The sounds of the bustling crowd within the town’s square was carried in the wind and faded into nothingness as the rustling of the trees surrounded the lone traveler instead while he unknowingly traversed deeper into the maze of branches and forestry. Whispering curses under his breath, an annoyed scowl was plastered on Izumi’s face as denial still flowed through his veins. There was no way he got lost. That was far from the truth! He’d never make a simple mistake like that so, as long as he kept going straight, then he’d be back in town in no time!

However, by this point, it was clear that he strayed far off the path and now he was paying the price for it.

The rays of sunlight barely seeped through the thick layer of leaves as Izumi struggled to keep his footing on the uneven terrain, causing him to embarrassingly stumble on a few stray roots here and there which only worsened his state of annoyance even more. His original task was simple: go into the forest and forage for some ingredients for dinner. He’s done this multiple times before but today everything seemingly went wrong.

Was the universe toying with him?

This forest in particular was known by the people as a natural maze as one wrong turn would cause you to never be seen again. In the distant past, many children and even adults alike would go missing the moment they stepped into the forest, leaving nothing to be discovered ever again, and this was the norm that the townsfolk had to live with throughout the centuries. Yet, on one particular day, a child was spotted coming back after their excursion through the forestry, leaving everyone perplexed. No matter how many times they were asked, the child would always give the same answer.

“Miss Witch helped me!”

Yet, their response was brushed aside as adults chalked it up to child-like wonder and imagination before things reverted back to normal. However, since then, when even more children went missing within the forest, they’ve somehow always returned. Every single one of them perpetuated the same exact story;

“Miss Witch helped us out.”

“Miss Witch took us back!”

“Miss Witch–” this and “Miss Witch–” that…

Now this was a strange phenomenon that spread across the town like a plague yet, the town's children were a tight-knit group, so it was easy to assume that they were all playing into a fabricated story, no matter how detailed they became. So, all their tales recounting their experience with the “witch” were, once again, brushed aside as mere imagination. Yet, this consensus could not explain the instances of adults relaying the same story.

They would return shocked, stating that the children were right all along as, not only the witch actually exists, but the description of the cottage that the witch resided in was so fantastical and unbelievable that the townsfolk began to believe that the forest was cursed, filled with a mysterious power that causes people to lose their touch with reality.

If one doesn’t get lost physically… The forest will reap its reward and cause one to lose their senses in the realm of reality instead.

After all… A witch living in a cottage made out of candy deep within the woods? What a joke.

As the years continued on, more and more people kept returning after their aimless wanders through the green labyrinth which created an eventual path used by the townsfolk when foraging for ingredients and supplies, the very same path that Izumi accidentally strayed off from…

His feet have been aching as he lost track of time, the shade encompassing his figure completely within the shroud of green and brown. Everything looked so familiar yet so different, disorienting him as he pushed forward, never stopping for even a moment until he finally saw an opening from the dense ferns in the distance, allowing him to breathe sigh in relief as his nightmare was finally over. Once he reaches that opening, he’ll be back by the edge of town and–