It’s Saturday morning, and as usual, I help my mom do the dishes and all. After all of that, I went outside to have some fresh-air. It has been 7 years since I live and enjoy the beautiful village, Verlaten. As it is said in the name, this is a forgotten and abandoned village. Only a couple of people lived here, isolated by the globalization going on around the world.
“Tunete Oscurita! How are you, friend?!” someone shouted from near the graveyard. As I approached the man, I figured quickly that it is actually Mr. Clover, the one who always took care of the graveyard.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Clover, you look well today, also,” I said kindly. He smiled, showing all of his wrinkles on his forehead and cheek.
“Thank you, Tunete. I see your friends coming here with their fullest expectation to play?” he said while he pointed at my back. I can see Cielo, Ginga, Nadi, and Valentia running with bright smiles.
“Tunete! Are you ready for today? We’re going to explore the lost forest, right?” Cielo said happily. She is a timid girl with a long and wavy brown hair. She also had a very beautiful bright brown eyes and a beautiful figure. She is basically a dream girl for everyone in the universe.
“He basically doesn’t know about what you’re talking about, Cielo. He hadn’t been with us since we talked about the lost forest,” Valentia continued. Yeah, on the other hand, Valentia is a very energetic girl. She is Cielo’s twin sister. She has the same feature as Cielo, but to difference their looks, Valentia cut her hair up to her shoulder and always wear pants and stuffs that boys wear.
“I haven’t left you guys for that long, did I? I also said that I have some business to take care of,” I said, making excuses, which is actually real! I’m not lying, because I’m not the type of person to lie.
“Oh forget about it, Valentia. Why don’t we just go to our secret hideout and discuss this matter there?” Ginga suggested. Ginga is my best friend since I was born into this world. He had straight black hair, like Japanese people usually had. His body is quite tall, maybe from his Japanese gene? I don’t know, he never wanted to be asked about his birth-place or anything. He had narrow-sharp black eyes that can stab a person if he hates him/her.
“That’s a good idea, how about it, leader?” Nadi replied quickly. Now, Nadi just came to this abandoned village a year ago. His family is an outcast from the Emperor of India, a beautiful place to live after the starvation from The World War ended. Indeed, he had a masculine tanned skin and a strong and wavy black hair. His eyes are pretty much like an eagle, and the color is also very unique, grey.
“I don’t mind. I really need to catch up with you guys. It have been a month since we actually talked about a mission anyway,” I said wisely and lead the way to our hideout. It’s been a while since I walk into our hideout. Our hideout is actually very simple. It’s a little tree house located at Ginga’s backyard. As we set ourselves, Nadi pulled out a simple map and Valentia showed me an old note.
“This is why we want to go to the Lost Forest. As you can see, I found this note while playing soccer with Nadi and Ginga a while ago. Can you read it, Tunete? I can only read the Lost Forest part,” Valentia said as she gave me the rusty note.
“Of course you can’t read it! It’s all blurry, and it’s written in German! Do you want me to just translate it?” I said as soon as I saw the blurry note. The others just nodded their head.
“The ancestors predict that there will be a catastrophe in the near future. There will be five innocent children that will witness the amazing magic of the Lost Forest. And they will be trapped, become one with the fairies, and bring the unbalanced life back to their original state,” I translated it in mere seconds and started to wonder. What does the note means?
“I’m curious by the ‘five innocent children’ part. It’s weird if we say that this is a coincidence. You know, that there are five of us and Valentia founded the note while Nadi found out the location of the Lost Forest and how Ginga said that the Forest is dying and all,” Cielo said, giving all the details we needed.
“Yes. It’s far from a coincidence. Don’t you think that we are the ‘five innocent children’? But that means, if we go there, then we can never come back to our family. What do you think leader? What should we do?” Nadi asked.
I stopped reading the map that he gave me and stared at each of their eyes. We are far from old, we are all 7 years old, only old enough to know that we are going to the elementary school and we can’t just play all the time. Our family would be really sad if we leave them. As a leader, it’s hard to decide whether we go or not in this kind of situation.
“I think we should try it, Tunete. I’m not afraid,” Ginga said clearly. I smiled a little and look at the others. They smiled back at me.
“Alright. Nadi, Ginga, I need your help on the map. Valentia, Cielo, both of you can go and search for some information regarding the Lost Forest and its legend. I think Mr. Clover would know some information about it, so why don’t you go and see him?” I said, directing the move of our little group. As soon as I order them, they work according to the plan.
