is like the Garden of Eden. The animals don’t hunt.”
“It appears you were right. Still, just to be safe, I’d like to put some distance between us and the lions before we camp.”
Later, we saw other predators—wolves, panthers, bears, and even another tiger. They made no moves against us. In fact, the wolves were as friendly as dogs and approached us to be petted.
Kishan grunted, “This is strange. It’s unnerving.”
“I know what you mean, but . . . I like it. I wish Ren could see this place.”
Kishan didn’t respond except to urge me to leave the wolf pack and move on.
At dusk, we stumbled into a clearing in the middle of a forest that was full of daffodils. We’d just started to set up camp when I heard the soft, haunting music of a flute. We both froze. It was the first evidence of people.
“What should we do?” I asked.
“Let me go look.”
“I think we should both go.”
He shrugged, and I trailed quickly behind him. We followed the lingering notes of the mysterious sound and found the source of the music sitting on a raised stone near a brook, playing a reed pipe. The creature held his pipes gently between two hands and blew air softly between pursed lips. As we hesitantly approached, he stopped playing and smiled at us.
His eyes were bright green and set in a handsome face. His shoulder-length silver hair hung loosely down his back. Two small, brown, velvety horns peeped out of the top of his shiny tresses, reminding me of young deer just growing antlers. He was slightly smaller than an average human, and his skin was white with a slight lilac tint. He was barefoot but wore pants that looked like they were made from doeskin. His long-sleeved shirt was the color of a pomegranate.
He hung his pipes around his neck and looked at us. “Hello.”
Kishan replied warily, “Hello.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to come. We’ve all been waiting.”
I asked, “Who’s we?”
“Well, me for one. Then there’s the Silvanae and the fairies.”
Puzzled, Kishan asked, “You’ve been expecting us?”
“Oh, yes. For a long time, in fact. You must be tired. Come with me, and we’ll provide you with some refreshment.”
Kishan stood rooted to the ground. I stepped around him.
“Hi. I’m Kelsey.”
“Nice to meet you. My name’s Faunus.”
“Faunus? I’ve heard that name before.”
“Have you?”
“Yes! You’re Pan!”
“Pan? No. I’m definitely Faunus. At least, that’s what my family tells me. Come along.”
He stood up, hopped over a rock, and disappeared through the woods on a stone path. I turned around and took Kishan’s hand. “Come on. I trust him.”
“I don’t.”
I squeezed his hand and whispered, “It’s okay. I think you could take him.” Kishan tightened his grip on my hand and allowed me to lead him after our guide.
We followed Faunus through the leafy trees and soon heard the tinkling laughter of many people. As we neared the settlement, I realized that the sound was nothing I’d ever heard people make before. It was unearthly.
“Faunus . . . what are Silvanae?”
“They are the tree people, the tree nymphs.”
“Tree nymphs?”
“Yes. You have no tree people where you come from?”
“No. We have no fairies either.”
He seemed confused. “What kind of people emerge from a tree when it splits?”
“No one emerges as far as I know. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tree split unless lightning hit it or someone chopped it down.”
He stopped in mid-stride. “Your people chop down trees?”
“In my land? Yes, they do.”
He shook his head sadly. “I’m very glad I live here. Those poor trees. What would happen to all the future generations, I wonder.”
I looked at Kishan, who shook his head imperceptibly before he led us on.
As darkness fell, we stepped under a wide arch full of hundreds of miniature climbing roses in all varieties of color and entered the village of the Silvanae. Lanterns hung from ropy vines that draped down from the largest trees I’d ever seen. The small lights inside the lanterns bobbed up and down in their glass houses, each one a different vivid color— pink, silver, turquoise, orange, yellow, and violet. On closer inspection, I saw the lights were living creatures. They were fairies!
“Kishan! Look! They glow like lightning bugs!”
The fairies looked like large butterflies, but their glow did not come from their bodies. The soft light emanated from their colorful wings, which opened and closed lazily as the creatures sat perched on a wooden mount.