The Purple Forest

The Purple Forest

Chapter 1 - The Purple Forest

The forest watched and waited patiently, as forests do, while the new family moved in, settled and got to know the rural area. To human eyes, it was no different from any of the other stands of trees around. But they were wrong...very wrong. This small forest existed on a different plane and it was home to inhabitants with whom no human had come into contact. Eva was destined to change that.

Eva loved to play in the forest behind her house. The Cameron family had moved to their new home a year before with their two children, Eva, 16 and Jeremy, 9. It was a lovely red brick home on a four-acre lot outside the city where Mr. Cameron worked. While Jeremy was into computer games and would spend his whole life playing with his Xbox, Play Station, online on his tablet, and anything else that came along, Eva was an outdoors girl. She had always loved scampering through falling leaves, watching little animals going about their little lives in the woods and just being outside in the fresh air.

One of her favorite pastimes was using her imagination to conjure up interesting situations and imaginary places – usually revolving around her castle (her house) and the deep, dense forest that spread out on three sides of the family’s property and beyond. As she became more into her teens, these fantasies changed to include more princes vying for her hand and such. Eva could spend hours lost in her own worlds.

Oh, she had friends from school, but she was quite happy to be by herself in her favorite place…the forest. To most people, it would be just wooded acreage. To Eva, though, it was a magical place where she could lose herself entirely in another world. Don’t get me wrong…Eva loved her family and enjoyed being with them. The forest, however, was an enchanting and magical place to her. It surrounded her with its familiar comforting presence and seemed to wrap its branches around her as though she was indeed a cherished part of her purple wonderland. After school, she couldn’t wait until the school bus dropped her off. Quite often, she would just stand and gaze at the trees, bushes, and beautifully colorful flowers. She would say hello to her mom, drop her schoolbag on a chair and say, “Back in an hour, mom! I’m going to the Purple Forest.”

“All right honey. Only an hour though. I want you to finish your homework before supper, okay?”

“Yes, mom, I will,” as she disappeared out the door. Eva was a good girl though. She would set the alarm on her watch for one hour and then forget all about it until it went off all too soon.

“Bye-bye Purple Forest,” Eva would sing out. “See you tomorrow.”

You may well be wondering why she called the woods behind their house “The Purple Forest”

To Eva, when the light was right, the sun seemed to glint off the trees in a certain way that made the shadows appear to be shades of lavender, violet, and lilac. She loved to sit and look at the forest and let her imagination roam freely. And, of course, she thrilled in meandering about the forest. She knew each tree, rock, and pathway. At least she thought she did…until one Saturday morning when she was skipping merrily among the trees, singing out loud. She tripped over a vine that crossed the path and hit her head against a stout old tree.

“Ow!”

Eva fell to the ground and lay there for what seemed a few minutes. She sat up, looked around and did not remember what had happened. All she knew was that she had a terrific headache, and she was covered in purple leaves and purple dirt.

Purple leaves? Purple dirt? What? She picked up a handful of earth and leaves and held it up to the light. It really was purple. How did that happen? Eva looked up at the trees. The whole forest was purple. Trees, rocks and…wait a minute, ‘Did I just see a purple bunny go hopping by?” It hopped away quickly as though her falling had scared it off. Looking up, she could not believe her eyes. All the birds were purple. What was going on?

“Oh my!’ she thought to herself. “What is happening?”

Eva jumped to her feet and was about to wend her way home when she sensed that someone or something was watching her. She glanced all around but did not see anyone or anything.

Then, a lovely young female voice said, “I think you should sit down and rest a little while, Eva.” Eva nearly jumped out of her skin. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone in her forest. Who could it be? She turned around. Sitting on a fallen log a few feet away was a beautiful girl who appeared to be about her own age except that she had pointy ears.

“How do you know my name?”

“I know all about you, Eva. My name is Elmurga. It is so nice to meet you finally.” The elfin girl, for that was what she was, wore a violet jacket and long dark purple breeches with soft, matching, pointy-toed shoes.