“As you can see, Tunete, the forest is located behind the graveyard. There’s a secret passage to enter the forest. And in order to do that, we need permission from Mr. Clover. But, if we want this to be a secret mission, we can’t just spill out what we want to do and what our true intention to go there to Mr. Clover, or he will tell the story to our parents, which will stop us from going inside the forest,” Ginga explained.
“But, Ginga, I don’t think Mr. Clover’s story will be listened and believe, by the villagers. He is far too old, and he is a little crazy. My mom won’t even believe anything that he said when I disappeared for 3 days. And I was hiding from the villagers in the graveyard, wandering around to see if ghosts really exist,” Nadi said innocently. Ginga and I just laughed when he said that. Ghost doesn’t exist, and so does fairies and magic, our families taught us that since we were so young. That’s why I’m interested in the Lost Forest. Because, it is ‘Lost’, and no one ever told us about it.
“That’s our advantage, then. Let’s just wait for the girls to arrive, and then we can launch our plan. How about that?” I said as I stopped laughing. Both Ginga and Nadi agreed.
An hour passed, when Valentia and Cielo finally came back. They seated themselves near us and drink some soda from the little fridge on the edge of our tree house.
“So, how’s your search? Both of you only went out for an hour, that’s quick, you know,” I said as soon as they drink the last drop of soda.
“It’s quick because, the only person who wants to tell us about the Lost Forest is Mr. Clover. The other villagers looked at us as a crazy person as soon as we say ‘Lost Forest’. I even try asking my mom, but she only said, ‘there’s no such thing as Lost Forest dear’ with a worried expression,” Valentia explained their results.
“Mr. Clover said that the ‘Lost Forest’ can only be seen by the ones in the prophecy, but it can be heard by everyone, and the existence can be felt by the villagers. To get to the Lost Forest, you have to enter the graveyard and find the passage yourself. Inside the Lost Forest, you can find lots of mythical creature and experience the magic that no one can imagine. Other than that, we have to find out about it ourselves. So, what do you say guys?” asked Cielo as soon as she finished her report.
“Tomorrow, at 7 a.m., let’s meet in front of the graveyard entrance. Don’t forget to bring snacks, compass, and mineral water. We don’t know our destination, so we have to bring this map. If your parents asked you where you are going, just say that we’re going to explore the graveyard and see if ghosts really exist or not. That would be enough,” I said to them. Nadi blushed as soon as I said that. The others agreed. And so, our planning is over, we can only wait for our journey tomorrow.
The sun rises on its own without having any permission from the villagers, and so I ran downstairs with my backpack. I wore my short trousers and comfy T-Shirt. I have my adventurer cap on with me too.
“Where are you going to this time?” mother asked me. I was eating my breakfast silently as my mom asks that question. I stopped eating and looked at her face with a fake smile.
“Our team is going to investigate whether there are ghosts or not in real life, especially in the graveyard!” I said with overwhelming excitement. My mom smiled and kissed my forehead.
“Don’t forget to come back safely, dear. You’re my only treasure since your father left us,” mom said with a little smile. I nodded and hugged her tightly, leaving her with no expectation on what will happen to me in the future.
“Oh, there you are leader! Are you ready?” asked Nadi as soon as I reached the graveyard entrance. The others looked kind of sad. Maybe because it is really sad, to actually leave the family we’ve been together with for seven years.
“Don’t be sad. If the prophecy is true, then we are actually saving the world, sacrificing ourselves,” I said with a dandy tone. The others smiled slightly. Cielo hugged Valentia tightly. I approached her and patted her head.
“It’s alright, Cielo. Don’t be scared,” I said calmly. Nadi and Ginga stared at each other and approached us. We hugged together as if destiny can no longer be broken by us, and we have to give in to the prophecy.
“Are you all ready?” I said as Cielo calmed down. The others nodded. And so, I approached Mr. Clover and asked if he could open the graveyard’s gate for us. He gladly gave us the permit and led us to an unknown path.
“This is the path to the Lost Forest. I know that people called me crazy, but the legend is true,” he said as he left us on our own.
