It was the fourth time I went outside at midnight. The moon cast its light on the tiny waves of the serene lake, creating a soft, shimmering glow on its surface. I never thought that an instance without the light of the sun would bring out such a placid ambience. The moist grass massaged my bare feet like pillows, and the wind stroked my hair, leaving traces of the vapors it had carried. I went near the lake, sat by a rock, and dipped my feet in its crystalline water.

I watched my willow dance its foliage along with the breeze. I used to stare at her, bathing in the golden rays of sunlight, but that was then. I must get used to this moonlit, midnight landscape.

It was the incident that made my mother, the Ethereal Master, the life-giver of us, decide to shift my daylight regimen to nighttime. I was outside, sauntering in the blossoms of Hyacinthoide. The herd of ghost moose charged through as though they’ve been chased by an unknown predator. Intrigued, I headed in the direction they were fleeing from, prepared to confront whatever had caused this commotion. There was nothing to be seen besides the broken twigs, leaves, and branches from shrubs the moose had trampled through. What could’ve scared them this much?

Looking back to the early days when we first settled in this haven, there had never been instances of attacks from any form of assailant. The Ethereal Master always has everything within the clasp of her fist. Not an inch in this entire niche was left unexamined. I traced my path back to my willow tree. I could not afford to leave her, and if anything happened, I wouldn’t forgive myself. She looked unharmed, thankfully, the herd hadn’t run this way. Otherwise, she would’ve had broken branches and twigs, and her leaves would have fallen off. What a nightmare!

The draping foliage that hung over the lake crackled, yet it wasn’t from the wind or the thundering herd. I went to examine it, and a figure appeared from behind them. It stood upright much like me; the features on its countenance were similar to mine but in a different fashion. The hair was strangely cropped short. The clothes were different—it wore a piece of clothing tailored to fit its limbs. This creature was the exact figure the Ethereal Master had always feared. They were called hunters. The creatures we should be wary of. Perhaps my sisters had already sensed his presence. The truth is, we have seen two of them before, and we studied them from our nook. We scrutinized their movements, their character, and their nature. They were wanderers, moving around with a careful gaze, silently observing, like night owls hunting their prey. Innocuous yet could potentially pose a threat. Could this be the predator that chased down the moose? The Ethereal Master always cautioned us about the gleaming, sharp stones they held in their hands. But this one bore none; instead, it held a blossom in its hand. 

“Pardon me, I did not mean any harm.” He extended the blossom towards me. “Please accept it, a peace offering from a friend.”

I had more than enough blossoms to soak my senses. “That is so nice of you, but I am not in need of a blossom.”

“Isn’t it wonderful that the first time I saw you, I knew I was looking at a dream that I never knew could be real. You enchanted both my dream and reality.”

It amused me that this creature could speak, yet he spoke of words with no flesh. “You must be mistaken.”

“I mean what I said. Come with me. We can live together, and I can offer you a better life.”

“No, I cannot do that.” Why should I leave my haven and come along with a hunter lurking behind my willow? How could anyone contemplate such a thought?

“Please, my soul yearns to be near you.”

His voice was gentle, and his words were spoken softly, but the master had cautioned us about their deceptive nature. Their harmless and docile appearance concealed a beastly core. Fortunately, he never inflicted harm and quickly left, as I told him I could not leave this place. We cannot go somewhere else. Our boundaries were fixed. The master declared that we must remain here. Nevertheless, his encounter jeopardized my haven’s secrecy. The possibility of his return loomed, and Master could not tolerate that risk. She came up with a clever plan and gave me a mandate: to conceal myself during daylight and come only when the sun was out, a time when the hunters never roamed. They only came in clear daylight; they immediately left as soon as the night fell. Perhaps it’s their nature, how their masters created them.

