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Autumn is a magical time. When the days turn shorter, the weather colder and the leaves colorful, the true magic of the forests awakens.
Just like spring, autumn is also a very busy time for many. Winter will bring the cold so there is a lot to prepare to make sure to survive. That counts for plants the same as for animals and even humans.
But they are not the only ones busily preparing. Deep in the forest —in a part no human has ever set foot in — there is a tiny town located, right next to a small pond and a big, ancient tree. This tiny town is inhabited by tiny creatures. Most of them look very similar to humans but of course there are still differences. Some of them have animal-like features; big ears or reptile skin. Others also have wings of all sorts, very sharp teeth or hair made out of plants. It would take ages to list all the things that make every single one of them unique, but just like humans, none of them look exactly the same… Well, except for the Mush-twins. They are difficult to tell apart.
These tiny creatures are the spirits of the forest. But nobody calls them that. Most people know them as “fairies” and the spirits themselves have named their little town “Tau” and call themselves “Guardians”. Because that’s what they are.
They guard the forest’s ancient magic and make sure that no human will ever find this sacred place so that the balance is kept and the forest and its inhabitants will live on for a long long time.
At least that’s what they had told Yuchan back then after he had fallen out of a wilting blossom. Confused, and his head feeling extremely dizzy, his weak legs had somehow managed to carry him to “Tau”, where he had gotten taken in as a new addition to not only their village but also their community which has quickly become a family to him. And as part of their big family, Yuchan is now on his way upwards to his home ponds surface to help the others with their preparations for the quickly approaching winter. It’s already nearly the end of yet another cycle and there are still many things left to do.
That thought makes Yuchan yawn for the sixth time this morning, while he snuggles himself closer to Quaks. The latter is his pet toad as well as something like his best friend… well if he doesn’t count Byeongkwan at least. A small smile blooms on his face and he feels for the hard object, securely stored away in the pocket of his trousers. Byeongkwan usually tends to feel gloomy around the time of the falling leaves but Yuchan is sure that his gift will cheer him up. And even if only a tiny bit.
Finally, Quaks and he break through the surface and Yuchan breathes in the fresh, cool air. As a water spirit, no place feels more like home than the small pond, but using gills to breathe will never feel as refreshing as breathing through nose and mouth. He is lucky to have both.
Yuchan directs Quaks towards the shore, where he leaves his friend behind so he can get some rest and food. Despite the sun barely having risen and reaching the village through the trees — where the sunbeams make the dewdrops shine like diamonds — its inhabitants are already up and busy. They hurry past Yuchan, only occasionally one of them having enough time for a short, “Morning, Yuchan!”, before they head towards the forest with big, empty baskets. Not that they will stay empty for much longer. Yuchan knows that soon, in time for dinner, most of the villagers will return with baskets over baskets full of grapes, berries, mushrooms, nuts, and more.
“Morning, Channie!” The familiar voice makes Yuchan stop and turn around, feeling happily surprised. He comes face to face with a male guardian, casually sitting on a race-snail and therefore being twice Yuchan’s height so that he has to look up to make out his friendly smile.
“Donghun! I didn’t expect you to still be around at this time of the morning.”
The other shrugs. “Again actually... I just came back from the town in the north. The queen got some urgent messages for our mayor.” Yuchan’s eyes grow wider at that.
“You are so busy! Meanwhile, I still don’t know where I belong…” He sighs and Donghun gives him a sympathetic look.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It took all of us some time to figure out our right places and how we can be of help to others. Until then, helping out wherever help is needed is the right thing to do.”
“I know… But it’s been four cycles already! What if I’ll never know?” That makes Donghun huff.
“I’m 78 cycles old, Channie. Take your time. You got enough of it, don’t worry.”
Again Yuchan sighs before he nods obediently. “You are probably right…”
“Of course, I am! But now I really have to leave. I need to bring her majesty the mayor’s reply.” Donghun smiles. “Try to cheer up, okay? I’ll see you for dinner!” With these words, he turns his snail around and rushes off towards the path that leads to the town in the north where one can find the palace, while Yuchan stares after him, feeling weirdly empty. Just how much he wishes to finally find his place in their village so that he can be of use instead of clumsily interrupting the others’ works. But despite everybody telling him that they understand how he feels, nobody really does… Nobody except Byeongkwan, that is.