“Thank you, Mr. Clover,” Nadi said kindly. Mr. Clover waved his hand, saying ‘be careful’ as he left us for good. As we take a deep breath, we went into the bushes. The path is very narrow and the soil is very dry. To be exact, the forest is dying, slowly but surely. As we went deeper, we come across to a little space with pine trees all over us. We sat down and rest for a little while. Nadi pulled out his compass and try to locate our place.
“Oh, look at this, guys! The needle won’t settle down,” Nadi said surprisingly. The four of us gathered around him, amazed by the fact that the needle on the compass won’t settle down.
“That means, we really are lost in this ‘Lost Forest’,” Cielo confirmed. The five of us bit our lips and stared at each other. I stood on my ground and packed my stuffs.
“Let’s get going again guys,” I said with confidence. The others followed my lead. And so we went deeper into the woods. It gets darker as you went deeper, and so we took out our flashlights to help us see the way. When suddenly, there’s a rustling sound coming from the bushes on my right. I stopped and held everyone on their place.
“There’s something on your right, leader,” Ginga confirmed. I nodded and observed the place calmly. Suddenly, there’s a big Venus Fly Trap and a little rabbit that jumped out from the bushes.
“Wait little rabbit. These five kids, how do they get here?” asked the Venus Fly Trap, that has a leg. Okay, that plant has a leg. That’s beyond imagination.
“Ah, there are five of them. Are they the legendary kids? They will save us all, Venus Fly Trap! Let’s tell this to the Forest Fairies,” the rabbit said happily. And then, they went back into the bush and disappeared before our eyes.
“Okay, that’s weird,” Valentia commented on the occurrence just now. “I still can’t believe what I just see. A walking Venus Fly Trap and a talking rabbit? That’s just insane!”
“We should keep going, leader,” Ginga suggested. I agreed on him and continued on my walking. As we went deeper and can only see a glimpse of sunlight above our heads, I tried to memorize the note that Valentia gave me yesterday.
There will be five innocent children that will witness the amazing magic of the Lost Forest.“That’s it!” I said suddenly and stopped. The others are startled by what I did.
“What’s it?” Ginga asked. I turned my body around and smiled brightly.
“The five innocent children will witness the amazing magic of the Lost Forest! That’s what! The unexplainable magnetic field, the talking rabbit, the walking Venus Fly Trap, and the darker it is when we go deeper, it’s because this Forest is filled with magic!” I said with such excitement. The others stared at each other.
“That means, we really are the ‘Five Innocent Children’. And that means, we won’t be able to go back to our family,” Nadi explained calmly. My shoulders went down as he said that. Cielo started to cry again and Valentia kept patting her head. The atmosphere becomes sad once more. When suddenly, again, a little light flew around me and landed itself on my shoulder. I was startled, again.
“Ah, you must be the five innocent children that are stated in the prophecy! The judge awaits you all. Could you all come with me?” the little light said. Cielo stopped crying as soon as she saw the light. As I looked at it closely, it is actually a fairy.
“Excuse me, mind if I ask you what you really are?” I asked with a sudden bravery that came out of nowhere. The light stopped flying around and landed on my nose.
“You can see me clearly, right? I’m a forest fairy. I protect the forest and keep the plants alive,” she said. She had light-blonde hair and a beautiful face, even if it’s too small to see. She wore a green dress that was made with leaves around the forest.
“Are all fairies that small?” Valentia asked out of nowhere. The fairy giggled a little and started to fly around us.
“Not all of us. I’m just a minor fairy in this big society. Now, come on, the judge awaits you all! And he’s not a patient creature,” she said happily. The five of us stared at each other and followed the fairy. The fairy asked us to turn off our flashlights and just rely on her light. She said that there’s a lot of creature that reacts to artificial lights, and they are not nice.
We walked for hours on top of the dry soil of this tropical forest. When at last, we reached our destination, which is an old ruin in the middle of the forest. I can see that most of the wall had been destroyed through time, and there are tree vines spreading on every corner of the ruin. And when we walked in, there is a big old man with a very long white beard standing on the middle of the ruin.
“Ah, welcome, the savior of our forest. We’ve been waiting for you. It has been a long time since the Forest is in a good condition,” he said abruptly. I took a step backward and protect my friends. But the old man just stood there and laughed. “Don’t be afraid, young lads. I don’t want to harm you.”
“Then, what’s the meaning of the note that you gave us?” Valentia asked calmly while Cielo hid behind her.
