The Winding Woods: Tales of a Boggle

by Dani Swanson

  "Did you win?" Izzie chirped as she hugged her brother, ignoring the dirt and sweat the covered his uniform.

  "It was just practice, goofy! We will go to my game tomorrow, though. Are you going to come and cheer for me?" His eyes twinkled as he sank his teeth into the warm cookie. Izzie gave Nathan a big smile and nodded. "Do you want to go play Zelda with me?" Izzie had already linked elbows with her brother and was walking down the long hall to his room.

  Jack made his way into the kitchen with the rest of the cookies. He greeted his wife, who was busy scrubbing the dishes in the sink. He was taller than her by at least a head, having to bend down to kiss her on the temple.

  "What's with the face?" His mouth was full of cookies as he gave her a curious look, leaning back next to the sink so he could watch her.

  Sami's expression was one of concern, and as she sighed before she started to speak: "She's still making up stories about this Zyon. She made little footprints in the flour today and said that her invisible friend ran through it. When is she going to grow out of this?" Tears of frustration cooled her flushed cheeks.

  "She'll grow out of it, I'm sure. She doesn't have any memories from before the park – I'm sure it's her coping mechanism. Besides, she started making friends at school. Isn't it supposed to replace the invisible friends when they start making real ones?" Jack wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and brought her in for a hug.

  Sami shrugged and then laid her head in the crook of Jack's arm. "Are you sure that she isn't going to be needing medication? What if there is something terribly wrong with her?" Sami felt sick in the pit of her stomach as she didn't know what to do for her daughter.

  "That will all come with time, honey. We can't push Izzie to be anything other than the happy little seven-year-old that is playing Zelda with her big brother." They listened to Izzie's cheers from down the hallway as her brother beat one of the castles.

  Zyon sat on his perch in the kitchen and quietly listened to the conversation between Izzie's new parents. He was stuck in his spot until they left so he could clean the flour off his shoes; he didn't want to draw attention to himself. He knew then that he had to convince Izzie to stop talking about him as the parents didn't understand. The thought of his little princess being drugged made him sick to his stomach.

  3: the Dawning of the Enchanted

  Isabella loved to sit on the swing that was on the front porch of their house. No one else seemed to sit out there much, so she treated it as her own little area. The cool fall breeze was starting to roll in as the sun was lowering in the sky. She loved the breeze as it tickled her skin. Zyon sat on the arm of the bench and had his hands behind his head as Izzie gently swayed the swing back and forth with a wave of her finger. Her legs were too short to manually pump the swing. She had her drawing pad on her lap and a new box of crayons that her dad had brought home for her.

  Nathan, bored of playing his video game as a single player, popped his head out of the door. His golden hair reflected in the sun. "Whatcha doing?" he made his way over to the seat. He didn't have to jump to get onto the bench, as Izzie did.

  "Just coloring. Do you want to color too?" Her eyes lit up as she looked over at Nathan. Her most favorite thing at this house was when he wanted to play.

  "What are we coloring today?" He asked with a smirk, as he held up an emerald green crayon in the air.

  "I'm drawing the Winding Woods." She returned matter-of-factly, without lifting her eyes from the tree that she was drawing.

  "Where is that? I've never heard of a place like that around here." He wrinkled his nose at the thought as he reached over with his left hand and helped her fill in the tree branches with some green leaves.

  Izzie nervously lifted her head and looked over to the door to make sure that their mom wasn't listening. In a hushed whisper, she responded: "Zyon is telling me a story of the Winding Woods. That’s where I’m from. I'm drawing what he is telling me. I don't want to forget it." He returned her smile.

  "I wish I could hear his story. You talk a lot to your invisible friend, and he sounds like he has a lot of nice stories he tells you."

  "You know you shouldn't be talking about me to him either, right? He is just going to report me back to your mom." Zyon opened one of his eyes and sat up in his seat as he looked over at the two coloring.

  "Nathan is my best friend! He won't tell mom. Will you?" Her eyes were big and begging her brother to keep her secrets.