He finds his friend sitting on a rock by the path which leads into the forest. He looks gloomy, similar to how Yuchan feels, just as he has expected, but once his eyes fall on him, a smile spreads on Byeongkwan’s face and it casts the shadows away.
“Channie!” He calls and wildly waves for him to come closer. Yuchan does so, a bright grin blooming on his own face, too.
“Hey. You waited for me?”
Byeongkwan pulls him into a hug. “Of course, I did! The walk is much more fun with your company.” That makes Yuchan feel happy and he intertwines their fingers while they head towards the forest together.
“Are you still feeling sad?” He eventually wants to know, after they have walked in silence for a while, and Byeongkwan shrugs.
“It’s getting better…But you know… They weren’t only my wings… I consider them my friends.”
Yuchan nods sympathetically. Byeongkwan is what probably comes closest to the typical description of a fairy. Delicate, very pretty, and in warm months, one usually never sees him without his wings. Right now, his back is bare though; no wings to be seen anywhere. That’s because they aren’t really his own. Byeongkwan borrows them from his friends; the butterflies who help him collect flower pollen which their queen needs to make the precious magical dust to protect their villages and towns from the dangers of the forest. Hence Byeongkwan is very important for their community but when the months turn colder, the flowers wither and the butterflies have to leave, which means there is no more work to do. At those times, Byeongkwan always tries his best to keep up his happy appearance but Yuchan knows that on the inside, the loss of his friends and his work makes him feel lost and sad.
“I’m sorry…,” the water guardian whispers and then reaches into his pocket. “Maybe this can cheer you up, though.” Byeongkwan gives him a questioning glance, only for his eyes to widen in surprise, when Yuchan hands him a shimmering pebble.
“It’s beautiful!” His friend gasps, carefully taking it into his delicate hands. “And you are giving it to me?”
Yuchan smiles. It’s good to see the sad expression vanish from Byeongkwan’s face and get replaced by amazement instead. “Yes. A present for my best friend.” Heat creeps to Yuchan’s cheeks while the other stares at him with round eyes before he softly squeezes his hand.
“The pebble is very beautiful but knowing that you consider me your best friend is the most precious gift anyone has ever given to me.” The red on his face darkens at this and they both simply smile at each other, before they continue on their way, Byeongkwan looking at the pebble again and again.
Soon, they reach a field with mushrooms that tower over them like trees over humans. However, many of them have already gotten cut down and some guardians are busy cutting them into smaller pieces while others are logging the leftover mushrooms with golden axes.
Byeongkwan next to him sighs at that sight. “Harvesting mushrooms has never been my favorite activity. Can’t we go and pick berries again? Or help Junhee with the dew drops?”
Yuchan bites on his lower lip. “I might have accidentally dropped a basket full of berries yesterday so that half of them burst and covered everybody in berry juice…,” he mumbles quietly and Byeonkwan blinks at him before he chuckles.
“You must be the clumsiest guardian in the history of this town. In my twenty cycles of existence I’ve never met someone quite like you.” Again he chuckles amused but when he notices sad eyes, he quickly stops and softly squeezes Yuchan’s hand which he is still holding.
“It’s something good, believe me! I was already getting bored when you suddenly showed up and made life so much more interesting again.” He grins and this time Yuchan hesitantly returns it.
“Really?” He wants to know, still not fully convinced and Byeongkwan nods eagerly.
“Yes! Don’t worry, nobody is mad at you and you’ll find your place soon enough. Until then you can keep me company.” He ruffles Yuchan’s hair and they walk over to a female guardian who is busy shouting orders at people.
“Yes! Over there! Oara, the group in the back needs more help so could you please go there? Thank you! No! That’s enough, put it on the carriage!”
