Beginning

Waking up to the sound of cacophonous chirping of birds, Kashila excitedly gets out of bed and rushes to brush her teeth and wash her face. Then, after changing her pajamas for outdoor clothes, she slides down the stairs. Snatching three whole sandwiches from the kitchen counter, Kashila runs out of the house to play with the spirits in the mist forest again.

"Can't wait to swim in the lake, explore the forest, and play pranks on the gnomes again, hehe!" while saying her plan out loud with a wide grin, Kashila abruptly stops a few paces away from their front door which she left wide open and shouts, "I'll be off Mom!"

Her mom could only shake her head and shouts back "Be home before dinner!"

"Okay!" hearing her Mom's answer, she then giddily runs towards the forest.

"Kashila is out and about already?!" disbelief clearly seen in Leo's face as he rushes down to the kitchen with his clothes in disarray and his hair flyaway mess.

"Yes, Leo," Emily replies with a gentle smile as she sees her son pouting.

"I knew it. I should've woken up sooner. How could I watch over her if she keeps getting out of my sight before I even wake up?" Leo complains as he sits down in front of the kitchen counter and takes the sandwich his Mom hands him.

"Pfft. You don't have to watch over your little sister that much Leo. She isn't a crybaby anymore."

"She's only ten Mom! What if some boys bully her again and make her cry! Or worse! A weird apparition tries to approach her again!" just thinking about it makes Leo clench his fist tightly making the filling of his sandwich spill.

"Ah!" seeing the mess, Leo quickly grabs a napkin nearby to clean it.

"And you're also only twelve son to worry so much." Emily musingly reminds his son.

"Besides, your sister has the spirits as friends now and they're quite doting on her. So they'll definitely take care of her." Seeing her son hunched over and still pouting, she didn't have the heart to dampen her son's mood any further by commenting that Kashila can easily ask any mythical creature to help her if needed.

"You never know Mom, life is unpredictable after all," Leo sulkily states as he bites into his sandwich.

Their Mom could only smile at the contrasting behavior of her children this morning, the older one is sulky, and the younger one is so energetic. Stepping out from the kitchen and ignoring Leo's half-hearted protest, she sits beside him and gives him pats and hugs.

Emily lovingly reflects that when it comes to her children, it's never a dull moment with them around.

Suddenly, a shrill sound of alarm resounds throughout the village breaking the peaceful morning.

"What's happening?!" Both Emily and Leo wonder as they immediately stand up.

***

Kashila enters the forest and navigates through it with ease. Looking up, Kashila can't help but admire how it's still quite bright even with the leaves of the colossal trees blocking most of the sunlight. She then sits on a log covered with lush emerald soft moss and begins to devour the sandwiches she snatched that morning. Savoring the sandwiches, especially the roasted ham Kashila rubs her full tummy in satisfaction. With a loud burp, Kashila giggles happily after finishing her sandwiches.

She finally notices that the forest is unusually devoid of the spirits' chatter and hub.

"Hmm~" Kashila casually wipes her dirty hands on the sides of her shorts and wipes her mouth with her sleeves. She then tries to look for the spirits.

I wonder what tricks and surprises are they up to now, she thinks while she excitedly wanders the forest hoping to catch the spirits red-handed. She giggles just imagining their surprise reaction.

A fluffy black leopard cub out of nowhere unexpectedly rubs against Kashila's leg as she searches. Kashila pleasantly surprised gives the cub a scratch behind its ears. The cub flops down and lays on its back exposing its tummy. Kashila couldn't help but laugh and happily gives it a good belly rub.

"You wanna come with me?" Kashila asks the cub. The cub tilting its head looks at Kashila. Thinking it would be more fun to have the cub follow her around while playing, she tries to pick the cub only for the cub to run away.

"Ahhhh…" Seeing the cub run so fast that it was out of her sight in a flash made Kashila pout. And so she continues to look for the spirits alone.

Eventually, Kashila enters a clearing in the forest and sees the lake. There she finds most of the forest spirits gathered near the surface of the Mirror Lake. They're restlessly flying around and around. They're also muttering stuff in hush voices that it's hard for Kashila to decipher what they're saying.

Noticing Kashila's presence the spirits froze and then swiftly surround Kashila. Checking her from head to toe. They keep inspecting her and keep asking her if she's okay or hurt anywhere.

"What's wrong?" tilting her head, Kashila imitates the cub she met a while ago and asks. She wonders why spirits are worried about her when she comes to play with them almost every day and there have been no incidents before.

"Oh! oh. Oh! Nothing! The forest is just a bit noisy you see~"

"Noisy how?" Kashila with wide innocent eyes asks. The spirits said the forest is noisy but it's actually super quiet to her. 'Hmm, they're acting weird.'

"You know what! It's playtime!" they didn't want to lie and worry Kashila so they decided to change the topic.

They then tickle Kashila.

Laughing loudly Kashila retaliate by chasing them while splashing some water at them too.

Hidden in the realm of spirits, some of the higher spirits quietly observe Kashila.

"It's better to keep her here until the chaos is over." The oldest spirit states.

"Shouldn't we tell her instead?" the youngest one asks.

"To what? Hasten her death?" another spirit answers.

"So she can warn her people about the danger!" the youngest one yells.

"Even if she warns them it's too late, the enemy is already there." another one comments.

"Kashila might hate us!" the youngest spirit laments.

"She won't." the oldest one answers back.

"But!" the youngest interjects.

"It's better to keep her safe than risking her life!"

"...okay" with that the youngest one quiets down.