  "Naw, I won't tell mom. I just want to hear your story. Pinky swear." Nathan held out his little pinky and linked it with Izzie's before he went back to his coloring. He was now working on a bit of a bluebird sitting on top of the tree.

  "Start from the beginning, Zyon, and I will repeat what you say to Nathan, since you like to be shy, and you won't let anyone else see you."

  Zyon let out a sigh as he looked over at the little girl. It was hard for him to say no to her. "Okay, but this is the last time."

  Izzie just nodded without looking up from the pad of paper. "So, get on with it, please."

  "Okay sassy little girl – pay attention: Where the Winding Woods now stands there used to be a rolling field of wispy green grass that danced in the wind. The battle at the Kingdom of Owls had ended, the magic that had been trapped in the soul crystal was released, allowing for the magic to be spread across the lands, forever changing the ecosystem and those of us who have magical abilities – the elders named it the “Dawning of the Enchanted”. Covering every corner of the world, the Dawning disbursed the magic of the most powerful creatures and witches alike, changing the balance of magic as we knew it.”

  On the morning of the Dawning there was a single fairy in the middle of the field, gliding over the blades of grass, planting flowers, and spreading seeds. As the force of the Dawning moved over the field, a single seed was pushed deep down into the ground by the force of magic."

  Izzie didn't miss one word as she had Zyon tell his story slowly, so she could tell it to Nathan. Nathan stopped coloring and watched his sister as he was sucked into her story of magic and enchantment.

  "When the sun rose the next day, there was a full-grown flowering tree in the middle of the field where the tiny seed had landed. The tree's trunk showed the magical face of an old woman who would later be referred to as The Mother. Her blooms blew in the wind and spread her seed over the grassy field. The seeds sprouted – their roots spread, and the sunny field was now a shady wood. Once the shelter of the branches was there, the creatures and animals started to gather. The tree elves moved into the base of the trees with the bunnies' burrows – fairies made their homes in the branches amongst the nests of the birds. It was so calm and beautiful back then. The magic from within The Mother was powerful, you could feel her radiating that power just by standing next to her."

  "The Mother smiled as her children grew. Animals and creatures that traveled there had brought seeds from where they were from, as did the humans that came. The seeds mixed in the wind and through the magic of The Mother, the Winding Woods continue to spread over the lands until it was a colossal forest that no one was sure of where it started or ended."

  Zyon paused his story for a moment, leaning forward with his hands resting on his knees as he viewed the picture that Izzie had drawn. The old woman's face in the tree looked just like The Mother and had him wondering if Izzie did remember her somewhere in the back of her mind.

  "Cabins started to be built amongst the opening in the trees, and the humans started farms with the brownies. Everyone had their job to do, and everyone was living together as one community."

  Izzie had stopped coloring and looked at Zyon as she listened to his story and would not look away when she started to repeat it for Nathan. She paused when Zyon got to the part that she remembered she didn't like.

  "Aren't you going to tell your brother the rest of the story?" Zyon asked the girl.

  She turned her face with her big round cheeks to look at Nathan. A serious expression spread over the seven
-year-old's face as she reached out and grabbed Nathan's cheeks. "This part of the story gets scary and is very serious, Nathan." Her eyes were just a few inches away from his face. "But you have to remember that it is just a story and that as long as we follow directions, we'll be safe because the Winding Woods is very, very far away." He started to nod his head as her little hands still held onto his cheeks.

  Zyon smiled to himself as he watched Izzie interact with her brother. "Well, I'm glad that you have been listening to me and remember the story, Iz. Are you ready for me to continue?"

  She let go of Nathan and turned her attention toward Zyon, nodding her head as she waited for him to continue.

  "Okay, remember, the Winding Woods is very far away from here." The little girl nodded, with her eyes fixed on the boggle before he would continue his story. "It seemed that everything was going to be peaceful within the Woods, but with everything good, and light there has to have a balance of what?"

