Philip was totally relaxed when the boat started swaying side-to-side. He thought the river’s waves were just picking up a little life. Then he heard a clear thud of something hitting into the boat. Something big.

Philip jumped up and stared in horror at the crocodile. It was now circling the boat. What’s a crocodile doing here? Philip screamed in his head. The creature submerged under the ...

Philip paddled as hard as he could down the river, desperate to keep out of reach from his pursuer. He couldn’t believe his eyes at first, but he had been warned not to come here.

It was yesterday evening when he was told not to enter the forest. The 20 year old entered Murray’s pub and the locals were excited to see a new hiker with a big backpack and sun hat. Before anyone could get him a dr...

Rohan believed the cats living in the forest to be spirits themselves. They mercilessly hunted the rodents and birds in the forest as if it was their own mission given to them by their master. Not only this, but like the spirits, the cats hunted individually but were most often found relaxing among their kind. Some of the cats even tolerated his lonely presence.

Currently, he most often watc...

Huh? Why ask me such silly things!

1. Lavender

The forest grows plenty of lavender, including in my favourite spot around the stone shrines. It’s the best smell in the world. And it has amazing healing properties, so not only pretty but handy.

2. A rabbit’s foot

If I somehow end up in a deserted island, I need all the luck…

3. My ocarina

It might be nice to play it by the sea, and out of ea...

The fire had attracted the attention of the townsfolk. A stag thundered full throttle out of the trees and towards a bewildered crowd. A spooked man had raised his rifle towards the giant beast, but the shout of a different man held his fire:

"Jenny’s riding him!!"

The old woman was barely conscious, and upon hearing the shout of one of her friend’s, she fell off the stag, no longer able to be...

"Rohan!"

The forest spirit Rohan woke with a start, his eyes being met with stinging, thick smoke. Jenny, the old traveller human, was the one calling for him in a panic. At first he had been apprehensive letting her camp so close to his territory in the forest, but she had done nothing to provoke his anger. In fact, her friendly neighbourly demeanour and shared love for the outdoors had spark...

Rohan would often seek advice from Ruru before him and the other forest spirits vanished. Ruru’s head had been crowned with sharp antlers that commanded as much respect as a bejewelled monarch. Rarely did he use his raspy voice, but his animal-like ears listened diligently to the living.

To those familiar with Rohan’s forest, it was well-known a human’s whistle was as good as a siren by the lik...

There’s no place like home to woodland spirits, even for one as queer as Rohan. As fiery as any three-headed beast, he guarded the peaceful Elysian woods. In the deepest of sleeps, he listened to its heart beat. He smelt the change of seasons through its flowers births and deaths. And he cried tears of joy at the taste of its sweetest fruits. Rohan was blinded by this lavender haze so much, h...