Byeongkwan carefully taps her shoulder. “Teah? You got some work for us?” The guardian shoots around startled.
“Byeongkwan! Don’t approach me from the back and startle me like this!”
He smiles apologetically and Yuchan joins him. “Sorry… Sehyoon told us to join your group today…”
Teah nods and sighs with a glance at Yuchan. “I already heard about yesterday’s incident. Well, at least nothing can burst or explode here. Just make sure to not drop a mushroom on anybody’s head.”
“I won’t!” Yuchan promises and Teah smiles at him.
“You two can help with carrying the baskets to the carriage. We’ve got a really rich harvest this year. There will be enough food to get us all through the winter for sure.”
“That’s good to hear,” Byeongkwan says before they both excuse themselves and walk towards the carriage to load the heavy baskets full of mushrooms on it. It’s not the most difficult or exciting task but Yuchan likes to feel like he is of use for once and soon, he feels the sweat running down his forehead and back. His thoughts begin to wander, far away from the field and Byeongkwan, towards a clearing, a huge castle, and a laugh which seems to haunt him in all of his dreams, accompanied by a longing he can neither describe nor shake off.
“Channie? Yuchan? Hey!” A light slap on his arm is what wakes him from his thoughts and he looks at Byeongkwan in confusion.
“Huh?”
His friend only shakes his head in amusement. “It’s lunchtime.” He points at the others who have all laid down their work and are lined up in front of a carriage that is handing out lunch. “What got into you? Usually, you are the first in line when it comes to food.”
Yuchan shrugs while they walk towards the others. “Dunno… I was just… thinking.” They take their food and then sit down on a sunny spot full of soft moss at the edge of the field, where they silently begin to eat until Byeongkwan speaks up again,
“And what is it that you have been thinking about so that you didn’t notice anything around you?”
Yuchan doesn’t meet his eyes and stares at his mushroom soup instead. Everything in him wants to talk to Byeongkwan about it. He trusts him more than anyone else and he is sure that nobody would understand him better than his best friend. But at the same time, he also knows that what he has done is wrong… Very wrong and against so many rules that all of his fingers wouldn’t be enough to count them. And still…
“Kwanni… You trust me, right?” He asks carefully and in the way how Byeongkwan’s eyebrows crawl upwards he knows that this question has woken his friend’s curiosity. A trait both of them have in common.
“I do but you asking me this question makes me think that I’ll probably regret it…”
Yuchan smiles a smile that confirms it. “Do you want to see something crazy?”
It’s really not a surprise that Byeongkwan says yes, nor that he agrees to meet Yuchan after dinner at the same rock as this morning without asking a single question. Byeongkwan trusts him and Yuchan isn’t sure how to feel about that, while he waits for his best friend to show up.
They aren’t allowed to leave the village once it has gotten dark. Not without the queen’s or the mayor’s permission at least. The forest is dangerous in the darkness; full of threats and animals that hunt for tiny creatures like them. A guardian is a nice snack for an owl and that thought makes Yuchan gulp.
Hopefully, nothing will happen to them. He could never forgive himself if Byeongkwan got eaten by an owl because of him trusting Yuchan enough to follow him into the forest at night, despite it being against all rules and common sense. He takes a deep breath when suddenly there is a hand getting placed on his shoulder that makes him jump. Byeongkwan’s familiar laughter, however, calms his racing heart again.
“It’s only me,” his friend says and Yuchan exhales.
“Sorry… I’m nervous.”
“You should be… This is a stupid idea. Why exactly are we doing this?”
Yuchan doesn’t answer his friend's question right away and only bites on his lower lips while they carefully make their way into the darkness of the forest. They walk for a while until he finally feels brave enough to speak up,
“Have you ever asked yourself, where you came from?” He can’t see Byeongkwan’s face in the darkness but he knows that he is frowning.
“I hatched out of a butterfly cocoon… You fell out of a wilting flower blossom… Like that.”
“Yes, but before that! How did we get in there?”
Byeongkwan stops, the moon illuminating his knitted eyebrows. “The way every guardian gets born… From a child’s first laugh.”
