Gather Round, Beast of the Forest

It seemed Mom had pulled back the curtains. I couldn’t stand the blinding sunlight and opened my eyes. “But why can I see the sky?” It was true. I had clearly fallen asleep in my bedroom, in my bed—yet when I opened my eyes, what I saw was the blue sky. Greenery stretched around the edges, and in the middle was an open clearing. Here and there, scattered clouds drifted by…. “What on earth is going on?” Trying to collect myself, I went over to the stream flowing nearby. Splashing the cold water on my face cleared my head a little. But then— “Who are you?” The round face with a bob cut I’d always known was gone. Instead, a sharp-featured, strikingly beautiful woman looked back at me. Her hair cascaded all the way down to her waist—golden blonde. “Oh my god… Is this a dream? Or is this what they call possession?”