Sofia fell back, staring wide-eyed at the strangely colored animal. “Y-you can talk?”

“All creatures can speak,” the dog scoffed. “What is more surprising is that you understand. Now quickly! As you said, the people here will not know how to help a Dlam like me. I need your help to find a gate back to Lyfay and to the healer.”

“A gate to...?” Sofia raised an eyebrow. “What are you on about? And why do you need my help?”

Vexed, the dog shakily stood and approached Sofia. Slowly, he circled as he inspected her. “You are obviously not an elf, yet I sense the energy of Lyfay emanating from you. That means you can find a gate!”

Lyfay? Energy? Elf? Sofia placed a on her forehead. I swear I didn’t drink that much…

Sofia was startled when the dog started nuzzling her crossbody bag. “Just a moment! There are no treats in here, mister.” 

The dog stepped back. “It is glowing.”

Looking down, Sofia realized he was right. A soft red glow seeped through the fabric of her bag, which only grew stronger as she unzipped it to reveal the small green pouch. Once again, it felt warm to the touch. Pulling out the earrings, the stones shone even brighter under the moonlight. 

It was the dog’s turn to stare wide-eyed. “Where did you get those earrings?”

“I-I…,” stammered Sofia. Fuzzy images came to mind. A sunset. A beach. A sandcastle. A boy, whose face she could not see. A sudden wave of loss and longing swept over her.

At that moment, a beam of light shot from the earrings in her hands towards rock formations in the dark water before them.

“A gate!” exclaimed the dog. “Look, talmhan, there it is!” He attempted to dart in the direction of the light, but quickly stumbled and yelped in pain. Sofia rushed to his side. 

“You shouldn’t move so suddenly,” Sofia gasped, attempting to catch her breath. “You’re in pretty bad shape, you know.” Looking again at the dog’s leg, she noticed the wound oozing a dark substance and pulsing. “Wh-what is happening to you?”

The beam of light from the earrings flickered, causing the Dlam to become anxious. “I-I have to keep moving,” he said, gritting his teeth through the pain. “If that light goes out, then the gate will be closed and I…” he grunted as he attempted to drag himself into the surf. He collapsed again, exhausted, at the water’s edge. Keeping his pained gaze at the beam’s end, he said softly, “I will be out of time…”

Sofia looked at the dog in horror, his hope fading with each flicker of the beam. At a loss, she turned back toward the pub, but a sharp wind lifted her hat, sending it out over the dark water. Her eyes traced the beam of light back to the earrings in her hands. A strange but not unfamiliar emotion began to sweep over her. 

She gripped the earrings and took a breath. 

Trembling in fear, Sofia placed them in their pouch and zipped them safely into her bag. The beam somehow grew stronger as it shone through the fabric. Then, grabbing the dog’s front paws, she began to drag him into the water. 

“What are you doing, talmhan?” the creature asked, wincing in pain.

“My name is Sofia,” said Sofia, struggling. “Help me get you in the water!” Hope slowly relit in the dog’s eyes. With the remaining strength he could muster, he pushed himself into the water.

Sofia managed to flip the large animal on his back and wrapped an arm around his ribcage just before a strong current pulled her feet from under her. The wind suddenly picked up, and the waves became aggressive and violent. Struggling to keep both their faces above water, Sofia noticed the beam fading once again. 

“We are not going to make it!” cried the dog.

With startling determination, Sofia shouted, “Yes, we will!”

An unexpectedly large wave thrust them toward the rock formations. Engulfed by a rapid, they were tossed, turned, and tumbled without a chance to come up for air. In the commotion, Sofia lost her grip on the dog. Unable to see in the water or control her movements, Sofia felt herself thrown against a hard surface. 

Then everything went dark.

Sofia opened her eyes to see orange light dance across the waves as the ocean caressed the shore. A little ways from her was a figure of a boy building a sandcastle. For some reason, he was in monochrome despite the bright colors around him. When he turned to look at her, his face was hidden. 

