Charlie

It took them time to get some sleep. Damp and cold, however, they fell asleep and cuddled up to each other.

Charlie dreamed of his parents and the house he had lived in. He dreamed of his childhood and his old friends. He dreamed until a rippling sound woke him up.

Tired, he sat up. Joris muttered insulted in his sleep and turned to Lucas. Molly snored softly. Fireflies hovered over the water of the river, and on the opposite bank, a will-o'-the-wisp buzzed back and forth. He heard a sweet melody.

"Nice try, but no!", he whispered to the little creature.

The melody became louder, more enticing. Charlie laughed. "No, thank you."

Then the melody fell silent. The willow-o-wisp flew towards him and landed on his knees, insulted and with folded arms. It scolded in a foreign language.

"Did I offend you? Please, forgive me. But I will not follow you." Charlie looked at the little creature. He couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy. But it reminded him a bit of a fairy. Only that it glowed.

The will-o'-the-wisp snorted, stuck out its tongue, and continued to complain. It pointed to the river.

"I'm sorry, but I don't plan to swim! I can't swim."

Now the luminous figure blinked and asked something in the chirping language. It looked at him with wide, questioning eyes.

Charlie smiled. "Are you worried about me? Thank you very much. That's very kind of you."

Then he heard the splashing again. "Did you hear that too?"

The willow-o-wisp nodded.

"What was that?"

It pointed to the water. Now Charlie noticed a figure in the water. "Is that a siren?", he asked.

The willow-o-wisp nodded and said something. Then it sat down on his shoulder. Charlie got up and carefully walked to the water. Two blue eyes looked at him, then the figure disappeared. Briefly, he saw a shimmering tail fin. The will-o'-the-wisp called something then it flew to the river and searched the water. Was it looking for the siren? Finally, it came back to him, and sighed.

"We must have scared away our observer. Don't worry."

The will-o'-the-wisp nodded and sat down on his shoulders again. And again, it complained.

Charlie yawned and lay down next to his brother. The will-o'-the-wisp made itself comfortable next to his head. "Good night little friend!", he said.

The will-o'-the-wisp smiled and closed its eyes. Charlie sighed. He had seen a siren and made a new friend. What a strange forest.

Molly's angry voice woke him up the next morning.

"Little beasts! Stop pulling on our tarpaulin! It's ours!"

Irritated, he opened his eyes and looked around. The little light had disappeared, but he could see the outlines of small fairies above the tarpaulin. Molly and Lucas held on to the tarpaulin, but the fairies pulled on it, scolding and laughing.

"Are fairies trying to steal our home?", he murmured, still sleepy, while Joris blissfully played a snoring orchestra.

"Yes. Be so good and wake up your brother! You can help us drive away the fairies!", snorted Lucas.

Yawning, Charlie shook Joris. "Wake up. We’re under attack."

"What?" Joris jumped up and hit his head against the tarpaulin, causing some of the fairies to be shaken off. Scolding, they pounced on Joris. They pulled on his clothes and hair.

"Hey!" He stumbled out from under the tarpaulin. Charlie followed him and then helped Molly and Lucas hold the tarpaulin. Joris, on the other hand, waved his arms wildly to get rid of the small, delicate fairies with their iridescent butterfly wings.

Laughing, Charlie held the tarpaulin. One of the fairies looked at him curiously.

Charlie smiled. "What do you need our tarpaulin for?", he asked the little figure.

The fairy answered, but he did not understand a word. But the little creature giggled and stuck out its tongue.

"You're pretty naughty", Charlie replied. The little fairy snorted. Now two more fairies joined the little figure and began to complain to Charlie. "Unfortunately, I can't understand you", he said.

"Naughty?", Joris cried. "They're beasts! Get away from me!" The fairies scolded angrily and continued to pull on his clothes.

"I agree with Joris!", announced Lucas angrily.

But at some point, the game became boring for the fairies and they flew away. Exhausted, Molly and Joris lay down under the tarpaulin.

"I hate fairies", Molly murmured.

Charlie had to think of the will-o'-the-wisp. In the end, it had been nice. Friendly.

Would he see it again at night?

And the siren?