Creature In The Cedar Forest II

My eyes were drawn to an unfamiliar creature at the edge of the vast cedar forest. For the first time, I was facing a humanoid being that was not human, and my body froze in fear. In that moment, I realised that the oldest laws of nature were at play here, and that this place was very different from the world I knew.

The creature standing before me resembled a human but also seemed like an extension of nature. Its height was that of a man, perhaps a little taller. Its skin colour was an unusual tone, ranging from pale green to grey, and in some places, veins resembling branches were visible, as if roots were spreading inside its body. Its feet were strong and solid, resembling the hooves of a goat, with flat soles. Its face, however, was extraordinarily square, as if it were a geometric design of nature itself.

But what was most unsettling were its eyes. They were entirely white, without pupils or irises... It was as if I were looking into a deep void, and I felt my soul being drawn in. For a brief moment, when our eyes met, I felt as though it was looking into my mind, as if it knew everything hidden within me. And its lips... if they could even be called lips... They seemed as though they had once been stitched up, but those stitches had been clumsily removed, leaving scars behind.

It neither fled nor attacked. It showed no hostile stance nor any friendly expression. It was neutral. Just like the trees in the forest, like the wind eroding the rocks, like the constant flow of time... Its reaction would be determined by my actions.

"Siri," I whispered. "Do you have any information on this creature?"

Siri's mechanical voice echoed in my mind. "Memory scan in progress... No information found on this entity in the records. Would you like me to create a new file and store the data?"

"Yes," I said. "Save it. Store everything about this creature."

I continued to gaze at it. It felt like a duel between us. The first one to look away would lose. But the creature was patient, it didn't know what tiredness was. As minutes passed, a black bird suddenly landed on its shoulder. Its feathers were as black as coal, and it leaned towards the creature's ear, chirping sharply, as if whispering something. It was as though it had brought a message.

Suddenly, the creature's face changed. Disgust and anger became apparent. It seemed to lose interest in me, giving me one last glance before turning away and disappearing into the depths of the forest.

I didn't realise I was in shock until I started trembling. I gripped the baskets tightly in my hands. As I ran, I noticed that I had dropped some plants, but I neither had the courage nor the time to go back and collect them. My frail body couldn't bear such an effort, but my only goal at that moment was to get home and reach safety.

As I walked along the path, my thoughts began to gnaw at my mind. Why had the creature followed me? What had the black bird told it to make it suddenly change direction? And most importantly, who was this creature?

But I was overlooking something. While walking through the forest, I noticed that faint, almost invisible little mists were forming and disappearing around each of the cedar trees. But now, I realised it.

"Siri, can you show me the mist around the trees?" I asked.

"Images being processed... Complete. Displaying."

I closed my eyes and examined the images that appeared in my mind. Around every tree were thin, almost imperceptible clusters of mist. Their sizes varied, with some as tiny as the tip of a needle, while others were comparable in size to my thumb. The most interesting thing was that these mists moved in a certain pattern. They didn't seem chaotic; on the contrary, they appeared to be trying to convey something with specific designs.

"Siri, is there a pattern among these mists? Can you make a comparison?"

"Comparison in progress... Patterns detected. The patterns do not all match, but there is a certain frequency of repetition. The most frequently repeated patterns form spirals."

A fractal pattern. A hidden language within chaos.

"Siri, why do these mists only appear around the trees? Are the trees producing them?"

"Current data is insufficient. However, possibilities are being evaluated. Hypothesis: The trees may be using the mists for communication."

A chill ran down my spine. What if this was true? Were the trees communicating with each other in a language we didn't understand? This forest was much older than us humans. Perhaps it had its own memory, its own history, its own secrets.