Mystic woods;

Chapter 6:

[RENEE's POV]

I step out of the door and walk towards the dense green forest. I found a forest trail indicating frequented human visits. I follow the trail while holding the gift tightly across my chest. Fresh air slightly mixed with an earthly scent filled my lungs. My body relaxes against my will unconsciously. I venture deeper into the woods aimlessly reminiscing about the carefree days I spent with my grandma. We used to walk through the woods collecting herbs and wild berries, singing the songs she taught me. Playing with the tiny fishes in the stream while she brought me for a bath. I miss those days when I need not be wary of anything; those happy, carefree days. I miss them!

I start humming a soft tune that flows through the air like a silk cloth. As I'm lost in the tune, I hear a sudden rustling in the bushes.

"As expected, the sound is coming from here."

"Oh look! It's a human!"

"Oh my! oh my! It really is a human"

"What is a human doing here?"

"Shhhh! be quiet, she might hear us."

"Whose there?", I ask nervously. "Show yourself!"

"It's all your fault we got found out. Stupid!"

"Hey, what did I do?"

"Don't even begin ---"

"I said show yourself, now!", I shouted mustering a bit of courage.

Right then, five small balls of fire each in different colors - that looked like the blue wisp in BRAVE - floating in the air, appear before me. Once they reach in front of me the balls of fire turn into tiny humans with transparent glass like wings attached onto their backs. They reminded me of Tinkerbell and her friends. The only difference was they didn't have an elf-like ears and were wearing tiny human dresses that fit them perfectly. They were like the cute anime and manga characters, with wings that sprinkle a glowing powder at its tips.

Among the five, there were two males and three females. One of the females had blue hairs, eyes and glowing powder - falling from the tips of its glass like wings - which seemed to disappear before reaching ground. Similarly, another one had brown and the other one had white respective features. Both of the males too had red and green features respectively.

"Wha… What are you!?", I asked them completely stunned.

"Hmmm! That's a complicated question." Blue replied.

"Some humans call us fairies." Red said.

"Some call us wisps." Brown said.

"Some call us nymphs." White said.

"In truth, what we are is an unsolved mystery. The only thing we know is that we are created from the Sol's cells." Green said.

"What is a SOL?", I ask them curiously.

"Sol is the creator of this universe. It is the beginning and the end. You can find Sol in everything and everywhere even inside you and us." White answered.

"You mean GOD!?"

"No, the entities you, humans call Gods and Goddesses are also fragments of SOL. Its complicated and long to explain." Green said. "But what exactly is a human doing all alone in this forest?"

"Nothing! I just wanted to take a walk and also open this." I told them showing the gift.

"Taking a walk in Mystic Woods!? You must be crazy." Red retorted.

"What is your name?" Blue asked ignoring Red.

"Oh! My bad. Hello, I'm Renee. I'm a new student in Hillsfred Academy." I politely replied to her.

"It's nice to meet you, Renee. I'm Naida. I keep control over water element." Blue replied.

"It's nice to meet you to Naida."

"I'm Aiden. I keep control over fire element." Red replied.

"I am Aquilo. I have control over wind element." Green replied.

"I'm Gaia. I control earth element." Brown replied.

"I'm Diblin. I possess the spirit element." White replied.

"It's nice to meet you all." -ME

"Usually we don't show ourselves to others. Our existence is not proved to the human kind yet. But we were captivated by your voice and followed you helplessly." -AQUILO

"You don't seem like a harm to us." -GAIA

"And you are pretty too." -NAIDA

"There are other elemental and non-elemental cells other than us out there." -DIBLIN

"But remember they won't be as nice as we are." I nodded my head frantically.

"So? Are you going to open it or not?" asked Aiden who was eyeing the gift for a while now.

"Oh! Yes!! I totally forgot." I replied lightly tapping on my head for my forgetfulness. I crouched down and placed the gift on the ground. The fairies gathered around me to take a look at it. The chest needed a key to unlock it. I unwrapped the small keepsake bundle and took out a golden vintage necklace. I opened the locket to find a small golden key. And a small fold of paper.

Inside the paper, neatly written words that said "Hope you still remember how to use it".

I pushed the key into the keyhole of the chest and opened it. There was huge piece of sandalwood, small glass bottles of various oils. I opened the lid of one bottle and brought to my nose trying to smell. It was rose oil. Then I tried another one. It was jasmine oil. Blegh. I scrunched my nose with disgust put it back quickly. There was also a packet of Multani Mitti in it.

When I used to live with her, these things were used instead of soaps and perfumes. It is the traditional way of beautifying your skin with no side effects. After moving to New York, my skin was rough and pale from using all chemical cosmetics. Though I tried to not ruin it much.

"what? Its just a piece of wood and some oils? Nothing to eat? So boring." Aiden stated disappointedly.