  "Darkness." The little girl answered back. All the childlike happiness was missing from her voice as she stared back at him with a seriousness of death spread across her face. Her eyes filled with fear as they started to water; she didn't dare start crying, though, because he always ends the story when she does.

  Nathan shook her shoulder as she wasn't telling the whole story. "Oh, sorry, Nathan." She repeated word for word what Zyon had said.

  "Excellent, Izzie!” Zyon was proud of her for paying such close attention.

  “There was a witch named Cricket who wanted to become the most powerful being that there ever was. She tried to steal everyone's powers and had a magic purple crystal to collect people's souls and their magic. She even tried to steal your mother's magic, but your mother was the most powerful witch in Erresuma, and with her friends proved to be stronger as they worked together, and they shattered the crystal - which caused what?"

  "The Dawning!" Izzie had a giggle back to her voice as she told Nathan what had been said.

  "The witch had been defeated, and the Grimalkin, they had thought, was gone forever." He took a second and swallowed hard as Izzie explained to Nathan that a Grimalkin was an immense spirit of a black cat that takes over witches and survives by eating the souls of other creatures.

  "Cricket’s body didn’t survive the battle at the Kingdom of Owls, but her spirit never left. It came back in the form of a phantom. She is the Darkness that you need to learn about. Do you remember what they call her?”

  “Phantasma.”

  “That’s right. Phantasma stalks the Winding Woods, searching for the powers she had lost from her crystal. When she couldn’t find her body, she tried to rebuild it using magic from other creatures. She even tried to gain the magic that was given to you, Iz. Your grandmother gave you part of her powers before you were born, and so did your mother. Your mother saved some of the magic from the Dawning for you too. That's why you have your mother's necklace; it made from some of the shattered crystal that holds powers too." He nodded to the purple sparrow that the girl never takes off. "But don't tell your brother about the last part. He doesn't need to know that you have magic."

  The girl nodded as she held the purple charm in her hand, telling her brother the rest of the story on how Zyon must be invisible to protect her from Phantasma and her minions. "And that's why I'm here. To save you from the shadows and anything that would try to take you back to the Winding Woods.”

  “Zyan says it’s not safe for me in the Winding Woods so I came to live with your family instead until I’m a grown-up.”

  Nathan was almost in a trance as he listened to Izzie tell him the story but was brought back to the present when the screen door hit the side of the house, as their mom came outside.

  "What are you two being so serious about?" She smiled as she walked over to them.

  "I was just telling Nathan a story, and we were coloring." She held up her sketch pad with a massive grin as she was immensely proud of the work that they had done that evening.

  "What did you draw?" She asked as she examined their joint artwork.

  "The Mother!" Izzie exclaimed as she pointed to the face in the tree. "I was telling Nathan about The Mother, and we drew her."

  "I don't understand, who is The Mother?" Her eyebrow raised as she gave Nathan a look to clarify.

  "She means Mother Earth, mom. We talked about trees, and I told her that we have to recycle for Mother Earth as you tell me. So, we drew a picture of her." He slid his hand over and linked his pinky with his sister. He made Zyon sigh with relief as he didn't have to start yelling in Izzie's ear to stop talking like he usually had to.

  "Well, that's very clever of you two. I hate to break up your creative flow that you are on, and you're playing so nicely together, but it's bath time and almost bedtime."

  Both kids responded with "awwwwwwww" in protest, but their mom was not having it as she pointed to the door.

  "Awwwww nothing, kiddos. Clean up your stuff and head inside." She was still holding onto the sketch pad and examined their work. "Are you guys done? Can I hang this on the fridge?" Izzie proudly nodded as she was putting her crayons back into the box.

  She waited to hop down from the bench until Zyon was sitting on her shoulder.

  Their mom went inside first, and then Nathan held Izzie back for a moment before they went in. "I'll protect you from Phantasma, Izzie. Make sure that Zyon knows that!" His voice was barely above a whisper before he held out his pinky for one more linking, then disappearing into the house to start his bath.