Yuchan nods, still chewing on his lower lip. “Yes… And… have you never tried finding it? The child whose laugh brought you to existence?”
“Yuchan…” Now, Byeongkwan’s voice is full of worry. “You know the rules…”
“I know, I know! But… Have you never gotten any of these dreams?”
His friend sighs, running a hand through his silvery glistening hair. “I did but it will pass, I promise. Yuchan… What did you do?” The concern in his friend’s face makes Yuchan take a deep breath and he can’t meet his eyes, when he answers,
“I… I found it.” There is silence between them, before Byeongkwan question breaks it, his voice full of disbelief,
“You did what?”
“I… I found the child who brought me into this world…”
His friend blinks at him, his mouth hanging open. “Don’t tell me you set foot into their world. It’s forbidden, Yuchan! And for good reason!”
Yuchan narrows his eyes, no longer able to meet Byeongkwan’s accusing stare. The other is right. It’s forbidden because it’s extremely dangerous. The giant human people aren’t allowed to find out about them. Whenever that happened in the past, whole villages got wiped out because of them. They could have killed him too and still, Yuchan hadn’t been able to stay away from them.
“I only went there once… To catch a short glimpse of her… I don’t know… It’s like we are connected,” he mumbles.
Byeongkwan sighs, placing a hand on the bridge of his nose. “It is true; you two are connected but this bond will only stay until the child reaches its fifth cycle. Afterward, you won’t think of it ever again. We all went through this but never before…” He stops and sighs again. “In the past, we guardians used to watch over the children whose laughter gave birth to us. However, that changed a long long time ago, when the humans began catching and torturing us because they believed our dust to hold magical powers and us to hide fortunes in the forests. They are dangerous, Channie!”
“But nothing will happen! It’s nighttime so they will be asleep, I promise… I know you are curious. Don’t you want to see their realm?” Curiosity… It’s not fair to use their shared trait against his best friend but Yuchan can’t help it. He needs to see her. The last couple of nights, his dreams have been more confusing and darker than usually and he has to make sure that she is okay. Everything inside of him urges him to do that and now that Byeongkwan has told him about their past, he also finally understands why he feels that way. It’s in his blood!
“Ugh… Channie…,” Byeongkwan groans and Yuchan can’t help but smile. He knows that he convinced his friend. The aspect of danger could never compete with the curiosity that is burning inside both of their chests and he carefully grabs the other’s hand.
“We’ll be careful and only take a quick look, I promise.”
Byeongkwan’s face is still full of doubt but he also doesn’t stop Yuchan, when the latter pulls him further towards the edge of the forest.
Byeongkwan stares at the open field in front of them, looking utterly terrified.
“You want me to cross this? Are you crazy?! This is an open field! Don’t you know how dangerous it is? So many animals could see us! Owls, cats… snakes!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve done this before,” Yuchan says, squeezing his hand encouragingly. “We simply need to be fast.”
“Fast? I’ve got no wings! I’m not fast at all! You didn’t even bring Quaks!”
“It’s gonna be fine. Just run after I counted to three…”
Byeongkwan shakes his head. “Yuchan, this is not a good idea—“ But he gets ignored.
“One…”
“Channie…!”
“Two…”
“I’m serious, what if we d—“
“Three!” Yuchan starts sprinting towards the hedge on the other side of the field, pulling his best friend along who has no other choice but to stumble after him. They run as fast as possible and soon, they reach the secure shadows of the plants. Panting heavily, they stop to take a break and Byeongkwan slumps to the ground.
“Sometimes… You really suck as a friend, you know that?” He somehow gets out and Yuchan smiles at him.
“I thought that’s what you like about me. Our similar traits.” The other huffs and rolls his eyes, but doesn’t pull away, when Yuchan reaches out his hand to help him up.
“So where do we have to go now?”
“This way,” Yuchan mumbles and walks towards a hole in the hedge. To humans, it must look incredibly small but for them, it’s just the right size.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not allowed to enter human territory…” His friend’s face is still full of doubt but Yuchan only shrugs.
