The Forest of Forgotten Dreams

Auriel was dragging me by the hand through the forest as we walked forward, while I had no idea what was going to happen I could tell she was excited. But that wasn't the only thing I noticed as I looked at the trees, each tree started to look awfully different than before. I looked curiously at them while being dragged forward and I assume that Auriel could tell since she started to talk.

"I guess you're wondering about the forest?" Auriel asks me.

I looked around and nod as the trees swayed in the breeze.

"Yes, I am," I said back to her.

I see Auriel pull out what appears to be some weird type of notebook and a pencil. The pencil looked like it was made out of wood from the surrounding trees while the notebook looked odd.

"The forest's name you already know and why it has it's name right?" Auriel asked.

"Yes, you told me that it made people start to see things like hallucinations," I said.

However I was met with finger in my face right after and I stopped walking as did Auriel, instead of speaking she stops pointing her finger and walks over to a tree. Her eyes slightly glow as she places her hand on the bark and then the tree began to glow instead. She steps away from it and the trees bark began to show images like a moving picture, it was astounding.

"What I said wasn't the whole truth, it was just part of it," Auriel says as she walked back up to me.

"Then what is?" I asked.

"These trees don't just make one hallucinate but they collect the dreams of whoever touches them and then simultaneously starts to play them. Once the tree starts to play the dream on the bark, it'll start to flow off of it and play in the air like a fancy show," Auriel said as she started walking forward.

I've never experienced anything like this before, it's cool but also something that's strange but in a good way. The forest seems almost alive in a weird way, like it collects the dreams of those for a purpose. While I followed her, I saw that the trees colors began to slightly change just a little.

"Hey Auriel?" I asked.

She turns back to me and her green hair follows.

"Yes?" she asks back.

"How long have you lived out here? I mean you don't act or look old to me so you couldn't have been out here long but how do you know so much?" I asked.

She giggles and writes down something in her notebook before answering.

"You know it's not polite to ask an elf her age, right?" she asks with a smug tone.

"Nope, I did not know that," I said, making her fall forward a bit.

She sighs as she puts her notebook and pencil away.

"Well I may not look it but I'm five hundred years old and I've lived her for the past thirty years."

I stopped walking but she continued forward, I couldn't believe how nonchalant she was acting. She's five hundred years old and doesn't look a day over twenty! I myself aren't even twenty five but that's just crazy.

"Wait, you're five hundred? How's that even possible?" I asked her and she laughs.

"It's possible because as I said earlier, I'm an elf," She finishes.

"Well how long do elves normally live lifespan wise?" I asked.

"Over a few thousand years if you live well and eat good, the oldest one I heard of was ten thousand years old but that could just be a rumor. I haven't left the forest in all the years that I've been here studying the place," Auriel finishes.

I tilt my head as we walk forward.

"Doesn't that get lonely?" I ask and she pauses.

"Well I sometimes feel lonely but I like the solitude, it helps me work better but I do miss the company sometimes," Auriel says as she looks down a bit.

It makes me feel sad that she's been here all by herself for the last thirty years of her life but you know what I think that's about to change. I walk forward a bit more to where I was standing side by side with Auriel, she looked at me and I smiled.

"Well you don't have to be alone anymore, you have me," I say while looking forward.

"But you just met me and even then it wasn't a nice one at first, why would you want to stay with me?" she asks me and I smile at her.

"Because I like you so far, I'd like to get to know more about where I am and more about you," I said.

I look over to see that Auriel has a smile on her face, even if just a little one. She notices me looking at her and ends up turning her head slightly away.

"Thank you," she says quietly.

Of course I heard her but didn't say anything back, I could tell she was happy enough already so for the rest of the walk we stayed quiet and just admired the surrounding. Even though Auriel's lived here for a small portion of her life, she still seems to enjoy looking at something she's probably seen over a million times. I know she's probably wanted company for a while now and that could be another reason as to why she was so excited to see me but I'm not sure. I'm just glad she's here.

After a little while of walking we finally made it to a river, it wasn't super big but big enough to have to need a bridge. I look over at Auriel.

"We're almost to my home," she says as she walks to the edge.

"But how are we going to cross the river?" I asked and she smiled.

"Just sit back and watch," she says this to me so I simply take a few steps back before she places her hand on the ground. I watched as her entire body began to glow a shade of green and a tree symbol appeared on the ground, she steps back a little.

"Garden Path, open."

After saying this the ground rumbles and from beneath the symbol appeared thick tree vines that stretched across the river and wrapped around themselves dozens of times until a bridge was formed. I couldn't believe this, it was so cool to see. I looked over at Auriel with a smile and she chuckled.

"That was so cool!" I exclaimed and she smiled.

"I know it was, now let's go!" she takes me by the hand and leads me across.