“I like your clothes,” said Eva.

“Thank you. I like yours, too. I have never seen such colors.”

“Why did you say ‘nice to meet you finally’? Have you seen me before?”

“Oh, many times. Ever since you moved into the house outside the forest. You are one of the few humans who has come into the forest and not tried to harm it in any way.”

“Do other people come here?”

“Other humans? Yes, sometimes. In the fall, hunters come in and try to kill the little animals like the rabbits and squirrels – maybe even some deer. Then, in wintertime, people driving noisy machines race along our pathways, mindless of animals that may be in the way. Sometimes they can be cruel, too. If they see an animal, they will often chase it. Until I saw you, I thought that all humans were heartless. I hated them. But you are different. You love the forest. I can feel that you have a good heart.”

Eva’s eyes ran up and down the elfin girl from head to toe. “So…like…if you are not human…what are you?”

“We think of ourselves just as people of the forest, but my father says humans call us elves. We don’t mind. To be regarded as an elf is a good thing in our eyes.”

“I have read a few books about elves. Mostly they are good but there can be some bad ones, too, can’t there…just like humans?”

“Unfortunately, there are a few, yes. Not many…but a few. They tend to live off by themselves because our people don’t regard them highly and they know it.”

“How many ‘elves’ live here in the forest?”

“Not many. Right now, just our family and one other. Maybe 10 of us all together.”

“How come I have never seen you before? I am in these woods practically daily.

“I know. We see you but you can’t see us. In fact, I don’t understand why you can suddenly see me today. I knew you could when you picked up the dirt and saw that it was purple.”

“Yeah. That was weird. Why was it purple?”

“Because it really is purple but we alter it otherwise humans would think it odd and probably destroy it.”

“But why is it purple? Do you know?”

“Yes, I do. You see, there is a pigment in the earth under this forest that is found nowhere else that we know of. It even causes the water to be purple. It tastes great. It is amazing, energizing and keeps you healthy. It is a dark purple pigment and is caused by…hmmm. Maybe I should not be telling you all this without talking to my father.”

“Maybe I can see you now because I tripped and bumped my head.”

“Yes, that is probably why. Does your head hurt?”

“I’ll say. It is pounding as though someone hit me with a tree.”

Elmurga laughed. She stood up, walked over to Eva and put one hand on either side of her head. Immediately Eva’s headache stopped.

“Wow! That was amazing! My headache is completely gone. Awesome!” They both laughed.

“Come with me, Eva. I will show you something that few humans have ever seen.” Elmurga took Eva’s hand and led her along an almost hidden path in the forest.

“I didn’t know there was a path here. I thought I knew them all.”

“Oh, I have watched you and you do know a lot of the human paths, but this is an elfin path. It has different dimensions and humans can’t usually see it.”

“Brilliant!”

The elfin path wound through the trees, past a large rock formation (that Eva had chosen to call the Stone Mountains), continued a while and then opened to a grassy patch about ten meters square. Elmurga led Eva to the center of the open patch and sat down on the grass. She urged Eva to do the same.”

“Father, it’s me. I have brought a friend to meet the family. Is that all right?

A deep, male voice filled the air. “Why have you brought a human here?”

“Father, if we are ever going to get along with the humans, we must try to understand them and encourage them to learn our ways.”

There was silence. To Eva’s surprise, six elves slipped out from behind trees, an older man, an elderly couple, another elfin man and two younger ones. They were all dressed in variations of purple jackets and pants that were similar in style to those Elmurga was wearing, though the color hues varied a little.

“Father, this is Eva, the girl we have talked about often.”

“Yes, I know”, said the oldest elf, sitting down opposite the two girls. “Hello, Eva. My name is Emlurn. I am the speaker for our group. So far, we have observed you and like what we see. Unlike many humans, you do no harm to the forest. Why do you enjoy being in the forest?”

“Why? Because it is beautiful and so full of life. The trees are majestic, and I like watching the animals scampering about – getting on with their busy lives. I love it here.”