“It’s not like we go there to take anything. It’s gonna be fine.” With these words he enters the tunnel and after sighing loudly, Byeongkwan follows him. On the other side, they get greeted by another open field and after making a run for it, once again, they find themselves in front of a huge grey castle.
“Woah!” Byeongkan gasps in astonishment and Yuchan smiles. The other’s reaction mirrors his own perfectly.
“It’s crazy, right? Can you believe that humans build such grand architecture themselves?”
“Yes… and they kill our forests to be able to do so… Sorry but I’m not a big fan.” Yuchan has to admit that Byeongkwan has a point and he shrugs. “Anyway… How do we get inside?”
Yuchan shows his friend some ivy, growing along one of the sides of the castle and after earning another of Byeongkwan’s sceptical glances, they begin climbing.
“There is a big glass entrance to her room and they always leave it open…,” Yuchan explains, while skillfully placing his hands on the vines.
“It better be… I don’t want to have come all this way for nothing.”
But luck is on their side. Just like the last time, the entrance is opened wide enough for them to easily slip into the dark room and while Byeongkwan is busy gaping at everything with an open hanging mouth, Yuchan quickly hurries over to the bed in one of the corners. It’s occupied by a human child, its body so much bigger than Yuchan’s but the latter can’t help but fondly smile at it.
“Hello Clara…,” he whispers, scared to wake her by speaking any louder. He has heard her parents use this name to call her and it makes him feel like he knows her better. Not only from weird dreams and a few visits… It’s like they are something like friends. However, just like he has told Byeongkwan, their shared dreams have gotten unusually dark these days and when he carefully presses a hand to her forehead, he immediately discovers the reason.
Clara’s forehead is burning with fever.
“What are you doing? What if she wakes up?” Byeongkwan appears next to him and looks very much terrified at this imagination but Yuchan is too focused on coming up with a solution to listen to him.
“I need to help her…” He glances at his best friend and even without saying his idea aloud, the other seems to understand him. They aren’t best friends for nothing. Byeongkwan’s eyes grow wide.
“No… Yuchan… That’s not allowed either!”
“Nobody has to know… Except you tell them, of course…” His friend gasps, sounding extremely offended.
“You know I would never… You are my best friend! I just don’t want you to do anything stupid!”
Yuchan gives him a fond smile and then places his hand back on Clara’s forehead. “I know but I need to help her… I’m sure a tiny bit of magical dust won’t be a problem.” Carefully, he pulls a small puche out of his pocket, before pouring some of the beautiful glowing dust onto his hand.
“Yuchan… You know we need as much magical dust as possible to get through the winter… Is it really worth it?”
Yuchan only nods, determination shining in his eyes. “I have to help her,” he says and gently blows the dust into the child’s face. It doesn’t even take ten seconds for him to regret his actions though.
Upon breathing in the magical dust, Clara starts coughing and soon her eyes flutter open, followed by a loud noise escaping her mouth. She is crying and a crying child always means the parents are near.
“Shit, Yuchan!” Byeongkwan exclaims, having recognized the seriousness of their situation too. “We have to get out of here!” He grabs his hand and pulls him towards the glass door but Yuchan wiggles himself out of his grip.
“I have to check if it worked!” He hurries back, ignoring the way the ground has started shaking under them and carefully places his hand on Clara’s forehead who immediately stops crying again and stares at him with wide, teary eyes.
“Hello there small one,” Yuchan cooes. Her temperature has sunken already and relieved, he turns back around to join Byeongkwan in climbing down to the floor. His friend throws him angry glares.
“One day, you’ll be the death of me!” He says and once again takes his hand to pull him through the gigantic room. By now, the shaking of the floor has gotten so strong that it’s impossible for them to walk in a straight line and Yuchan feels his previous relief getting replaced by fear. The humans seem to be near and every guardian knows the horror stories surrounding them. “What if they’ll catch us and rip us apart? Or dry us out and put us in a book?!” Byeongkwan yells over the noises of the approaching steps, apparently thinking of the same horror scenarios that are also crossing Yuchan’s mind.
