Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Friend of the Forest, continued

I'm not sure how much time passed before I realized my situation had vastly changed. The next thing I was aware of was the coolness of damp earth beneath me. Darkness surrounded me, but my eyes adjusted slowly to discern glowing dots above me, in what appeared to be the ceiling of a cave. A cave that dripped water on my head. The roof of the cave was more than five feet above me, so I couldn't observe the glowing things more closely, but I guessed they were simply glow-worms.

While trying to analyze my predicament, still staring at the ceiling, I noticed what seemed like a trap door above me. Puzzled beyond words, I pondered this new discovery. Impossible! A trap door in the floor of a river! Preposterous! I've gone mad! Or maybe I'm dead, and heaven is rather...different than I'd imagined it? No, doubtful.

Not five minutes after I'd become conscious of everything, a larger light glowing in the deep darkness before me steadily became stronger. My lips tightened in anticipation and only a tiny bit of terror as I imagined what might be approaching. That must be an exit to the cave, I mused. Oh no...maybe extra terrestrials ARE real, I suddenly panicked.

But in front of me soon stood what resembled a human, only much ganglier and ghostly. This female apparition was beautiful, yet frightful, only for the fact that I had never seen anyone like her before. Her skin was almost translucent, and her hair was like fiery moss. She wore a gown of the most intricate designs made from what appeared to be natural materials. As I studied her, she smiled at me, and my dread melted away like an icicle in summer.

She spoke, and from her regal face resounded these words:
Child, at last you've come to see me personally! I am lovely to look at, aren't I?

Primping a bit, her skin became less eerily pallid, and she looked into my eyes, drawing my glance away from her apparel. I detected some vanity in this creature, as she obviously puffed up under my admiration.

Do you wonder why you're here, little forest wanderer? She laughed like a sprite.

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