1. Seed
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A story in 3 chapters. The other two are already written, so expect them in a few days. Hope you enjoy !

It was the middle of summer. The sun was high in the sky, its rays illuminating the woods below, light streaking through the canopy, leaving patches of light on the ground here and there. All around, the vegetation almost shone vibrant greens and browns giving the place a cheerful atmosphere, the forest was alive, and one could easily hear the birds chirping, trying to attract a mate with their beautiful chants. All these elements combined to form a very peaceful and relaxing environment.

Julian almost felt bad being there, as if he were breaking the happy atmosphere of the place, feeling as if his entire being contrasted with his surroundings, slowly corrupting it and sapping it of its joy. Everything around him seemed dull to his eyes. It may very well have been one of the nicest days of this summer, and yet he couldn’t find a shred of happiness in his heart.

Today had been worse than usual, to be frank. He’d woken up in a dejected mood, which had gone from bad to worse as the day had progressed. The worst, he thought, was that nobody had noticed. Not his parents, who seemed to barely spare him a glance, let alone talk to him these days. Not his so-called friends, who hadn’t even seemed to notice he’d left them in the middle of the afternoon, his heart too heavy to stay around others. No one had noticed he’d been sad, and that had only served to make the problem worse. It was awful.

Luckily for Julian, it didn’t hurt as much anymore. In fact, he was pretty certain his emotions had dulled in the past few years. He could still remember the random bouts of crying he’d started suffering, around the time he’d turned thirteen. Now, almost three years later, he wasn’t even certain he was still able to shed a tear. The pain radiated from deep within his heart, like an old wound that had poorly healed.

The most frustrating part of all of this was that, for the life of him, Julian couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It had just started, progressively settling in, until it had felt like the pain had always been there. The only thing he could do was try to cope with it to the best of his abilities.

Walking through the forest used to help, though these days it felt like it hardly made a difference. It felt like he was in a bubble, and nothing outside of it could reach him. Still, wandering the woods had worked in the past, and his destination was the one place where he was certain he could truly be alone. Just for that, going there was certain to be worth the effort. And so Julian walked, his mind clouded by dark thoughts and feelings, until he arrived at a small clearing.

In its center lay a pond, its water slowly moving and almost inaudibly clattering. Big rocks were disposed haphazardly around, and flowers were growing among the bushes that circled the clearing. If the woods had seemed relaxing, this place was a paradise, and Julian thought he could feel his mood imperceptibly lifting at the sight of it.

Making his way closer to the water, Julian reached the edge of the pond, where he sat on a big, flat rock, just like he had done dozens of times in the past. This was his spot, the one place he would come whenever he needed to be alone. He would always sit on this same rock, and then stare at the water, which would sometimes be moved by the breeze, light rays piercing the waves and swirling at the bottom of the pond.

Now seated on his rock, Julian looked down at his reflection, one of a young teenager, with brown hair and eyes, frowning sadly at him. He didn’t stare too long, and looked up again, fixing the center of the water, for lack of a better thing to gaze at. Julian stared, letting the dark thoughts that plagued him flowing through his mind, knowing that they would eventually pass, recess to the back of his mind, for a time.

After a few minutes, something came to disturb Julian’s introspective thoughts. He thought he’d seen something strange at the bottom of the pond, something shiny. The glare had been enough to snap him out of his thoughts, but now that he was focusing on the depths of the pond, he couldn’t find any trace of it. Frowning, Julian leaned over, trying to get a better look. He’d been certain to have seen something, but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Julian was about to dismiss the light as his eyes playing tricks on him when it happened again. He hadn’t imagined it ! Standing up, he approached the edge of the pond, trying to get a better look at the center of the water, when a third flash of light appeared.

This one was bigger, however, and it rippled across the surface of the pond, leaving behind a strange reflective surface. It was also accompanied by a powerful thrum, the ground vibrating beneath Julian’s feet. Startled by the sudden event, he fell into the pond, his body making contact with the strange surface, before he blacked out.

- - -

Julian came to with a start, coughing up water that had made its way in his lungs. Dimly, he noted he wasn’t in the pond anymore, as he could feel the solid ground covered in grass underneath him. He was also completely soaked, and could feel a towel draped around him. Finally, he also realized he was sitting down, and that someone else was there.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now,“ said a quiet and motherly voice from over him.

Still coughing, Julian looked behind him, only to realize he was being held by someone, a hand soothingly stroking his back. A woman, judging by her voice, was holding him upright, her other arm keeping the towel secure around him.

Once his coughing fit had subsided, Julian looked around him. At first, he thought he was sitting next to the pond he’d fallen into, but the more he looked, the more he realized nothing looked the way it was supposed to.

The pond was still there, sure, but it wasn’t the right size, and the rocks that were usually visible all across the clearing were nowhere to be seen. More importantly, Julian realized that the ground was covered in grass, whereas his clearing’s ground was mostly composed of dirt and twigs. The last thing that he noticed was that every color around him felt more vibrant, somehow. It didn’t look unrealistic or tacky, but it was just enough to be noticeable.

Confused, Julian turned his head towards his savior, who had seemingly decided to let him regain his bearings, her hand still gently stroking his back. Her blonde hair was done in a long braid that lazily rested over her shoulder. Her face was very pretty, almost unbelievably so, and her green eyes held nothing but compassion. She was wearing a simple white dress, with a pair of sandals adorning her feet.

