Sixteenth Birthday

Once upon a time, in a faraway land near a forest, lived a boy called Edwin, and his mother. They had lived there for all their lives, and they had never gone into the forest. When he was a child, Edwin often asked his mother why they never went there. “Surely,” he said, “there are fruits and things to be had?” But his mother said the same thing each time he asked: “It is forbidden.”

When he got to be a bit older, Edwin often liked to go play by the edge of the trees. To see what he could see inside the depths of them. He never did see much, except for on his sixteenth birthday. 

On his sixteenth birthday, Edwin looked for the last time into the trees. He would have left it all alone. He would have been careful. Had he not seen the slightest flicker of light among the leaves and pine needles. A lantern was in the trees. Carefully, quietly, so as not to alert his mother to his adventuring, he walked into the forest. One step at a time, he tiptoed through leaves, and over sticks. But he was not careful enough. 

CRACK! 

He stepped on a particularly brittle stick, and it broke. Ahead of him, something, or perhaps someone, screamed. 

“I’m sorry!” he cried, for he hadn’t meant to scare anyone. But the voice ahead of him just laughed. 

“Oh, don’t be, Edwin. You only startled me.”

This was a bit worrisome to the boy, because how would this creature have known his name? Edwin giggled, like he did when he was small. It was a fear response, he thought, and it had been with him for a while. Soon enough the creature came into view. 

It was tall, about his height, and it had curly brown hair. For all intents and purposes, it looked human. But if you looked closely, you might notice the shimmering wings attached to its back. You might notice it’s not quite human like eyes. They shone bright purple, and they were shifting in color from black to purple every so often. And the teeth. When the creature smiled, its grin was a bit too big, and it was frightening. 

“Do you know me?” Edwin asked cautiously.

“Of course I do. I’ve always known you. Whether you know me is a different question. You used to play by my trees, didn’t you, Edwin?”

The boy nodded.

“I’ve always wanted to meet you in person. You seem ever so… unhappy.”

At this, Edwin laughed. Unhappy? He was perfectly fine. He was frightened, perhaps, and maybe a bit lonely, but not unhappy. So he told the creature that exactly. And then it smiled the horrible grin again. 

“No, Edwin, I know things about you. I know what you think of. You are unhappy. You want an adventure. You want a new life. I can help you.”

“No, no. That’s quite alright.” Edwin turned to go, but the creature moved fast. It put a hand on his shoulder and spun him around.

“Let me help, Edwin. Do you want to stay here? In this little town? Forever? I can promise you a daring, exciting life. Don’t you want that? Everything you wish for, I can give you.”

Edwin hesitated. It did sound exciting. A life of adventure. A life where he wasn’t told what not to do. Everything he wished for could be his. “What do I have to do?”

The creature smiled. “Now that’s a good man. All you have to do, is take my hand.”

Edwin did. They shook hands, the boy and the creature. And then he was gone. Into thin air, it seemed, the creature had disappeared. Edwin went back home, and his mother was gone. Everything was different. The house was the same, but in his room were maps, and treasure, and paintings. He had everything. Except his mother. She had gone like the creature had. 

Edwin ran back into the forest. He yelled for the creature to come back. When it did, the horrible grin was plastered on its face. He screamed at him, “Where have you taken her? This wasn’t part of it, this was never part of it!” But the creature just smiled its terrible smile, and laughed an awful laugh. 

Edwin ran to the village witch hunter. He explained what happened. The hunter said that he had encountered a fairy. One that was in the business of taking people away. The only way to get her back was to light his house, and all of his things, on fire. 

He nodded. “I’ll do it. I’ll do anything, but you promise this will get her back.” 

The hunter promised, and Edwin was off. He found some matches in his house, but before he could light it on fire, the fairy appeared beside him. It was smiling still. 

“You’ll really leave it all, Edwin? All these beautiful things? Just for her? Think, boy! She tells you where to go, and what to do, and she hides these things from you! Magical things, boy! She’ll take it all away.”

But Edwin was strong. He lit the match and the smile on the fairy’s face finally fell away. “For my mother, I would give up all the treasure and adventure in the world. If you won’t bring her back, then I will.” And with that, he dropped the burning match on to the wood floor. 

The house erupted into flames. But Edwin didn’t notice a thing. He woke up in the forest. When he hobbled out, the house was in ruins. But standing in front of it was his mother. She looked dazed and afraid, but she was alive. Edwin ran to her. 

The village was kind, and allowed the two to stay in the church while their home was being rebuilt. Eventually, Edwin grew up and married a girl he had been friends with all his life. And he had three sons. And they lived by the forest. And he always told them, “Never go into the forest. It’s just for the best.” 

All lived happily until the third son had his sixteenth birthday. And he went into the forest. Just to take a look.