A ghost told me to meet you

This place was strange. In her short life, Fern has never seen any land like this. Everything seems to glow and pulse with heartbeats of their own. Blue fireflies shine in the darkness, flitting hither and thither, dancing to some unheard beat. Fern watches them with awe, tracking a small group before they break apart to find new partners. A sad thought picks at the edges of her mind conjuring images of a dead, decaying wolf.

With an angry shake of her skull, Fern pushes those memories away. With the trance broken, she starts to move again, slipping through the forest, winding her way in and out on some unseen path. Darkness seems to suit the gray wolf as she moves like a ghost across the land. The blue fireflies continue their ballet as they spin around her. Fern tries to ignore the glowing creatures, the thrill and wonder they ignite in her but they keep drawing in. Maybe she should stop and rest for a moment anyway…

Then a voice freezes the gray shadow in her tracks. ‘Fern? Fern why did you leave me?’ One paw hovers over the ground as the startled wolf tries to convince herself that she did not just hear her dead mother’s voice. Logic wins out when Fern pulls the memories of the woman’s death to the front of her mind. Meadow’s voice is silenced forever and Fern knows this. A shake of her head and the gray lady moves on.

Meadow is the reason she is here searching for the Hallows. She had been stupid enough to go get herself killed and leave Fern and her siblings alone in this world. A small growl escapes as she shuts down that line of thinking. If she can just make it to the Hallows and find Resin everything will be fine. At least, that is the mantra she has told herself every day since starting her trek.

The wind tickles her ear and Fern hears Meadow sigh sadly. ‘Fern I am sorry. Please, let me help you now.’ Fern bares her teeth and spits out angerly, “Shut up. You are dead.” It has to be the wind that moves her fur as she feels her mother brush against her chest. No. This is not real. She is dreaming and this is not real. ‘Please’. The dead woman begs her and Fern stops to yell out at the trees, “Whoever is fucking with me, stop it right now!”

A tear slips out her eye and down the fur of her cheek. Fern starts moving again, she has to keep going because this is not real. Suddenly, a group of fireflies flash brightly in front of her. ‘Follow the fireflies’. The words hold a quiet promise, a mother looking after her child. Fern screams into the night, “You died and left me alone! You can never tell me what to do again!” The angry words are filled with hurt and longing. As if in response, a blue firefly lands on her nose.

With a small growl, Fern questions the bug, “What the hell do you want? Come to tell me more unbelievable lies?” Fern didn’t know what was crazier, talking to a bug or waiting for the bug to reply. What has her life become?