  "See Zyon? I told you he wouldn't tell."

  "Yeah, kid, that's great. Let's get inside before it gets too dark out here." He patted her on the head as if he were directing a joystick to move into the house as he watched a few shadows start to form around the tree that sat just outside of the window that leads to Izzie's room. "Your mom said it was time to go take a bath." He hopped down and stood on the top step peering into the yard.

  "Aren't you coming inside?"

  The shadows grew with the setting sun. "I'll be right behind you, Princess." He called over his shoulder as he increased a little in size to be his normal stature and started his way down the stairs out to the lawn.

  4: Camping

  Summer nights were the best for hanging out in their backyard. The air was still warm, but it wasn't hot outside. Jack always hung a huge canopy from their tree that provided shade during the day and everyone's favorite hangout place as the sun was setting. Nathan especially liked the summer because his birthday was on the 15th of July and the weather always seemed to be just perfect for him to have some kind of party outside with his friends. This year he got a very spacious tent as a gift from his parents, and he was going camping with his friend John and his family.

  On this particularly perfect night, the family had made a bonfire and were roasting marshmallows to make S’mores. The sky was a painting of pinks and yellows swirling into the horizon as the almost full moon rose in the sky. Even Zyon couldn't help but relax, laying with his back against the arm of Izzie's chair. He even got a chunk of chocolate that Izzie had dropped for him.

  "I think it's almost time to go in and wash up." Sami had wrapped a shawl around her shoulders as she watched the last bit of sun go down over the horizon.

  "Come on, mom! It's like the perfect night out! It's not like we have school in the morning." Nathan protested with his bottom lip poked out.

  "Yeah, come on!" Izzie added to the protest as she linked pinkies with her brother.

  Zyon opened his eyes and saw that it was starting to get dark out. The dancing fire was beginning to cast shadows on the trees. "You probably should go inside, Princess. The moon is out tonight."

  Izzie ignored him. She kicked her feet back and forth on her chair as she watched the flames glow in their pit, burning up the bits of marshmallow that fell onto the wood.

  "Well, the bugs will be coming out soon, and I'm not going to be their dinner. Your father can be in charge of you." Sami started toward the house.


  "Maybe the kids could try out Nathan's new tent?" Jack offered as he collected the roasting tools, pushing their tips into the coals to clean them.

  Sami spun around to look at Jack. "Oh, I don't know about that...."

  "You said I was in charge of the kiddos. They'll be in our fenced-in backyard."

  The kids cheered and gave their mom hopeful eyes, pleading with her to allow them to sleep outside. Zyon was now on his feet and climbed onto Izzie's lap. "This is a bad idea. Go to your room!" Izzie stood up from her seat, sending Zyon tumbling to the ground.

  "Brat," he muttered, wiping the dirt from his clothes.

  "Fine. You're in charge of whatever malarky the children get into." She went back over to the kids and gave them each a kiss on their foreheads. "Go get your sleeping bags and put on some warm jammies."

  Nathan and Izzie questioned nothing. They ran to their rooms as fast as their little legs would carry them and changed into their pj's and then ran down to the garage. Nathan climbed the shelves and tossed down two sleeping bags. Zyon stayed out by the fire and waited for their return. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched every movement that happened in the backyard.

  By the time they made it back, Jack had already assembled the tent and had it opened to the canopy area. With the fire still blazing in front of it, the tent looked like a cover of a camping magazine. The green tent had yellow piping around the windows and the zipper door, making it ideal for blending into the woods if they were out in a forest.

  "That looks so awesome!" Izzie's voice came out as a shriek as she ran to the tent, sliding on the vinyl floor as she dove through the door. "There's so much room in here!"

  Nathan met her at the doorway with a massive grin across his face. He tossed in his sleeping bag and handed her the other.

  "I suppose you've never been camping, huh, Princess?" Jack crouched down, taking a drink of pop out of his "World's Greatest Dad" koozie. He was so proud of himself for having this idea; watching his kids have such a good time made his heart burst with joy.