reflected in the big as black as abyss eyes of the male deer, giving them a healthy spark of unknown interest in the child.

A reluctant hand found itself on top of the stag's muzzle. When it didn't try to spurn him, the boy grew more confident and dared to stroke the shockingly soft fur. The animal closed its eyes and seemed to enjoy the caring touch of a friendly hand. Tommy started petting it contently until he reached the top of the head and willed himself to touch the root of the otherworldly-looking antlers. At that point the animal was leaning down for easier access. A genuine smile spread across his face as he took in the sight of the stag in complete peace. The atmosphere turned serene and the birds singing ceased their songs as if in awe of what was happening.

Their gazes met for a second when the stag looked up at the boy. There was something familiar about its eyes but Tommy couldn't put a finger on it just yet. The animal looked away a little too fast and no sooner did it do so than it took off in between the bushes. The nine-year-old was left astounded by the incredible speed of it, then the shock settled in. Eyes wide with disbelief, he clasped hands over his mouth, which had opened absentmindedly while watching it go.

After a second Tommy got over the unexpected exit of the mammal. He looked at the bushes that had aided in shielding it from the boy's intrigued stare and his eyes fell upon a fresh set of footsteps, possibly left by the stag, though it was suspicious how much they looked like human ones. With straightened posture and a self-assured skip in his pace, he made the brave decision to follow and see where it had gone. He didn't except it to be this fast, and so sudden, for that matter, but nothing could butt him down once he had set his goal.

The boy began his adventure. He had to duck under some of the lower branches and accidentally got slapped by a confused squirrel. Now with a red, scratched cheek his newfound determination started to cease. As he walked deeper and deeper into the forest, straying from the well-known path, he could swear he heard his name being whispered several times. He got scared. His fragile form was shivering from the sheer fear that gripped at his heart, painfully clenching it in its iron fist. Soft breeze played with the fluffy curls on top of his head while the voice traveling with it made his mouth go dry.

Then, his reddened cheek was almost like touched by a gentle hand of a concerned mother. A tip of a long nail rested on his cheekbone. The boy startled. He fell back, landing on the hard ground, causing a few smaller rocks to bruise his vulnerable behind.

His fright didn't extinguish the burning curiosity that filled his entire body and set him aflame when a ray of sunlight punched through the leaves and lit up a long-forgotten path between two sad-looking trees separated from the rest; it was as if their presence was indeed unwanted.

He treaded over to them with a slight
shake, tilted his head up and took in their appearance. Tommy gasped at the sight of their bare branches hanging in the air, leaving the impression of them flying freely without actually being connected to the trees. The ominous feeling that overcame him was nearly strong enough to knock him down to his knees in front of the mystic scenery.

The child was ready to turn around and run for his life, and would have done so if it wasn't for the shout of his name. He froze. His beating heart pumped blood into him and he could only listen to it in the deafening silence which followed.

A panicked voice called out for him. The sound of it was enough to make poor little Tommy faint. His overwhelmed body dropped to the ground like a rock – abruptly and unceremoniously. Unconscious he laid in the drying grass that was once green. The trees swayed from the sudden wind, making small branches fall off and land onto the unfortunate boy.

From behind the bushes appeared a young girl, somewhere between the age of 13 to 15, and her bright yellow eyes found Tommy's unsuspecting body. She walked over and kneeled beside him. Her long bony fingers grazed his cold cheek, drained from blood and already as white as a sheet. She licked her lips as she stared at his neck. She moved her hand to check his pulse only to find it fading slowly like the life that was ready to leave the human.

As gently as she could manage, she lifted his limp body off the dry grass in her surprisingly arms hold and carried him to her home – the lake just beyond the bushes. Her hold on him was tight, too afraid to let him go. The girl was having troubles processing what she was about to do. She was slightly shaking, most likely due to the shock of her actions. Never had she imagined going after such a fragile thing like the one she found wandering around the forest.

Once at the edge of the body of glittering water, she stopped and lowered the boy to the sandy ground, mere inches away from the magical pond. Tommy's lips parted, a strained whine sounded when he felt unfamiliar hands around his throat  maliciously squeezing it with all their strength. 

With each passing moment he could feel the lack of air taking effect upon his tired body. The boy was unsuccessful in his attempt to break free from the deadly grip of his inevitable end that was waiting for him eagerly. The creature he no longer doubted was anything but human smiled, the corners of her lips barely lifting for she was couldn't look past her guilt of trying to take another one's life. She needed to feed her family and was very inexperienced in hunting.

She wanted to make everybody happy but that was simply impossible. Each time she tried she failed miserably, reaching to the conclusion that for her family to thrive another should die out.

She felt her innocent victim's body tense before relaxing completely underneath her, his last breath leaving him in a long tremulous sigh.

The girl dragged him a little bit closer to the water before pushing Tommy into it. She watched as he sank before slowly resurfacing. She looked away from the corpse, unable to stand the thought of her crime even though the evidence of it was right before her eyes.

She gathered the courage to lift her head up. Avoiding looking in the dead boy's direction, she put her hands around her mouth to call out:

"Dinner is served!"