Resurrection - Part II | The Endless Forest

"I opened my eyes... again..."

"I roared at the doe. She seemed not very impressed. She kept taunting and roared back.
Tze, pathetic little doe. Maybe you woke up this time…
But, there will be another day. You will fall asleep. And then I will be there to take your wonderful, precious butterfly-mask.

I shook my head and turned my back on her, it was senseless to continue this little discussion. A waste of energy.
I continued my walk through the forest, like always. Like always I saw small groups of deer, dancing , jumping and laughing. Like always I listened carefully.
I listened for the slow and constant heartbeat of sleeping deer… I listened for… her…

“Kaylan… “
”Eh…?”
What was that?
“Open your eyes… “

”Hm.”
Sometimes the wind makes strange noises in this endless forest.
I sat down in one of the blue fields, to rest a while. This was a bad day. I couldn’t save one single mask. A group of fawns changed my face constantly for… ah it felt like hours until I finally could get rid of them.
I sighed.
Just a little rest…

…

“Open your eyes!“

”What?!”

I rose my head… and immediately lost my balance. I fell on my site, I struggled with my hooves.
I was heavily breathing…
Breathing?!
Warm air filled my lungs…
Lungs?!
I started to panic. What happened to me?
I could feel a soft breeze on my fur…
Fur?!
I screamed…

… Finally I got on my hooves and started to run for my life.
At least… I tried… I managed only a few steps until I fell down again.

”Ouch!”
That hurt…
It hurt?

I forced myself to calm down again. I could feel my heart beat fast against my chest.
… my heart…

“Don’t be afraid foolish child… “

A soft voice touched my ears.
I turned my head. A golden stag sat by my side.
Since when did he sat there?
He smiled at me.

“How do you feel?“

”I… I am not sure…
Ah...!
My voice!
What happened to my voice?

What… what happened to me?”

“What do you think, foolish child?
You got a new name, therefore, a new body.“

”A new… body?”

The stag laughed. A warm gentle laugh, that made me feel secure, whatever just happened to me… it was okay.
It was okay.
The stag stood up.

“Let’s have a walk to the pond.“

I struggled to my feet… and tried my best to follow him.
It took forever to reach the pond…
… but…
the beauty I saw on this walk through the forest…
I saw the bright rays of light forcing their way through the dark leafs of the trees…
… the small dew drops on the petals of the flowers…
… the fresh green of the grass…
… the fiery red of the poppies…
… the sparkling wings of the butterflies…
I saw this all like I saw it for the first time

Finally we reached the pond. Usually crowded, it laid empty in the sunlight today.
The golden stag stepped into the clear water.
I followed him.
I saw a reflection on the water. A nameless stag. No… not nameless… he looked like a one, but there was a golden glowing pictogram above his head.

”Who is this?”

The stag laughed again.

“Foolish child, this is you. “

”But... this is not my name…”

“Oh, it is my child, it is.
Three days left.
This is our gift.
You got a new name, you got a new life.
No one will see the beast now.

Foolish child, your heart is cold, it is filled with bitterness. You need to learn to trust again. And you need to forget your dark longings…
This body is a very special vessel for your soul, my child.
You are able to receive the magic of the forest, other deer can give you new colors, faces and antlers. But you won’t be able to choose which of their gifts you want to keep…
… so you will learn to trust them.
You are not able to cause the magic yourself, therefore you won’t be tempted.
… you will forget your dark longings.

Foolish child, this shall be our gift…

I listened carefully. This felt so… so… unreal.
Was this a dream? Maybe I was still sleeping at the patch of blue flowers…

“ Now, tell me, my child…
Will you dance? “

Three days left.
The ball, of course… they wanted me to be there.

I nodded.

”Yes”

I decided.
I wanted to be there.

The stag seemed satisfied.

“ Then you shall dance.“
But first…
you need to open your eyes.“[/]

I was confused

”What.. what do you mean.. I…”

“ Open your eyes, Kaylan…
… open your eyes for her.“

”But I…”

“ Open your eyes!“

I awoke with a start.
Butterflies danced around my head.
I turned my head, where was I ?

I laid in the field of blue flowers…
… was it a dream.

I saw a nightfall-pelted doe in the distant.
I could feel my heart beat.

No…
… it was not a dream.

I just… opened my eyes."