She was a few years older than me, but that didn't matter to either one of us. We didn't see each other often, but we would pick up like we were friends every day.

I could only remember playing with Emmony twice in my first eight years of life. The first time I was only five so we couldn't do much. I heard about her countless times though.

Emmony was Swethyna's daughter- her only child. Swethyna would tell me about her daughter every so often, but I usually asked about her daily.

Swethyna didn't get to see her daughter that much since she lived in the palace and Emmony lived in a nearby village- which wasn't too nearby. I felt bad for Emmony, because she didn't have either one of her parents close by. Her father, Swethyna's husband, past away when she was only two, so she never got to know her father. I also felt bad because she couldn't have her mother all the time, but I got to see her mother and my mother all the time.

The times Swethyna got to take off and spend time with her daughter, I missed her, but I also felt happy for her. She would live for those visits and whenever she would have to come back, there would a trace of sadness in her eyes.

"How come you don't find a job in the village?" I asked her once when she returned from a visit. "I would miss you, but you'd be closer to Emmony."

"It's a nice thought, but there aren't many jobs in the village. At least none that pay as well as this one. I need the money so I can provide for Emmony. Plus, I would miss you a great deal, love."

It was a treat for Swethyna to visit her daughter, but it was even a better treat- for her and for me- when Emmony could come visit.

I loved her greetings. Whenever she would see me, she would run over and give a crushing hug before messing up my hair.

"Hey princey." She smiled showing off her dimples.

She looked like her mother, but still had her own unique look. Her chestnut brown hair was long and bushy. Her brown eyes shone even when she wasn't smiling, but then again, a bright smile was always on her face. Freckles peppered her nose and cheeks. She was eleven and as quick as a whip in many ways. Her laugh was what usually drawn me to her. It was loud and powerful, but it made you want to laugh along.

"So what do you want to play?" She asked eagerly.

Her excitement was always contiguous.

"I don't know, what do you want to play?"

She gave me a mischievous look. "How about we play a witch game?"

"What's that?" My eyes shimmered in wonder.

"Well chase me to the forest and you'll find out." She teased taking off down the hall. I wasn't far behind.

"Stay out of trouble you two." Swethyna yelled after us, but we were already turning the corner.

We burst through the back doors into the woods, racing under the trees and giggling all the way.

"You can't catch me." She yelled back to me, taunting.

"Can so," I said accepting the challenge.

Pushing myself harder, I began to catch up to her. She glanced back and gasped before running faster and laughing. Her legs were longer than mine making it no contest- she won.

We collapsed on the grass, panting and laughing breathlessly. The day had a cool wind to it which cooled us off and dried our sweat.

"So- so what's a witch game?" I asked her.

She smiled and stood up.

"The game is about a witch hunt. You believe in witches, right?"

"We don't have witches here," I said knowingly.

"Not here, but in other regions they have witches."

"Prove it."

"I can't. I said they aren't here. But that doesn't mean we can't play."

"How do you play it?"

She jumped on a nearby tree stump.

"Listen up, these are the rules and how you play the game." She announced as if she was talking to a big group. "The goal of the game is to find a witch in these here forest-"

I raised my hand politely. "But we don't have any witches in this forest."

"Yes we do. No more questions until I'm finished explaining everything. Now, this witch is gonna be hard to catch and she'll set up lots of traps to throw us off, but we've got to be clever. We have to capture the witch before she escapes, which would be at sunset."

Once I was sure she was done explaining, I cut in.

"How are we suppose to catch the witch?"

"We'll think of something." She shrugged, hopping off the stump.

I crossed my arms. "You wanna know what I think?"

"What?" She said mocking a sneer.

"I think this witch game is fake. We don't have any witches around here to catch."

"That's because you're not looking hard enough." She turned my shoulders and made me face the denser part of the forest. "You see, this witch doesn't want you to see her and she fools most people, but not me- that's why she hates me so much. You have to concentrate on the shadows in the forest, that's where she hids. She likes the night time because it's dark and she can move around easier."

She pointed to a section of the forest that was well shaded by trees.

"You see that spot there? I would bet my soul that's where she's hiding. Just keep starin', you'll see her move."

As crazy as she sounded, I decided to play her game and stare at the section. We stood and watched like hawks for any sign of movement. Behind me, Emmony held her breath waiting to prove me wrong. It took everything fiber of my being not to fidget or give up. Just as I'm about to tell her to stop imagining things, a quick movement catches my eye.

The shadowed section of the forest stirs to life and a dark figure flees from the spot and dashes farther into the forest. I couldn't make out the figure entirely, but it looked like a human- like a old woman.

I turned and looked at Emmony with an astonished face. She looked back at me with wide eyes and a quick gasp.

Only a second past before Emmony took off after the witch. I was quick to follow.

"Come on, we need to catch her before she gets away." She cried.

Leaves crunched underfoot and twigs snapped as we raced into the deeper part of the forest. All I could hear was our ragged breathing and my own heartbeat thundering away in my chest.

The dark figure had a head start and disappeared completely before we could catch up. Emmony slowed to a stop and scanned the trees to find the witch.

I'm grateful for the break and take the time to catch my breath.

"Did you see that, Xalale? Did ya? See I told you there was a witch." She told me, excitement overflowing in her voice. She turned to look at me. There's that usual spark of adventure in her eyes.

"Now where did she go?" She wondered aloud.

We both scanned the forest, trying to spot the dark figured witch, but only see trees.

I turned to say something to her, but am stopped when she holds a finger to her lips. She comes close so she can whisper in my ear.