The boy motioned for her to join him and then held out his hands as if to give her something. Reaching out to receive his gift, Sofia was surprised to see the green cloth pouch with a golden tree embroidered on it. 

“What is this?” asked a young Sofia.

“A gift,” he said. Sofia felt the warmth of the boy’s hands envelop hers. “Something to remember me by.”

A flurry of emotions washed over Sofia. “But… But who are you?” she cried out.

Suddenly, Sofia felt herself being pulled away, back into the dark, cold water. The boy reached out, but was unable to save her. She tried to scream, yet no sound escaped. Terrified, panicking, she felt herself sinking until something warm struck her face.

“Come on, Sofia, wake up!”

Sofia slowly opened her eyes to see leafy branches and blue skies. Confused and disoriented, her head throbbing, she tried to prop herself up on her elbow. 

A large, wet tongue swiped itself across Sofia's face. “Sofia!” the Dlam whined happily. “Sofia, it worked! We made it to Lyfay!”

“Ly…fay?” Sofia squinted at the forest surrounding them. The colors seemed brighter here. The leaves, the flowers, and even the grass seemed to shine like gemstones. A gentle breeze seemed to make all the vegetation sparkle with life. 

I am definitely sober now. This is… really real?

The brightness exacerbated Sofia’s headache. As she attempted to sit up and hide her face, she realized her feet were still wet. She quickly shuffled away from the edge of an emerald green lake. 

“My head…,” Sofia moaned. “I think I got thrown up against one of the rocks.” She felt something tap her side. The purple creature laying beside her had her hat in his mouth. Surprised it had made it through, she gratefully put it on and then noticed the dark substance was starting to move up the creature’s stomach. 

“Hey, dog,” she started.

“Call me Harton,” said the Dlam. 

“Harton,” Sofia repeated. “How far away is this healer?”

Harton’s ears perked up in surprise. “Sofia, you should return to your world. I cannot ask…”

Sofia fiddled with her crossbody bag, which had miraculously stuck with her. Pulling out the green pouch, she inspected the earrings. They were intact but no longer glowing. 

“Doesn’t look like the gate is still open. Besides, I’m not exactly keen on getting back in the water.” Groaning as she stood up, Sofia wrung out her soaked sweater. “Hopefully there’s some other way back…”

Harton gave her an uncertain look.

Redonning her still soaked sweater, Sofia said, “Let’s just… get moving.”

Struggling to his feet, Harton shuffled into a nearby bush. “This way.”

As they limped into the forest, neither of them noticed that the string of cans had made it across the gate with them, or that a dark, oily substance had begun to appear on the surface of the lake.

A couple of hours later, the pair was still silently limping through the forest. Fanning herself with her hat and rubbing the back of her head, Sofia broke the silence.

“How much longer until we find this healer?”

“Not long,” Harton replied. Wincing as he stepped on his injured leg, he muttered, “I hope.”

“You hope?” said Sofia. “You mean you don’t know?”

Harton avoided her gaze. “I… am not very familiar with this part of the forest.”

Sofia stopped walking. “So we’re lost?”

Harton turned. “We are not lost! We are going in the right direction, I just… do not know how far it is or how long it will take us at this pace.”

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Sofia shouted, “Seriously? You mean I almost cracked my head open in that crazy riptide to get you back here and we still might not make it to the healer in time?”

“How was I supposed to know where the gate would bring us?” the Dlam demanded defensively. “Lyfay is enormous! Besides, I was not exactly keeping track of my location while fleeing for my life.”

“So we are lost,” Sofia groaned in frustration. “Excellent. You’re basically on your last legs, and I’m stuck in a strange world with no way of getting home. Just perfect!”

Covering her eyes, Sofia mumbled, “All I wanted was to land the deal and get a nice cozy flat in the city…”

Raising his hackles, Harton snarled, “Then why did you help me?”

Before Sofia could respond, a high, long, blood curdling screech rang through the forest. The pair froze.

“What was tha…?” Sofia looked back down at her bag and realized that the earrings had begun to glow again – except this time a sinister pale yellow.

