When I was five, I learned two important things.
First: rules were flexible.
Second: my father always knew when I broke them.
That didn't stop me from trying.
The forest had been there my whole life, sitting just past the edge of the street like it was pretending not to notice us. Everyone acted as if it was something distant, something you only went into when you were older, stronger, or officially allowed.
I didn't buy that.
One afternoon, when my mother was inside and my father was busy checking equipment in the yard, I wandered closer to the stones that marked the end of the pavement. I told myself I was just looking.
That was technically true.
I stepped past them.
Just one step. Then another.
The ground immediately felt different. Uneven. Alive. I grinned despite myself. This wasn't scary at all. It was just… new. I crouched down to poke at a leaf, then straightened quickly when I heard a familiar weight shift behind me.
"I wondered how long it would take," my father said.
I turned, already smiling. Pretending hadn't worked, and we both knew it.
"I wasn't going far," I said.
"You never do," he replied calmly. "That's how I know you're lying."
I winced. "That was one time."
His gaze flicked briefly past me, toward the darker edge of the trees.
"It's fine," I added quickly. "Dusknoir's there."
That made him pause.
He didn't look surprised. He just exhaled slowly, tension easing out of his shoulders. "I know," he said. "That's why I noticed a little later than usual."
I straightened a bit at that. "See? I thought about it."
"I know you did," he replied, stepping closer and resting a hand lightly on my shoulder. Not to pull me back. Just… there. "You still should've told me."
"I will next time," I said.
He studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Next time," he agreed.
By the time I turned six, sneaking stopped being necessary.
I was allowed past the stones now. Not deep. Not far. But far enough that it felt like progress instead of rebellion. Dusknoir still lingered in the shadows when I went—never close, never obvious but always there.
The forest didn't feel forbidden anymore.
It felt like it was waiting.
And one day, not long after, it stopped waiting quietly.
Something happened out there.Something injured.Something afraid.
Something that shouldn't have been there at all.
And when I found it, everything changed.