“That is good to hear, Eva. How about your family? Do they love the Purple Forest as you do?”

“Ah… to be honest, I don’t know what to tell you. My dad and mom like to sit outside and look at it. They would never harm it. I know that. My little brother? I don’t even know if he knows it is here. He spends most of his time with his eyes glued to his computer games.”

“We have no idea what ‘computer games’ are.”

“Probably just as well. What I want to know is how getting a bump on my head had made me able to see you all? This is an amazing discovery for me. Maybe I should hit my head more often!”

The group of elves laughed. “I suspect that hitting your head somehow opened a part of your brain that humans forgot how to use centuries ago. By opening this, it has allowed you to see things that few other humans can. You are truly lucky, but you must be careful, for this insight can also be dangerous. I say that because, although I believe you have a pure heart, there are others who, should they discover your new ability, would exploit it for their own gain. That could mean the end of the forest people around the world.” He looked seriously at Eva.

“Oh, I would never let that happen. I promise I won’t tell anybody what I have seen or what I can see.”

“Hmmm. I believe you mean well, Eva. Did you know that you have a forest name? Eva was one of the first of our people a long time ago.”

“In our beliefs, Eve was the first woman.”

“Really? I did not know that. So, we may indeed share a common ancestry. Interesting…”

Just then, the alarm on Eva’s watch chimed. Eva looked down at it. “It is time for me to go home but I really would like to visit you again. Could I do that, please?” Eva looked pleadingly at Elmurga’s father.

“I would like that, too, father,” added his daughter, Elmurga.

“We don’t know if Eva’s new ‘gift’ – her ability to see the forest world – will remain with her or if it is only temporary.”

One of the younger elves piped in, “She may be all right until she bumps her head again.” They all laughed except Emlurn who held up his hand and waited until they had all quieted down.

“Unfortunately, Elenad is correct. That might be exactly what happens. Another knock on your noggin and your ability to see us may vanish completely. Perhaps even your ability to remember having seen us in the first place.

Eva looked shocked. “Oh, I hope not. That would be dreadful!” She looked seriously worried. “I shall be awfully careful. Maybe, I will have to wear a helmet all the time. That would not look fashionable, and I doubt if they would let me wear it in school. However, it would prevent me from bumping into trees and things, though honestly, I don’t do it often.”

Eva looked around the group. It was so nice to be there She felt truly amazed and privileged to be amid the forest people.

“I am so happy to have met you all. It would be a true disaster if I could never see you again. Why I would have to go around the forest each day bumping my head and hoping it would let me into your dimension again. What a frightful thought!”

She stood up and shook hands with each one in turn. Hugs all around, too. Then she looked around. “How do I get home from here?”

“I’ll come with you to the edge of the forest,” Elmurga offered, jumping to her feet. “But wait here a moment, please, Eva. I have something I want to give you.” She ran off into the forest, returning a few moments later holding a bracelet. She held it out to Eva. “I would like you to have this bracelet, Eva. If ever you lose the ability to find us, just rub the bracelet against your heart and we shall come to you.”

“What a wonderful gift! Thank you! Oh, thank you.”

“Now I feel sad because I don’t have anything to give you,” said Eva.

“You have given us human friendship and that is invaluable to me and to all the forest people. We need more friends of the Purple Forest and all the other forests in the world.”

The two girls were silent as they made their way along the narrow path, past the Stone Mountain formation and on to the edge of the forest. Eva could see her house. She turned and hugged Elmurga. “Will you be my friend, Elmurga?”

“If you will be my friend, Eva, I shall always be yours. Be careful though. Don’t bump your head again!”

Eva waved as she ran across the grass towards her house. She was careful not to stumble, fall and hit her head again.

@March 2021 Robert W. F. Taylor

This story was self-published on Amazon in 2019 in my book of Short Stories called ’24 Twistful Tales’. Amazon ASIN # 1076405754

Watch for Chapter 2…