Gaitober 2020

Thalia was sitting at her kitchen table, eating a bowl of oatmeal and drinking a cup of coffee. She wasn't all that hungry though, her nerves starting to get the better of her as she ate. Today she was going out of the city to do a truck repair for someone, but that wasn't why she was nervous. She was going to a house in the middle of the forest, which is supposedly haunted. Rumours had been going around that if you enter the forest, and get lost, you will be lost in the forest forever. Other rumours speak of a ghost in the forest that is lonely and lures you off the path to keep you from leaving. The more she thought of it the less hungry she was, pushing her half eaten breakfast away. Looking to the clock she decided it was time to go, the sooner she finished the repair the sooner she could come home. She got in her small truck, her work supplies in the back, listening to some music as she started driving.

The scenery as she left the city was breathtaking, the open fields covered in flowers seeming to dance in the wind along with her tunes. Passing a small farm on her drive she smiled, the farm animals all seeming so cute and small from the road. Sadly even the adorable animals could only distract her mind for so long, the sight of the forest already appearing across the landscape. Approaching the forest the road changes from paved to gravel, the path only being wide enough for a single vehicle to pass through. Driving slower on the gravel she looked around cautiously, hoping that the house maybe wasn't too far in. After a few minutes driving in the forest, she came to a stop, a terrifying realization hitting her. Looking at her gas gauge she saw that in all her worry she forgot to fill up on gas. Stuck in the middle of the forest, alone, she begrudgingly gets out of the truck and grabs her work equipment. The only way she would be able to do anything would be to walk to the house and have her client bring her back to her truck.

Now that she was walking she was really noticing how much of the sunlight the trees were blocking. Shadows felt like they were creeping up on her, strange noises echoing from deeper in the trees. Suddenly a small tree branch fell beside her, causing her to jump, looking up just in time to catch a glimpse of something. Her heart racing as she got more nervous, worried it was the ghost she had heard about. Looking around skittishly, she caught another glimpse of the ghost, running away as fast as she could towards the house. Not taking long at that point to get there, she went right up to the door knocking frantically. No one was answering the door though, her mind assuming the worst.

Suddenly a loud clunk came from behind her, but she hadn't heard anyone approaching. Turning to look she let out a small fearful squeak, but her mind quickly changed from fear to confusion. Reaching down she picked up a wrench, her wrench, having obviously dropped it in her hasty retreat from the ghost. Looking around to see who brought it she finally saw it behind a small shrub in the yard. It wasn't a ghost at all, it was a Dym, which seemed to now be observing from its fruitless hiding place. The poor thing almost seemed more afraid of her than she had been of the supposed ghost. Slowly approaching the Dym she held out her wrench, "Thank you" she said as she got a warm smile. Seeing that Thalia meant it no harm it cautiously came out in the open, the bright green accents shining in the few streaks of light through the trees. The two of them slowly made their way closer to each other, both of them being a bit nervous to get too close.

After about twenty minutes, of sizing each other up, the two of them were finally sitting next to each other. Thalia gently placing a hand on the little Dym, giving them a pet on the head. The Dym was elated at the feeling, letting out a small contented noise before slowly making its way into Thalia's lap. The two sitting and cuddling together, not noticing at first that her client had come outside. It turned out that the client had fallen asleep and hadn't heard the knocking on the door. The Dym however had run off when the man approached, in its mind having already trusted enough for one day.

Thalia got to work on the man's truck, her mind wondering what happened to the Dym as she worked. The job only taking her about an hour to fix, thankfully not needing any new parts for the job. The man was grateful, offering to drive her to her vehicle as well as fill her truck with gas. Taking her back to her truck she thanked him, putting her supplies back into her truck before getting in to go home. The drive back seeming to take only a fraction of the time it took to get there, her mind at ease now that the forest was behind her.

Arriving home she took a deep breath, looking back in the direction the forest would be. Heading into her home to relax, she heard something fall over in the back of her truck. Climbing up she looked in the back, her eyes widening when she saw the cause of the noise. The Dym had apparently made it's way back to her truck while she was at the client's, and stowed away until they got to her house. Smiling at the little creature she walked up to house and opened the front door, "Come on, this is your home now too." The Dym, hearing her comment, rushed over to her and nuzzled her. Both of them knowing in that moment that they were nervous over nothing, and that they each now had a forever friend.