With gentle trees around me, I gave a farewell flower to my horse, buried by dead mortal leaves and twigs. Tears were the only ones left to say goodbye.

Partially on its grave, where I lay with my hands under my ear, I closed my eyes, listening to the forest lullaby.

Then goosebumps all over my body.

It was freezing that I held my arms and curled up my body. Silent noises were whispering to my ears, getting louder and louder, and I opened my eyes.

My heart skipped a beat when hundreds of hoxzes, human-figured shadows with human skeleton faces, were moving and hovering closer to me.

I moved and moved backwards to avoid them until I had no choice but to run.

Then I tripped but I ran again quickly as they ran, chasing me, until my mother appeared in a distance. Far enough that I couldn't see her face clearly. She was just standing there as I cried and ran towards her.

The hoxzes caught up with me and pulled me, which dropped my face to the ground. 

I couldn't hear my scream as they pulled my legs, as I was reaching out my hands to my mother. Until they had pulled me completely into their shadows.

Then I woke up on my horse's grave as if nothing had happened. A dream paralysis, but I had scratches on my limbs. Even on my face when I touched it.

I walked around, searching on the forest floor paralleled to the ominous clouds, until I found the river.

On the riverbank, I squatted and leaned forward to drink from the river with my hands.

Then I held on to my knees as the water mirrored the scratches on my face.

When I noticed several poltergeists reflected in the water, standing and facing me, behind me, I couldn't move a muscle. I was petrified. I held my breath and refused to blink as I just stared at my face in the water, fighting the urge to scream.

They were about to get closer to touch me when something behind me pulled me out of my body. Away from my body that fell dead into the river.

As something just let go of me, the poltergeists, kind of ghosts that can also look like humans, also vanished.

I was left alone hovering in the air.

When I first turned around, there was a soul, the prince's. He couldn't see me. He was just looking through me as he looked around. Then he tried to spot my body that had already sunk and was being carried away in the river.

He hurriedly vanished into the river, then I just panickedly drifted into my body being drifted away at the bottom.

His soul was inside my body as he brought her life back by controlling her. I couldn't possess my body and I just watched her swam upwards and to the river's edge. She climbed out of the river only to slip, lose grip on the ground, and fall back into the river.

Splashes echoed as her head emerged from the water, gasping, and she climbed out of the river again. She crawled and lied down on the ground, coughing, until the prince's soul vanished out of my body.

I stared at my dead body before possessing its dead heart.

When I was back into my body, I gasped and catched a breath. Then I faced the sunlight through the canopy.

"Psst!"

I looked up as my head was lying on the ground. To where I thought it came from, then there was an elf kid standing on a stone with her arms behind her.

I just stared at her as I heard the crushing dry leaves under incoming steps. My eyes turned to him, the prince, walking towards me, and the elf's suddenly gone.

"Were you swimming?" The prince asked, sarcastically, I think.

Then he stood near me.

I stood up and came right in front of him to respond, "Thought you were going somewhere else?"

He scanned the scratches on my skin, and I just walked away as I squeezed the water out of my hair. 

"Can I go along with you?" He asked.

"Going with me now?"

"Yes," and he followed me. "Don't you want answers?"

I just continued walking over the rocks with leaves and twigs.

He ran to me to walk along, then he asked, "You got your answers then?"

"That they want me dead? I'm even about to be dead right now, here with you."

I stopped walking, and so did he, and I looked him in the eyes to say, "I'm running out of luck, so you best stay away and don't go anywhere near me if you still want to keep your mortality alive." Then I walked away.

He still walked with me, and I just waited for him to speak as I started hearing different noises whispering in my ears.

"Where will we go?" He asked.

"Along the river. You really don't mind dying?"

"But this doesn't go anywhere." He talked as he glanced at me.

"It does."

"You know we're heading to a graveyard by the spring?"

"Yeah."

"So?"

"So?"

Then there was a raindrop on my forehead.

We were quietly walking when the rain showered us. He didn't stop walking as I didn't.

When I intentionally stopped walking, he stopped either as soon as he noticed

We just looked at each other until I walked again.

I stopped walking, and so did he, three steps ahead of me.

I raced, and he also did to follow me.

There were flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder when I realized I was racing ahead of him, so I stopped. He also stopped when he was near me enough.

I faced the river as I glanced at him next to me. He was gazing at the rain, followed by rolling thunder.

"Are you here to take me?" I just asked as I looked at him.

"Why would I take you?" He asked back and kicked away a random rock that splashed into the river.

"Or kill me?"

"Kill you?" He chuckled as he glanced at me. "What, you want me to kill you?"

"I wouldn't mind. Just wanted to know in advance when death would take me. You know... I could be ready and willing. Without surprises. I just hate being in suspense."

"Wait... Do I look like one? A murderer?"

I just glanced at him as he looked at me, and when I walked, he just walked with me.

"You can tell me right here if I'm about to be dead," I seriously said.

"Just stop calling it. You don't have to summon death."

One fairy appeared from behind and fluttered around him. She was repeatedly asking in a tiny voice, "Who is he? Who is he?"

He seemed couldn't see the fairy that just landed on his nose with its iridescent, elongated translucent wings, like termite's, with a human body.

I intended to stare at her then she suddenly imploded into glittering dust that startled my eyes.

I averted my eyes when he saw me.

"Did you just stare at me?" He asked.

"No?"

He chuckled and said, "Alright here... Let me give you answers now."

He blocked my way and stood in front of me.

He was about to grab my arm when I pulled it away as I frowned, uttering, "Wha-"

"Give me your hand," he said as his hand was still extended towards mine.

"No."

"Just... Okay, can I hold your hand?"

"What? Why my hand?" I clenched my fist and looked in his eyes behind the rainfall.

"Just one hand..."

"No." Then I hold my hands at my back.

I fixed my eyes on his eyes as he did on mine. Then my eyes averted as I outstretched my hand towards him.

He gripped my hand as he smiled and said, "I'm gonna neutralize both of us..."

"Wait...!" I uttered as we utterly vanished in a snap.