Morning had barely settled over the village when Elifero stormed out of the house.
His footsteps struck hard against the ground, his face twisted into a scowl that made it obvious he wanted nothing to do with anyone—especially the two voices following closely behind him.
"You started it!"
"No, I didn't! You did!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Behind him, his twin sisters, Bloom and Raim, were bickering again.
Their voices overlapped so quickly that it was nearly impossible to tell who was accusing whom anymore. Whatever had started the argument had long since become irrelevant. Neither of them seemed interested in remembering.
Elifero certainly wasn't.
He just wanted to leave.
Their mother stood near the doorway, watching the three of them with tired eyes. After enduring several more seconds of the twins' arguing, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
"Elifero."
He stopped.
Not because he wanted to.
He already knew what was coming.
His shoulders sank slightly.
"Please," his mother continued, her voice gentle but firm. "Let them come with you today."
Elifero immediately turned around.
"I said no."
Bloom and Raim stopped arguing at once.
"They'll just get in the way," he added.
One of the twins puffed her cheeks indignantly while the other crossed her arms.
"We won't!"
"You always say that."
"We can keep up!"
Elifero narrowed his eyes.
"No, you can't."
Their protests began immediately.
Their mother sighed again.
Elifero had already made up his mind.
Before she could convince him otherwise, he turned and started walking away from the house.
"Elifero!"
He kept going.
"Don't come home late!"
He lifted one hand without turning around, giving the smallest acknowledgment that he had heard her.
Then he disappeared farther into the village.
Elifero knew exactly where he was going.
Beyond the familiar homes and paths of the village stood the forest.
And everyone knew the rule concerning that forest.
Do not enter.
Adults had repeated the warning so many times that most children could probably recite it word for word.
The forest was forbidden.
No wandering.
No playing.
No exploring.
And absolutely no entering without permission.
Naturally, that meant some of the village children had found their way inside.
Elifero had never really understood why the adults made such a big deal about it. To him, it was a forest.
Trees.
Bushes.
Animals.
Mud.
Maybe a few places where the ground became difficult to walk through.
Nothing particularly terrifying.
Besides, the children had something hidden there that the adults didn't know about.
Their hideout.
It was tucked away deep enough that someone unfamiliar with the forest could easily walk past without noticing it. Thick vines crawled over the surrounding trees, and enormous twisted roots rose from the earth like crooked fingers.
Hidden between them was the small clearing they had claimed as their own.
Elifero pushed through the last curtain of leaves.
"Guys! I'm here!"
His voice travelled through the clearing.
Nothing answered.
Elifero frowned.
"Guys?"
Silence.
He looked around.
Had everyone seriously decided not to come today?
Then—
"Look upwards, citizen, and be amazed!"
Elifero froze.
His eyes slowly travelled upward.
Standing proudly atop the hideout was Keith.
A cape hung from his shoulders, fluttering weakly in the breeze. A pair of shades covered his eyes, and one of his hands rested dramatically against his waist while the other pointed toward the distance.
At least, Elifero assumed Keith was looking dramatically into the distance.
The shades made it difficult to tell.
Keith lifted his chin.
For several seconds, neither boy spoke.
Then Elifero burst out laughing.
Keith's heroic expression collapsed.
"What's so funny?"
Elifero tried to answer, but another laugh escaped him.
"You—you look ridiculous!"
Keith slowly lowered his arm.
"You laugh now," he muttered, adjusting his shades, "but one day you'll regret it."
That only made Elifero laugh harder.
Keith climbed down from the hideout, muttering something about people being unable to appreciate greatness.
Once Elifero finally recovered, he looked around again.
"Where's everyone else?"
"Busy."
"All of them?"
Keith shrugged.
"Apparently."
Elifero stared at the empty clearing for a moment.
"Oh."
That was disappointing.
But not disappointing enough to ruin the day.
The two boys played anyway.
With no one else around, they became warriors, explorers, villains, kings—whatever came to mind.
A fallen branch became a sword.
A raised root became a fortress wall.
One moment Keith was defending an imaginary kingdom from destruction; the next, Elifero was apparently the villain responsible for destroying it.
"No! You can't do that!" Keith protested.
"I just did."
"That's cheating!"
"How?"
"Because I said so!"
Elifero laughed and charged at him again.
Before long, both boys were lying on the ground, exhausted and laughing over something neither of them would probably find funny by tomorrow.
Keith eventually turned his head toward Elifero.
"So..."
Elifero immediately recognized the tone.
"What?"
"Bloom and Raim."
Elifero's expression hardened.
"No."
"I haven't even asked anything."
"You were going to."
Keith grinned.
"Are they—"
"They're not for grabs."
Keith stared at him.
Then shrugged.
"Worth asking."
Elifero shoved him.
Keith laughed.
Eventually, their energy ran out.