"We need a plan." She said dropping her volume even lower. "You see that big tree over there? The one that looks knotty and old?"

I glanced at the one she was describing and gave a small nod.

"You'll go stand over there and I'll be over by that other tree. Just pretend you're not waiting for that witch to appear. I know she's hiding around here somewhere. We'll just wait it out."

"Oh, so I should act nonchalant?" I asked quietly.

She pulled back and gave me a strange look.

"What does that mean?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, I just see that word a lot when I read."

She wrinkled her nose.

"You speak too fancy."

Shrugging again she shoos me to my post by the tree. She hurried to the other tree on the other side. Now it turned into a waiting game.

It felt like an eternity passed without any sign of that stupid witch. Emmony decided to hide behind her tree and peek around the trunk every so often. After a while she didn't peer around anymore.

"Emmony. Emmony." I didn't raise my voice too high when I called her so as not to alert the witch.

I didn't want to move from my post so I determined that she must've fallen asleep on the job. I myself was getting a little heavy-eyed, but it was up to me to be vigilant.

Standing at that spot was particularly toture, but I kept myself entertained, somehow. I sang quietly to myself- singing every song I knew, I counted how many leaves were on the forest floor, but lost track after two hundred leaves. I hopped around the tree to keep myself awake and attempted to climb the tree, but thought better of it.

Finally the sun began to set and I knew that we needed to be back before it got dark.

It was unfortunate that we couldn't catch the witch, but I had fun playing outside with Emmony.

Pushing myself off the tree, I'm about to call out, loudly, to Emmony to wake up, when a small movement draws my attention.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her- the dark, shadowy figure of a woman. She looked at me and my breath caught. Before I could react, she darted off into the darkening forest.

"Emmony! Emmony!" I cried, running to the other tree.

Just like I predicted, Emmony was fast asleep, slumped against the base of the tree. I had to wildly shake her out of her drowsy state.

"What?" She muttered, slowly arousing.

"The witch! The witch, she just took off further into the woods-"

Popping up faster than weed, she stood on her feet and took off into the forest.

"What are we waiting for!? Come on!"

The hunt was on and Emmony was determined to catch that witch once and for all.

The forest was already being cloaked in shadows due to the approaching dusk. Emmony was ahead of me, going full speed. She had a nap to energize her, but behind, I was lacking. Finally my legs couldn't keep up with her long strides and I stopped.

"Emmony," I yelled for her, but she didn't hear me and disappeared into the darkening forest.

Looking around the forest, I noticed just how dark it's gotten. The pink and orange sky was hardly visible due to the thick branches of the trees.

The only sound I could hear is that of my ragged breathing. I'm alone in the deepest part of the forest. I couldn't see the top of the palace tower, Emmony had disappeared, and night was nearly upon us. Suddenly the shadows seemed to increase and the playful mood that was in the air vanished and was replaced with hostility.

"Emmony!" I tried calling for her again, waiting for her to return. "Emmony! We have to go, it's getting dark!"

No response. No Emmony.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I couldn't return without her, but if neither of us showed, our mothers would become worried. I also didn't enjoy waiting around in these forest, due to the growing threat of my imagination. On edge and alone was not how I liked to feel.

Not wanting to travel any farther or return back, I stood there staring into the densest part of the forest, waiting for Emmony. This time the waiting game felt longer.

Every minute that went by was another ray of sunlight gone, another ping of worry and fear, another moment of approaching tears.

"Don't cry. Be brave, like the heroes in your stories." My mind told me. "Heroes don't cry."

But I was only eight. Eight and alone in a dark forest. Eight and not a hero.

"Emmony," I whispered.

I didn't know what to do at that point. She wasn't there and I wasn't entirely sure I knew how to get back. I was terrified.

"Xalale?"

Jumping a little, I squinted into the dark trying to trace the origin of the voice.

"Xalale? Are you there?"

"I'm here," I called to her.

Out of the darkness, Emmony came bounding out. Relief is the first thing I felt upon seeing her safe and sound.

"Why didn't you follow me?" She asked as she got closer.

"I-" I wanted to say I couldn't keep up, but the words got lost as I hugged her tightly.

I don't know if she could tell right away, but I was scared.

"It's ok, Xalale." She comforted and held my hand. "I'm sorry I ran off and left you behind. I won't do it again."

I only nodded tearfully.

"It's gotten dark, we should hurry back." She said.

We left the dense part of the forest and headed back in the direction of the palace. She let me hold her hand the entire way back. We didn't speak on the way back and I didn't let go of my tight grip until I saw the tip of the tower.

By the time we reached the back door of the palace, my tears had dried up and my fear was relieved.

We both knew we'd be in big trouble so we lingered outside for a few moments.

"Did you catch her?" I asked softly.

"Huh?"

I spoke up a bit. "The witch."

"Nah. But I'll catch her another time." She stared at her feet. "I'm really sorry I left you in the forest. I understand if you're mad at me."

I hugged her, which caught her off guard.

"I'm not mad at you, Emmony. I did have fun today and maybe one day you'll catch that witch."

She hugged me back.

"We'll catch that sneaky witch one day." She corrected.

I was glad to have a friend like Emmony. One so brave, so adventurous, so caring. I decided then, we would be friends forever, no matter what.

We did get into a mess of trouble when we eventually went inside. Emmony probably got the worst of it though, since she was the oldest. I was worried we wouldn't be allowed to play together anymore, but before she left she gave me a wink, which meant she would be back.

I slept well knowing that I at least had one human friend. That was the best thing of all.