“Run,” Harton whispered. His yellow eyes were glued on the direction from which they came. 

Again, a screech peeled through the trees, and it seemed to Sofia that the bright colors of the forest were suddenly dull. Through the trees, she made out several strange, dark figures. One abruptly turned towards Sofia, locking its pale deathly eyes on her. 

Harton pulls at Sofia’s pant leg. “Sofia, I said run!”

The Dlam’s voice breaking her trance, Sofia turned and raced through the forest. Screaming, the dark, menacing creatures quickly pursued. 

Casting quick glances back as she weaved through the forest, Sofia realized their pursuers were moving in a straight line. They passed through any obstacle, as if their bodies were composed of liquid or gas. 

The vibrant colors faded instantly from anything the creatures touched, and the oozing black substance they left in their wake seemed to be devouring whatever surface it landed on. 

The creatures were gaining on them when Harton’s injured leg seized, toppling him to the ground. 

“Harton!” Sofia screamed. She back tracked and, dropping the hat from her hand, attempted to pick him up. 

“Get out of here!”

“I’m not leaving you!” Sofia shouted in return.

The gaseous creatures were upon them now, surrounding the pair. Harton’s wound was growing rapidly and his brightly colored fur was beginning to fade. Sofia felt something grab her face, and found herself looking directly into the void, pale eyes of one of the creatures.

The creature seemed to lick its lips with a long, curled, pale yellow tongue. Its grip tightened on Sofia’s face so she couldn’t look away. 

One of the cans that had been tied to Harton’s tail appeared, held by another of the creature’s ghastly hands. The creature wrapped its tongue around it and swallowed it in one bite as if enjoying an appetizer. Sofia could feel air being pulled out of her lungs. 

“Thanks,” Sofia could feel the creature's hot, poisonous breath on her face, “for the invitation.”

Wide mouthed, it drew its face nearer to hers when a shocking blue and yellow light appeared. Screeching, the creature dropped her and pulled back from her and the Dlam. 

Something like a lightning bolt broke through the circle of creatures, and Sofia saw new figures enter the scene. Unable to see clearly or breath well, Sofia covered Harton as the flashes of light continued to attack and push back the gaseous creatures.

After what seemed like an eternity, the lights subsided. Sofia braved a look and realized the monsters were gone. The forest had lost its vibrancy, and the surrounding flora was dead.

A voice spoke from behind her, causing Sofia to whip around fearfully. It was a man in a flowing dark green robe with a long staff in one hand. His platinum blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes were in striking contrast to the pale surroundings of the dead forest. 

He spoke again, but the ringing in her ears prevented her from understanding him. He reached out his hand, but Sofia reflexively clung tighter to Harton. Realizing that Harton hadn’t moved since the beginning of the attack, Sofia suddenly panicked.

“Are you a healer?” Sofia implored. “My friend needs a healer. He’s hurt and his condition is getting worse. I-I couldn’t do anything... Can you help him? Please, I think he’s dying!”

Sofia realized that she was sobbing. The man looked from her to the Dlam, his eyes opening wide in surprise. He turned his head to shout orders to someone behind him and Sofia realized that his ears were long. And pointed.

An… elf?

Turning back to Sofia, the elf’s piercing blue eyes commanded her attention. He picked up her hat and then extended his hand to her again. “You are safe now.”

Unsure of how her body was moving, Sofia felt herself lifted and placed on a pink and white horse-like creature. The elf secured her in the saddle and then mounted behind her. 

Sofia turned to look for Harton and noticed other elves surrounding him and building a travois for one of the other horse-like creatures to pull. He seemed to be breathing, but still looked dangerously pale.

The elf, noticing Sofia’s concern, leaned down to speak gently into her ear. “He will be alright.” 

She looked up to see him gently smiling at her. She attempted to return the smile, then slumped against him, exhausted. The elf, slightly self-conscious, shifted his weight to comfortably support her then tutted to his steed. Turning his head, he shouted orders as he moved forward. The rest of the group fell behind and together made their way into the forest.