The boys wandered farther through the forest until they reached another place they frequently visited.
The forbidden garden.
Neither Elifero nor Keith knew who had named it that.
Perhaps the name had simply stuck because it sounded mysterious.
Tall, pale flowers grew throughout the clearing in clusters, their petals shifting gently whenever the breeze passed through them.
And at the center stood the tree.
It was enormous.
Its roots rose above the ground in thick twisting formations before disappearing beneath the soil again. Its trunk was wide enough that several children together would struggle to wrap their arms around it, and its branches stretched so far outward that they created a natural roof over much of the garden.
Elifero dropped beneath its shade.
Keith followed.
After spending most of the morning running around, neither boy had much interest in doing anything else.
Warm sunlight slipped between the leaves overhead.
The breeze was gentle.
The grass beneath them was soft.
Elifero folded his arms behind his head.
"This is nice."
Keith gave a lazy grunt in agreement.
For all the warnings adults gave about the forest, Elifero couldn't understand what was supposed to be frightening about this place.
If anything, it was beautiful.
Strangely beautiful.
The pale flowers swayed around them.
Their sweet scent mixed with the earthy smell of soil and bark.
Somewhere beyond the garden, birds called from between the trees.
Elifero's eyelids became heavier.
Keith had already stopped talking.
Soon, the garden became quiet.
And sleep came easily.
Time passed.
By the time Keith stirred again, the morning had nearly given way to noon.
He sat up and stretched.
"I'll be visiting relatives tomorrow."
Elifero opened one eye.
"Okay."
Keith stood and brushed grass from his clothes.
"Tell your sisters I said hi."
Elifero immediately closed his eye again.
"I won't."
Keith grinned.
"You're a terrible friend."
"And you're annoying."
"Same thing."
Eventually, Elifero stood too.
The two left the garden behind, crossed through the forest, and headed back toward the village.
Neither of them thought much about the pale flowers.
Or the massive tree.
Or why that particular part of the forest had been forbidden in the first place.
To them, it was simply another place to play.
The following day, Elifero returned.
He ran toward the hideout expecting to hear voices before he even reached it.
Instead, when he entered the clearing—
Nothing.
No Keith.
No other children.
Just an empty hideout.
Elifero stared at it.
"Seriously?"
He waited for several seconds, almost expecting Keith to jump out from somewhere wearing another ridiculous costume.
Nothing happened.
Elifero sighed.
He could go home.
But he'd already walked all the way there.
So instead, he wandered deeper into the forest.
Back toward the garden.
The massive tree soon appeared between the surrounding trunks.
Elifero stepped into the clearing and looked around.
Without the other children there, the garden felt different.
Quieter.
Bigger, somehow.
He walked toward the tree and lowered himself onto one of its exposed roots.
His eyes travelled across the pale flowers surrounding him.
"This place really is amazing," he whispered.
He imagined Bloom and Raim running between the flowers.
A small feeling of guilt tugged at him.
He hadn't exactly been kind to them yesterday.
Maybe bringing them here would make up for it.
"I should bring Bloom and Raim tomorrow."
He looked at the flowers.
Then another thought occurred to him.
"Before I forget..."
Elifero stood.
"I should pick some for them."
Flowers weren't exactly the greatest apology in the world.
But they were better than nothing.
He could already imagine the twins fighting over who got the prettier ones.
That thought made him smile.
There was no hurry to return home yet.
At least, that was what Elifero told himself.
He rested against the tree again.
The afternoon warmth settled over him.
Sunlight flickered through the leaves.
His eyes slowly closed.
Just for a little while.
When Elifero opened his eyes again, something had changed.
The sunlight was weaker.
He blinked several times before looking through the branches overhead.
His stomach dropped.
The sun had already begun descending toward the horizon.
"Oh, no."
He jumped to his feet.
His mother's warning immediately returned to him.
Don't come home late.
"I'm dead."
He hurried toward the flowers.
Elifero quickly picked several of the nicest ones he could find, gathering their delicate stems carefully in one hand.
At least he'd have something to give Bloom and Raim.
Maybe that would distract his mother.
Probably not.
But he could hope.
He left the garden and hurried through the forest.
The flowers bounced lightly in his hand with every step.
For a while, nothing seemed unusual.
Then—
Something changed.
Elifero didn't notice it immediately.
A faint light appeared between his fingers.
He looked down.
The flowers were glowing.
Elifero slowed.
Their pale petals gave off a strange, gentle light.
It was weak at first.
Almost easy to miss beneath the remaining daylight.
But it was there.
A color Elifero couldn't quite describe.
Not white.
Not blue.
Not anything he could immediately compare it to.
He lifted the flowers closer to his face.
"Huh..."
The light moved softly through the petals.
"Weird."
Elifero stared for another moment.
Then shrugged.
They came from the forbidden garden.