“No… We’re gonna make it!” He says, grabbing his friend’s hand a bit tighter and trying to run even faster. By now his chest is aching but they can’t give up. At least Byeongkwan needs to make it or else Yuchan could never forgive himself for getting him into danger in the first place.
Finally, they reach the long waterfall of blue soft cloth by the glass door and Yuchan helps his friend up on it, before following after him.They are both good climbers and so they manage to reach the glass door just in time with a gigantic human entering the room. Luckily, the creature is too focused on its child to notice Yuchan and Byeongkwan who quietly slip outside. There they take the same route they used earlier, down the ivy and over the wide field, on shaky legs. Yuchan isn’t exactly sure how they make it back to their secure forest without getting ripped apart by any humans or other creatures but eventually they reach the outer fields of their village and Byeongkwan drops down onto the soft moss with a relieved huff. Yuchan quickly checks if anyone has seen them but upon seeing the paths and fields being completely deserted in the very early morning, he lets himself fall down next to Byeongkwan.
“That was insane,” his best friend says, his chest still moving fast. “Absolutely insane!”
“I know… I’m so sorry…,” Yuchan replies, turning to look at Byeongkwan’s face that is glowing in the soft, pink morning light. “I shouldn’t have asked you to come with me… We nearly died because of me.” He earns a snap against his forehead from his friend for that. “Ouch!”
“Don’t be an idiot! I told you, my life was so boring before I met you… The same tasks and routines every single cycle. You might be an idiot with really stupid ideas but at least you make my life more fun and honestly… I always kind of regretted not having searched for my child back then… Helping you help her felt kind of like I was finally making up for it… So thank you for that.”
Yuchan stares at his best friend with big eyes, thinking about what he should reply, but then decides to stay silent and nestle his head against his chest instead. It always feels peaceful to lay like this and Yuchan knows there are no words needed for Byeongkwan to know how much his presence means to him. Like this he falls into a deep slumber, only to eventually get woken by a familiar commanding voice,
“You two! I have no idea why you slept outside like this even though we are in the third quarter of the cycle already and the nights are cold, but now that you are here anyway, why don’t you get up and help me with the dew?”
Confused, Yuchan’s eyes flutter open, falling on Junhee’s face who is looking at them with raised eyebrows, both hands resting on his hips. There are three baskets full of dewdrops wrapped in leaves sitting next to him and Yuchan wants nothing more than to close his eyes and go back to sleep. Carrying heavy, loaded baskets through the entire village doesn’t sound like an activity he’d enjoy doing right now. Especially, since his body is aching all over. Byeongkwan next to him groans too.
“Why did you come alone? Where are the others?”
“They are already on their way back, carrying the other baskets. It’s been a really good harvest this morning. Now, get your asses up, Sehyoon needs these as quickly as possible.” With these words, he grabs one of the baskets and makes his way down the path without waiting for them to follow him. Yuchan sighs, stretching his numb limbs before he gets up.
“Seems like we are back to our usual tasks… Time to figure out what I’m good at.” He tries to force a smile to his face, but fails miserably, while he helps up his friend. However, when he turns to take a basket, Byeongkwan suddenly stops him by wrapping a hand around his wrist.
“No need to. I already know what you are good at… Better than anyone else.”
Yuchan looks at him in surprise. “Really? And what’s that?”
“Being my friend… You’re my best friend and nobody could ever be better at it than you. In general, you are the most caring guardian I’ve ever met.” He smiles and Yuchan feels a wave of fondness rushing through himself.
“You’re my best friend too,” he says and then stretches out his hand so they can walk back to the village together, the soft morning sun warming their skin and promising another peaceful day ahead. That is, if they don’t find another adventure on the way. Because for some reason Yuchan is also really good at stumbling upon them, just like stumbling upon the freshly collected wood a few hours later.
On that day he might not know it yet, but soon he’ll become the biggest adventurer his village has ever seen, entering the human realm many more times.