Chapter 3.
The Magic Forest
He sat on the chair. I could feel him relaxing. He took a deep breath.
I gently placed my hands over his eyes and whispered, “Look inside.”
He remained quiet for a few minutes. Then he said, “I feel freedom.”
“It is freedom,” I replied. “I want to show you something. Places I wanted to show you many years ago.”
He opened his eyes.
“Where are we?”
“Far away. In a forest. I came here a long time ago.”
I looked at him and smiled.
“Take off your shoes. We have to walk barefoot. It means we respect this place and promise to do no harm.”
We took off our shoes.
“Be careful,” I said. “Watch your steps.”
We began walking across the green grass, wandering between the trees.
“What an interesting forest!” he exclaimed. “I can feel the leaves touching me.”
“You can see this forest only when you walk with someone who knows the way.”
We continued along the path. The trees leaned toward us, their branches reaching out and their leaves brushing against our shoulders, as if they were welcoming us with gentle embraces.
Suddenly, laughter rang through the forest like the sound of tiny bells.
“Who is that?” he asked.
“They are the daughters of the Forest King. They come from old folk tales.”
He looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of them between the trees.
“We must follow this path,” I warned him. “If someone wanders away from it, it becomes very difficult to find the way back. They can walk in circles, passing the same trees again and again, without realizing they have lost their way.”
He looked at me curiously, but he followed.
Soon, the trees opened onto a small clearing. In the middle stood a little house, surrounded by green grass and wildflowers.
One of its windows was open. A tiny light glowed inside, and a thin trail of white smoke rose from the chimney.
The air was warm and filled with the scents of grass and flowers.
I stopped and looked at him.
“Our first stop,” I said.
