“Father, I wish we could live in the forest,” Lily stated, grabbing hold of her father’s hand. 

He turned his gaze away from the stars, and stared into his daughter’s eyes.

“The forest consists of some ravishing and unbelievable nature, but dangers lie everywhere, Lily. Be careful of what you wish for. Think again.” 

Hand in hand, they strolled away from the forest. 

Home. People describe it as somewhere you could feel safe - a place of comfort. But of course, Lily and her father weren’t ‘people’. They were different, they were, in simpler words: magical.  They could produce powers to help protect nature, defend themselves like none other. Lily’s father would always keep his staff made of oak wood, finished with a ginger stone that glistened in the night. However, Lily had nothing yet. She still had many years until she would receive her own wand. The spirits of the forest warned the father of Lily that he was about to breathe his last breath. “Ogwald, Ogwald,” they would whisper. He was aware that, for him to grant his own wish, he had to leave something behind. 

When the sky darkened and the wolves howled to the moon, he had a dream…

A towering, colossal tree spoke to him through its branches. 

“What do I have to do to be able to protect my daughter and my kingdom? What must I do to become an immortal living so I won’t have to leave what I love?” Ogwald questioned, with tears nearly pouring out of his eyes. 

“Ye look like a tricky one to deal with.” It paused to grab Ogwald with its branches by the waist. “I only give answers that have a price on them.”

“I-I… What do you want? I can give you my staff.”

“It’s not the worst, but no. It doesn’t cause you enough pain.” The tree leaned closer to him. “Your daughter would do fine.”

“NO! Why would I give you my daughter when it’s her I’m trying to protect?”

“Well then, if that’s how you want it, I’m sorry, but I cannot present to you the gift of immortality.”

Ogwald fell to the floor, drowning in his own tears, struggling to speak the words that he was forced to say. “FINE!” he screamed. “TAKE MY SWEET LILY, BUT KEEP HER SAFE.” The tree nodded, and a glowing light appeared in front of Ogwald.

He awoke in a split second to find his daughter gone. Already, he regretted the decision. Ogwald knew that if he went looking for his daughter, then he would die. Though he also knew that Lily needed a life, she had to see the outside world, and she could protect the kingdom, no doubt about that. This would all be achieved by her, with or without her father. 

So he left. With no food, water nor any supplies. Just himself and his staff to protect him; that was all he needed. At least, that was what he thought.  

At midnight, at sunrise, and at dawn, he travelled over mountains, over rivers, and still no sign of her.  On the most shady night you could ever imagine, he came across a rather decayed fence, falling apart with pain. Ogwald pushed the leaves away to read the sign that hung from the fence. It read: ‘Do not enter! Unless you want to die the worst death!” If his daughter was by his side, he would listen to the threatening words, but that was not the case. The fence creaked open as he went in. 

Nothing. Nothing at all. He sighed in relief and kept walking. Whispers swam across the forest, footsteps were heard all around him, and worst of all: he wasn’t safe. Instantaneously, creatures from the dark side swiftly swooped in, surrounding Ogwald. He couldn’t see, he could barely breathe. Ogwald screamed in agony, begging for his life back, and the monsters destroyed him. Bit. By. Bit. 

Once he was released, it felt like all his happy memories had been stolen from him. The creatures were created of a smoky colour, and they were covered with a ripped, jet-black coat, which was drowned in bloodstains. Could he survive? He had nothing with him - they had destroyed his staff. With a final swish in his face with their long ivory nails, they were gone. Leaving Ogwald in the middle of nowhere. That was where he would die; the story has ended. 

Now there was no way to save his daughter from the monstrous, blood-curdling tree. He was gone forever now, and there was no way to come back. 

Even when your love for someone is strong, you still have to save yourself. The scene was blurry. Ogwald was awake. Slowly and steadily, he stood up. Shelter was not so far from him. However, he wasn't fully aware of his present situation which meant that he took no notice of the little possibility on how an abandoned house could be able to stand in this overly mysterious forest. The doorknob was injured with the faintest scratch marks, representing the history of the ancient abode. As soon as he stepped inside, dust covered his face, and the wooden floor gave Ogwald a sense of warmth, but at the same time: danger. That wasn't all of it. Black portraits were placed where the windows should have been, making the single room feel like a starless night sky. Rusty wooden panels protected the ceiling even though the damage that it's been through felt as if the whole ceiling would fall on you. Spider webs -built by some strangely petite spiders- stuck to the corners, filled with dead, revolting flies and many other insects which I have no name for. A filthy and stained mattress lay in the middle of the house, bringing a loneliness as painful as anything to anyone who would enter. 

On one cold, dim morning he awoke, and found that the portraits had turned into windows. Not only that, there was a picture frame next to his bed of him sleeping. But he lived alone. 

Suddenly realising the situation that he was in, he ran out the house, panting, shivering with questions. Something else was there. 

 In front of his very eyes, was the body of his daughter. Ogwald quickly ran and sat down by her side to feel her face; it was pale and cold as ice. Her eyes were shut tight and beneath her, was a pool of blood. 

“What’s happening to me?” he asked himself. Why was his daughter dead? There, in front of him was his nemesis: the tree. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER?!”

The tree looked ever so calm, and whispered, “What did I do? You mean: What did you do?”

Ogwald was befuddled. He knew he didn’t do anything, and he definitely knew that he didn’t kill his daughter. The tree replied to his thoughts as if it were able to read his mind. “No, you’re right. You didn’t kill her, but you forgot about her.”

It was a moment of realisation where Ogwald had no idea what he could do. “What do I have to do to bring back my daughter?” His words stumbled over each other as he tried to look confident.

“You can’t.” It paused there, leaving time for Ogwald to process the information. “Your love is not strong enough.”

“MY LOVE IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH? That’s a lie! Bring her back now!” Silence floated in the air, and the tree did not reply. “Fine! If my daughter won’t come back to me, then I’ll go up to her. KILL ME!” 

A dark shadow appeared over Ogwald, and with that - he was gone. He was the last of his family, except for his daughter of course (who was dead) which meant the kingdom would fall. Sooner or later. 

Ogwald searched his surroundings, and finally was able to comprehend that he was now above the world. Well, it was what he thought, not what he knew. Nevertheless, he was still crying as his daughter was yet nowhere to be seen. “Father?” He looked behind him. Lily was beside him, the same beautiful girl she raised. Though they were in their house, everything was how Ogwald had left before he went searching for his daughter. He could feel the wood, could smell the dampness of their house. 

“LILY!” He ran to hug her; she felt so real. Then he worked out that he hadn't been killed, because sacrificing yourself for somebody else is the strongest love in the world. He had never been killed and he saved Lily. 

They were alive, they were both alive and the kingdom was still there! At last, they were together and safe. Nobody could stand in their way now. Even if Ogwald may not live for a lot longer, he knew that his daughter would always be with him and he would always be with his daughter, in their minds and their hearts. Nothing could go wrong. Life was the definition of perfect.

Or was this all a lie…

Journalist-Kyra Shirley