Jonathan was no ordinary twelve-year-old boy in his village. He was a shepherd’s son. On weekdays, he’d attend elementary school with fellow classmates, but, on the weekends, he’d help his father, the village’s shepherd, look after his herd of sheep.

   On this day however, school was out for the summer, leaving Jonathan with plenty of time to properly help his father in his work.

   For generations, being a shepherd had always been the family’s profession, and Jonathan was next to take the mantle. It might feel stressful for a boy to be doing an adult’s work all summer long, but, from the sheep being like pets to him, to the pocket money he was earning from his father, it felt worth it. More than anything, growing up as a shepherd’s son helped Jonathan build up his character.

   “Jonathan,” called out Nicolae, the shepherd.

   “Hey, dad,” said Jonathan.

   “It’s almost noon,” said Nicolae. “Take a break, and rest a bit. Mom should be getting ready with lunch preparations.”   

   “Okay, dad,” said Jonathan.

   As he was just about to head off, Sorina, Jonathan’s mother, came out of the house, calling him.

   “Jonathan!” she bellowed. “Come and help set the table!”

   “Okay, mom!” Jonathan bellowed back, making a dash back to the entrance door.

   When he wasn’t busy helping his father, Jonathan would also help his mother with the chores.

   From being a part-time shepherd to being his mother’s helper, Nicolae and Sorina would also feel concerned for their only child. Very often, they would tell him to take some time for himself, so at not to have him overwork himself to exhaustion. After lunch, he was given the rest of the day off, so he could hang out with the other kids at the village.

   “Jonathan!” one of the boys called out to him, as he arrived at an open field. The boys were just getting ready to play soccer together, and were eagerly waiting for Tony to make the team complete.

   “Hey!” Jonathan waved back, making a swift dash towards the boys. “Sorry if I kept you guys waiting,” he said.

   “No problem,” said another. “In fact, we were just talking about the latest story from the castle.”

   “Another one?” Jonathan exclaimed, having heard previous stories of visitors being chased away from the castle.

   “Yeah,” said the boy. “This time, it happened to us: Ion, and Alfred.”

   “The Matei kids?” asked Jonathan.

   “Yeah,” said the boy. “Ion said that a stranger, about his height, went towards them, and bats came out of the stranger’s robe! The stranger was gone, but the bats and, then, a wolf scared them off!”

   “Bats, and wolf?” Jonathan pondered. “That seems more believable than monsters. Maybe wild animals live there now?”

   “Since we believe that that’s the case,” said another boy, “we’ve decided it’s no longer safe to go up there. Alfred and Ion’s parents even forbade them from going too.”

   “And the stranger?” asked Jonathan.

   “Probably a dwarf, or a kid, taking refuge in the castle, and playing tricks on visitors,” said the first boy. “Either which, we’re not going there, sleeping heir or not.”

   With that, the boys shrugged off conversations about the castle, and started playing soccer together. It even slipped Jonathan’s mind for two days till it came back to him randomly. What he learned from the boys piqued his curiosity. Maybe it wasn’t odd to hear of bats and wolves in a castle, but a stranger being said to be no taller than either of the boys? Although curious, Jonathan was also cautious. He didn’t feel too eager to explore the castle for himself just yet.

   Later at night, as the family was getting ready for bed, something alarming happened. The sounds of sheep in distress got Nicolae’s attention. He ran outside, and what he saw confirmed his worst fears.

   “Wolf!” he bellowed. “Sorina, get me the rifle!”
   Nicolae ran back inside, and returned armed with his rifle. But then, much to his confusion, the wolf was nowhere to be found, as if it wasn’t there. Jonathan, watching from the entrance, felt a bit baffled as well.

   “Jonathan!” his mother exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him, and dragging him in. “Get inside! You want to get killed?”

   With the wolf long gone, chaos soon turned to calm. It baffled everyone how a wolf would be able to make its way into a fenced property but, with no trace of the wild animal, sleep was back on everyone’s priority.

   But, as Nicolae and Sorina slept easily, Jonathan found himself in what looked like a haunted forest, covered in fog. Not a person, nor wildlife, was present, leaving Jonathan the only living creature at the heart of the forest.

   Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a horse marching on from behind. He turned around, and saw that the forest was now a green hill under an evening sky. Looking at the horse, he noticed that it had a rider. She was a princess in her early teens, with long, silky black hair, wearing a Medieval-era dress and a cloke. She stared at him, saying, “Someone like you makes a good wolf’s shepherd.” Her statement didn’t sound right to Jonathan.

   With no warning, the scenery was now a black void. “Jonathan!” bellowed a girl’s voice, probably the princess herself. “Help me!”

   From the void,  a hand reached out to Jonathan, with the faceless girl desperate to be rescued. “Help!” she screamed, vanishing with the black void.

   Jonathan’s heart was racing, with his eyes wide open, staring at a dark room ceiling. Everything that his witnessed was just a dream.

   The dream, though, made Jonathan feel uneasy. The princess saying “someone like you makes a good wolf’s shepherd” had him remembering the wolf from earlier. Fearing for the sheep’s safety, he jumped out of his bed and made his way to the window. Everything seemed calm and peaceful, putting Jonathan’s mind at ease for a little while; for, even with the wolf long gone, he still felt disturbed by how the dream ended with the princess begging to be saved.

   The next morning however, he forgot all about the dream, and just kept his mind towards his shepherd work. With the wolf incident still fresh in his mind, he was just thankful that all the sheep were accounted for. And, just like before, he also got to take the afternoon off.

   But, after hanging out with the boys, with no one talking about it, the old castle came back to Jonathan’s mind. From thinking about all the wolves, to the short, hooded stranger, and even the princess in his dream, Jonathan finally set his mind towards exploring the castle for himself. “Before heading home for dinner,” he thought, “I’ll have to explore the castle myself.”

   And, remembering hearing that the hooded stranger was no taller than either one of the boys, he thought, “If the stranger is indeed a child, I just hope he’s okay.”

   Jonathan waited till an hour before sunset before making his way to the castle. Even though he didn’t believe in superstition, remembering hearing about Alfred and Ion’s encounter, he approached the broken bridge with caution. He’d like to sneak into the castle before anyone noticed, but, if this hooded stranger were to come outside, the only way up to the bridge would leave Jonathan in sight.

   “What to do?” he wondered.

   Slowly, but gradually, he made his way to the castle’s gate, and found himself halfway across the bridge. He still needed to get through the gate unseen and, by luck, he found a pile of rubble at a corner. Immediately, he dashed towards it and took cover. It was a bit shorter than he, but, sitting on the floor, with his legs spread forward, it was a good enough hiding spot. Jonathan’s only hope was that the stranger wouldn’t go outside, and have a good look at him from a particular angle.

   “I hope not to mess this up,” he thought.

   Thus, he waited for a while, and played a quick game on his smartphone to pass the time.

   But, just as when he thought that the coast was clear to move forward, there it was! Passing through the gate was the hooded stranger! With his heart racing, Jonathan stood in place, hoping not to accidentally give his presence away. But, the stranger didn’t go forward. It was more interested in watching the evening sky, with the sun gradually setting.

   Jonathan managed to take a clear look at the stranger without being seen. With its distance from Jonathan, and the hood being put on, its face was well-hidden. The stranger may have been far away, but Jonathan could confirm that the stranger was, indeed, no taller than any one of the boys at the village, let alone the adults.

   The whole mission to meet the stranger became a whole lot more nerve-wrecking, as it wasn’t eager to go back into the castle. It walked to the left and gazed at the countryside. The stranger seemed to be enjoying the view.

   Determined, meeting the stranger had to be done, or else Jonathan would have to forget about the whole thing, and head home for dinner on time. Instead of waiting behind the rubble, he got up and sneaked towards the stranger, hoping it’d be a friendly individual.

   “He isn’t looking,” he thought. “It’s either now or never.”

   But, much to his shock, the stranger turned towards Jonathan. To his surprise, the stranger, known to menace visitors who visited the castle, seemed visibly nervous, gently moving back as Jonathan approached.

   “Umm.... Hi!” greeted Jonathan. “I....”

   Before Jonathan could introduce himself, the stranger turned round and hurriedly ran back into the castle.

   “Wait!” bellowed Jonathan, giving chase.

   The stranger shut the castle’s gate, nearly resulting in Jonathan colliding into it.

   “There’s no turning back,” he thought. “Now, I must get to know him, or I might not have this chance ever again.”

   Gently, he made his way into the castle’s shadowy hall, and his search for the elusive stranger began.