“Looks like it’s over,” she said with a smile. “Now dear, what were you doing in the pond, and where did you come from?” she asked gently, her tone quizzical.

Julian, still very confused by everything that had just happened to him, opened his mouth to answer before closing it when he realized he had no idea where he actually was. Not knowing what to do, he just stared at the woman, while trying to sort out his thoughts.

“Are you alright, dear? Oh! I’m sorry. I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Philomena,” she said, her hand still resting on Julian’s back.

“I… I’m Julian,” he answered, looking around him once more. “Where are we?” he asked, his gaze darting from one side of the clearing to the other.

“You don’t know ?” she asked, worry evident in her tone. “We’re in the White Woods, close to Leenora.”

Unfortunately, none of these names meant anything to Julian, whose confusion was slowly increasing with each new piece of information he received. Seeing the confusion plain on his face, Philomena sighed before giving Julian a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, hon, we’ll figure it out. For now, I think it would be best if we got you back to my house. It’s a small cabin in the woods, and it’s not far from there. Plus, we need to get you out of these damp clothes!” Julian then realized that, yes, he was indeed soaked to the bone, as the towel hadn’t been of much use. Oddly enough, he also noticed Philomena was completely dry. How had she managed to pull him out of the pond without getting damp? The question just added itself to the list of confused thoughts that were clogging his mind.

With that said, the strange but kind woman slowly stood up, releasing Julian as she did so, lightly tugging on his arm, inciting him to do the same. He did so, clutching at the towel that was still wrapped around his shoulders, before looking at Philomena expectantly, noticing she was taller than him by half a head.

“It’s this way, just follow me,” she said, setting off towards the edge of the clearing.

While they were making their way towards their house, Philomena could see the poor boy was still very lost. Feeling sympathy for him, she decided the short journey to her home would be ideal for them to get to know each other, and hoped it would distract him from his worries.

“Julian, dear, maybe you could tell me the last thing you remember? Before I got you out of the water, I mean. It could probably help us figure out what happened to you.”

Julian looked at her, his gaze still a bit vacant, before he finally nodded. “I was sitting in front of a pond, when I thought I saw something shine in the middle of it. When I looked closer, it happened again, and then a huge light appeared, and the pond’s surface became like a mirror. I fell into the water and passed out”

Philomena considered his words for a few seconds. “It sounds to me like some pretty complex magic was involved. I’m really sorry, but I’m not sure what exactly happened. We’ll have to ask someone who’s more knowledgeable about it than me,” she said apologetically, glancing at Julian with a sad look in her eyes.

Julian absentmindedly nodded at that. It made sense, in retrospect. Now that he’d had a bit of time to think, magic seemed the most logical explanation. It also explained a lot of the things he’d seen, all the small details he’d noticed that didn’t add up. Everyone knew it existed, of course, but most people lived their entire lives without seeing a speck of it. It was a rare gift, and those that were able to weave usually were very reluctant to share their secrets.

After a few minutes spent walking in silence, they arrived at Philomena’s house. It was a fairly big cottage nestled among the trees, with a big garden surrounding it, various plants growing wildly everywhere. Julian thought it looked very witchy, but also that he wouldn’t have minded living there. It looked pretty secluded and very cozy, which reminded him a bit of his clearing and its pond.

Philomena made her way towards the door, holding it open for Julian with a warm smile. Not wishing to make his host wait, Julian shuffled through the door, before gazing at the inside of the house.

It was a very simple layout, the door leading directly into a big living room, furnished with two couches and multiple bookcases filled to the brim with heavy tomes. Various knickknacks occupied the space, adding to the personality of the house. On the other side, Julian could see an archway that led to what looked to be a small kitchen, and a few other doors that lead to other rooms.

“I’m sorry for the mess, I don’t get many guests,” Philomena said, making her way past Julian. “Just wait here a second, I’ll see if I have anything you can wear. Oh, and please don’t move around too much, you’re still dripping a bit.”

With his host gone and nothing else to do than wait, Julian’s thoughts and questions came back to the front of his mind. He was very confused about what had happened to him, but couldn’t bring himself to worry about his situation. He hadn’t really left anything he cared about behind, and the thought of not being able to go back home thus didn’t really scare him.

Deep in his thoughts, Julian didn’t notice the time pass, and soon enough Philomena came back out of the room she’d gone in, a set of folded clothes in her hands.

“Here,” she said, closing the door behind her. “I found some clothes that should do for now, though they’ll probably be too big for you. The bathroom’s this way, you should probably clean up a bit before you put these on,” she continued, pointing at another door.

Julian looked down at his damp appearance, only to notice he was covered in a generous amount of dirt. Nodding, he took the clothes from Philomena and made his way towards the bathroom. He paused slightly before uttering a quiet “Thank you,” and making his way inside.

- - -

With Julian properly occupied, Philomena found that she was worried about her young guest. She’d barely met him an hour ago, and already she could see that something was weighing on his mind. She’d expect anyone in his situation to panic, or even just to show a bit of fear, but the only thing she’d seen in his gaze was confusion. Confusion, and a lot of apathy. She couldn’t help but care for the teen, as he looked like he’d been through a few things.

For now, all she could do was wait, and hope she could get him to open up a bit. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, even if only for a little bit. Philomena sat down on her couch, relaxing for a bit.

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