"it's not just any piece of wood, you idiot. It is a piece of one of the finest and purest sandalwood trees." Gaia replied inspecting the wood.

"You're right. In human world, this piece of wood alone can cost a several lakhs." I told them.

"And these oils are purest extract of fresh flowers." Diblin mused smelling the flowers.

"But where did she find these?" -AQUILO.

"Behind her house, there is a huge forest. You can find all sorts of herbs and trees there. While I was a kid, I used to live with her. We used to go to the forest daily to pick herbs. We bathed in the river nearby using these." -ME

She used to grind the sandalwood to make paste out of it and mix it with Multani Mitti and rose oil. She would apply that paste on my body. After bathing, my skin would become smooth and glowing. Its fragrance had a soothing effect. It also kept my body cool. Haah! How I miss those days.

"Do you want to try using it now? I know of a good place." Naida asked excitedly.

"Really!? I can?"

"Yes! We'll help you too."

"What if someone comes and peeks? And I didn't bring my towel to dry myself either."

"We'll get Aquilo and Aiden to watch." Gaia suggested.

"Why should I keep watch over some human girl bathing?" Aiden shouted.

"So that, that way you can be of some use in your whole existence." Gaia retorted.

While Gaia and Aiden were bickering among themselves, "I'll have someone to get your towels. What is your room number?" Diblin offered.

"Uhm… 3F0! But how?"

"Just wait and watch" she winked at me and turned around blowing a shrill whistle. Soon after, a pigeon flew towards us. She stroked its head a few times and whispered something. Immediately it took off in the sky to the direction of my dormitory.

"Follow me!" Naida instructed me nodding her head towards the opposite direction.

After a short walk, we reached an eerily quiet area. The sound of water splashing reached my ears. Excited, I fastened my pace and reached a waterfall. It was so beautiful. As I stood there awestruck at sight, I felt a light tapping on my cheek.

"You're yet to see the real surprise" Aiden chuckled motioning to follow. When we reached to the very bottom of the waterfall the fairies flew into the waterfall and disappeared. I was surprised and a little scared. So, I hesitated to follow them inside.

"What are you doing standing there? Come on in!" Gaia who popped out of the waterfall shouting at me.

"C-Coming!!" mustering a bit of courage I followed in. It was a dark rocky cave. I placed my hands on the wall as I walked. It was cool and damp to touch but as I walked deeper inside the temperature seemed to change from cool to warm then warm to hot. There was a natural hot spring inside a rocky cave that was hidden behind a waterfall. How cool is that?

"Well, we'll be out…. Keeping watch!" Aquilo replied nudging Aiden's side.

"You better remember to repay me with some food" Aiden grumbled as flew out dejected with Aquilo.

Rolling their eyes, the girls turned towards me.

"Well go on, strip your clothes and get in" Naida urged excitedly.

"We'll take care of the rest" Diblin said.

"You know how to do it?" I asked them curiously.

"Of course, we do. What do you take us for?" Gaia stated slightly offended.

I shrugged giving a sheepish smile and started to strip my clothes. By then the pigeon from earlier came back carrying a white fluffy towel in its beak. It placed the towel along with the rest of the pile of clothes and flew away.

I placed the tip of my leg in the water to check the temperature. It was neither too hot nor too warm. It was just perfect. I entered the water and closed my eyes as I laid my head back immersed in the blissful feeling. I could feel the tension in my muscles loosening up. The fairies were busy making the paste. Gaia used her power to rub a rock against the sandalwood piece. Naida collected the paste and mixed it with rose oil and Multani Mitti. While Deblin helped me smear it on my body.

After washing off the paste, I helped the fairies to apply some on them. It was fun in a way. I felt like I'm playing with dolls. I chuckled at the thought and shrugged it off when they gave me curious glances. Naida made a few figures of dolphins in the water using her powers. The dolphins jumped around and disappeared as I curiously watched them. We all stayed in the water for some more time playing around splashing water at each other.

Time passed by very quickly. I walked out of the water and dried myself except for my hair which was still dripping wet. I wore my uniform back. I left my stuff there so that I can use them when I come back again. We walked out of the waterfall to find Aquilo and Aiden fast asleep on a big leaf. Naida used her powers to splash some water on them causing them to tumble down on the ground. We chuckled while they rose up groaning.

"You guys did a great job keeping a watch over us. Now I know I can trust you with my life." Gaia said in a mocking tone.

"You were taking forever to come out of that damned place! What would you expect?" Aiden retorted begrudgingly.

Again, they started bickering like little kids fighting for candy. I looked at the sky and the sun were about to set. Shit how long was I in the woods? Isabelle's gonna be damn angry. I'm sure they'll be searching for me. I need to leave quickly.

I was about to tell them that I need to go back when all of a sudden, I felt dizzy. Black spots started to spread at the edges of my vision. I felt the ground approaching me as I blackened out. THUD!!!