The place was already strange.
Maybe the flowers simply did that sometimes.
He lowered his hand.
"Whatever."
And continued walking.
A few minutes later, Elifero noticed something else.
The air.
He slowed again.
Something felt wrong.
He breathed in.
The air seemed heavier than before.
Thicker.
The warmth that had followed him through the forest was fading, replaced by an uncomfortable chill that crawled slowly across his skin.
Elifero rubbed his arm.
"Why did it get so cold?"
No answer came.
He kept walking.
Then he noticed how quiet the forest had become.
The birds were gone.
No chirping.
No movement in the branches.
Even the insects seemed to have disappeared.
Elifero's footsteps suddenly sounded much louder.
It's getting late. That's all.
He tightened his grip around the flowers.
Then the smell reached him.
Elifero stopped.
His nose wrinkled.
"What is that?"
He breathed again.
Metallic.
Wet.
Heavy.
He didn't immediately recognize it.
But something about the smell made his stomach twist.
Blood.
Elifero's expression changed.
His footsteps became slower.
More cautious.
The smell grew stronger the farther he went.
Did something die here?
That was possible.
Animals died in forests.
There was nothing strange about that.
Still...
Elifero suddenly wanted to be home.
A faint rustling came from the bushes ahead.
He stopped.
The flowers in his hand brightened.
Elifero looked down at them.
Their glow was stronger now.
Almost as though the petals were pulsing.
Once.
Then again.
Elifero swallowed.
"That's... creepy."
A nervous laugh escaped him.
He waited.
Nothing emerged from the bushes.
Probably an animal.
Maybe a rabbit.
Or another deer.
Elifero took a step forward.
The bushes rustled again.
Something sounded different this time.
Wet.
Heavy.
His smile disappeared.
Elifero slowly approached.
Every part of him told him to walk around the bushes.
Instead, curiosity pulled him forward.
He reached out.
His fingers touched the leaves.
Elifero carefully pushed them aside.
Something wet smeared across his palm.
He jerked his hand backward.
"What...?"
Red covered his skin.
For several seconds, Elifero simply stared.
Blood.
His heart began beating faster.
He turned his palm over.
"Did I get scratched earlier?"
Maybe while picking the flowers.
Maybe one of the stems had cut him.
"Yeah..."
He wiped his palm against his shirt.
"Probably."
But when he looked again, there was no cut.
Elifero's breathing became shallow.
It's fine.
There had to be an explanation.
There always was.
Slowly, he reached toward the bushes again.
His fingers trembled slightly as he pushed the leaves apart.
And then he saw it.
A deer.
It lay sprawled across the forest floor.
Elifero froze.
Its body had been torn open.
Flesh hung from wounds too large to have come from any simple fall. Blood soaked into the soil beneath it, turning the earth dark.
The smell hit Elifero properly now.
His stomach turned.
The deer's eyes remained open.
Empty.
Staring at nothing.
Elifero stumbled backward.
His heel caught against a root.
"What... did that?"
Then he heard something.
A movement.
Not from the deer.
Beside it.
Elifero slowly raised his eyes.
Something was there.
At first, his mind refused to understand what he was looking at.
A shape stood partially hidden beyond the body.
Tall.
Too tall.
Its body bent at an angle that looked wrong, as though its bones had been assembled incorrectly beneath its flesh.
Elifero couldn't move.
The flowers in his hand glowed brighter.
The thing shifted.
Then—
It turned toward him.
Elifero's breath stopped.
For one terrible moment, neither moved.
He couldn't understand what he was seeing.
It wasn't anything Pedro had ever described.
It wasn't anything from the stories told around the village.
It wasn't anything Elifero believed should exist.
His body understood before his mind did.
Run.
Elifero stumbled backward.
His foot slipped.
He fell hard, throwing out one hand to catch himself.
His palm scraped violently against a jagged rock.
Pain shot through his arm.
"Agh!"
The flowers nearly slipped from his other hand.
He didn't care.
Elifero scrambled onto his feet.
And ran.
Branches whipped across his face and arms.
Roots threatened to catch his feet.
His knees scraped against bark and stone whenever he stumbled, but he forced himself forward.
He didn't look back.
He couldn't.
His lungs burned.
His heart hammered violently against his chest.
Every sound behind him became footsteps.
Every snapping branch became that thing chasing him.
Faster.
Elifero ran.
Faster.
He didn't know whether it was following him.
He didn't want to know.
All he wanted was home.
His mother.
Bloom.
Raim.
The village.
Anything familiar.
Anything safe.
Then, between the trees—
Light.
Elifero's eyes widened.
The distant lights of the village shimmered through the darkness.
Home.
He ran toward them without slowing.
Behind him, the forbidden forest disappeared into shadow.
And for the first time in his life, Elifero understood why some places were forbidden.