“Ah, that’s just a welcome message. But what is inside the note, it is something more important than the life of this forest. What is stated there are all true, and you can never run from your destiny,” he said wisely. I sighed.
“Could you tell us why we are chosen? And why is this forest dying? And also, why is it that only Mr. Clover knows about this forest existence?” I asked. The old man laughed again, which is really annoying, even for a 7 year-old boy like me.
“Since you are here, I might as well tell you the whole story,” he said while he laughed in such a joyful expression. “As you can see, Tunete, the five of you here doesn’t even exist. You are all the descendants of the Prime Fairies. At that time, the five powerful fairies who rule this land are scared. Humans began to cut down trees and make good soils for buildings instead of farming. And so, afraid that they will be completely destroyed, they put three-quarters of their life into living souls. And those living souls are you guys here. As soon as they put their life away, they become weaker and their remaining conscience made this forest. Which was then founded by humans and treated as a place that never been here. It is so that the ruin will be forever guarded. The first generation of the Verlaten village is none other than Mr. Clover. That’s why he is the only one who knows about this forest and only told the other villagers that the forest is a forbidden place. Now, as time pass by, the forest’s energy became weaker. So, to put it back alive and to keep the village safe, we need the five souls that have the life of the fairies. That is why, dear, the five of you gathered here. It is already in the plan of fate.”
“I don’t understand. So, the family that is with us the whole time. What are they?” Cielo asked as soon as the old man finished explaining.
“They are fairies. They blend into the human world and become one in order to put the five of you together at the right time. It’s surprising that they actually marry human beings and gave up on their status as a fairy,” said the little fairy that led us here.
“Now, do you all understand why you must live here for eternity?” asked the old man once more. The five of us nodded in both fear and dignity. As if we know what we have to do, we stand on each of the corner of the ruins and picked up a crystal that is attached on the wall. We kissed the crystal and become one with the wind, turning ourselves into dust and disappeared.
The Forest will be revived, the forest will be known. The five children became one. The forest is now alive. The magical fairy can now live in peace. With the harmony of the new live.“This is, the Lost Forest,” I said as I finally landed on an abandoned village.
‘Verlaten’, that’s what the sign said when I arrived. This is a place that human kind had never touch. And I’m here to see whether there is any mankind left in here. As I searched high and low, I cannot see any person. All that I can see are only houses made out of stones. I guess the one made with wood are all chomped down by the termites.
I continued my journey to the graveyard, when I see a secret passage that is unexplainable. First of all, the graveyard has a dry soil, while this passage has a green and moist ground. I brace myself as I went into the passage. ‘The Lost Forest’ is what I can remember from my memory on when I was a child. I went deeper.
“Oh look, Cielo, it’s a human being,” suddenly a voice came across me.
“We should greet her nicely, leader,” said another voice.
“Let’s guide her to our home. She will be surprise for sure!” said another voice, this time, it is a little lighter than the two voice before me. I stopped and looked everywhere, searching for the sound. But there is no one in this forest except me. As I take a deep breath, I continue my walking.
And then, I found an old ruin with five statues of children in every corner of the ruin. Each of them has a crystal with different colors above their head.
The Japanese looking boy had a blue crystal, the tomboy girl had a yellow crystal, the feminine girl had a pink crystal, the India boy had a green crystal, and on the middle of the ruin, there is a German boy that had a big red crystal above his head. Without hesitation, I approached the German boy. When suddenly, the statue started moving.
“It has been a long time since we have visitors,” he said. I was startled and surprised at the same time. I took some step backwards, but the boy just stands there and smiled at me.
“Don’t worry. We are the keeper of this forest,” said the tomboy looking girl.
“I come here in peace, please don’t hurt me,” I said. The five children laughed and approached me as if I’m an alien. Around them, there are five little light floating around without any trouble.
“Can you accompany us? We’re bored. It has been about fifty years since we have visitors. Oh no, we are the last visitors,” said the India boy, giggling on his own.
“We won’t hurt you if you play with us and promise us that you won’t reveal our location. This forest is home of many magical creatures, so we don’t want any human to come and destroy this place,” said the Japanese looking boy.
“But for you to find this place. That means, you have a clear and kind heart. Please, stay until you feel that you need to go back to where you belong,” said the feminine girl. I nodded and accompany them.
Ah, so this is the Lost Forest. A place where the five fairies of the past hid their selves in order to protect the magical creature in it. I will never forget it.