I never knew what the night looked like until that incident happened. There were glittering gems adorned in the sky and a moon that replaced the bright sunshine with its bluish-yellowish-pale glow that I hadn’t known. The stillness of the moment, the soft aroma exhaled by the earth, the gentle swaying of the Myosotis buds that folded their petals like birds nestling their wings for a nap. The refuge it offered was unlike any other. The night is a different kind of solace. I could bask in the lake’s soothing water and wander in the meadow without the watchful eyes of hunters. I once dreamed of this, I never knew it could happen. May the Ethereal Master grant me this sanctuary for a long time.

I got out of the water and embraced the cool grass beneath me as I stretched out to view the stars and the serene glow of the moon. His words echoed in my mind, “Please, my soul yearns to be near you.” Hunters were more complex than I had ever imagined. That encounter had revealed yet another layer of their character. I found myself longing for more interactions with them. Perhaps through this, I might gain a clearer view of their nature and the world they roam. However, it was a possibility that may never happen. I was forbidden to go out in daylight, forever taken away from their reach. Yet, this constraint also protected me from harm’s way, and I’ve come to embrace it. I’d rather be here. I’d rather be at night, where I could be alone and all carefree.

I laid there and let the tranquil atmosphere flow through me when the ground beneath resonated with a faint sound. I pressed my ear to the earth, and there were sounds of footsteps from afar, crushing the crisp, sunbaked leaves on the ground. Could it be the moose? Yet, moose rarely ventured out during the night. Perhaps it was a fox or a deer. I shifted my gaze to the moon, absorbing its peace. Nonetheless, the sound continued to persist, seeping deeper into my thoughts. It grew slower and louder with each passing moment. It was not a casual saunter of a wild creature. Rather, it was a deliberate step taken for a purpose.

I stood and watched where the footsteps were heard. There, I saw a figure materializing from the shadows, like a living nightmare unfolding before my eyes—it was the hunter. How did he get here at such an hour?

It wasn’t the same hunter at the last incident. He was bolder and tougher in the way he stood. In his hand, he clutched not a blossom but a stone weapon, with its sharp edges gleaming in the moonlight.

His voice was not gentle when he spoke, “Come with me, lady.”

“No, I won’t. Leave me alone.” I felt a pain hitting my stomach. I knew Master knew this was happening, and she could do something, but I couldn’t feel the solace I was once filled with.

“You must come with me,” he said in his threatening voice.

“I said I would not leave this place. Please go,” I managed to say in between my trembling lips.

“Why do you refuse? You’ll make a good wife in my fine home. Just come along with me,” he said, wearing his mischievous smile.

Gathering every last fragment of strength left within me, I exclaimed, “No! You cannot force me to do that. I cannot leave this place.” Where had Master gone? I couldn’t be certain if this hunter would ever leave me at all.

He remained silent, and a heavy pause settled between us. His eyes bore into mine, as though it had pierced deep into my soul. His presence was unlike any others I had seen. I couldn’t help but question my past assumptions. I could have been mistaken all along. This hunter had intruded into my haven amidst the night. What else could he do? I thought of my haven—the lake, the moon and stars, my willow, everything of my cherished refuge—and how all this could be taken away from me. I couldn’t quite grasp. The night was my peace, the night was my serenity, the night was my sanctuary.

“One final question. Your only last chance. Will you come with me?” he demanded, tightening his grip on his stone weapon.

“I told you I could not.”

“Then you’ve left me with no choice,” he said as he took a step and raised his stone weapon. An unpleasant chill quivered through my spine. This could never be true.

“No!” I watched him as his weapon plunged deep into my willow’s trunk. He struck it over and over. I could almost feel my skin being torn to pieces. With each blow, my willow lost fragments of its strength. The tree fell from where it stood, crashing into the lake, and shattering the silence of the night. Its once lush foliage bathed in the waters of the lake. The crickets wailed upon its death. My soul faded upon its death.

I stood frozen in horror, unable to tear my gaze away from the tragic event. I couldn’t comprehend the depths of despair that washed over me. It had been such a long time since I had spent my life under the sheltering embrace of my willow tree; since the day the Ethereal Master brought me to this haven. I once believed that in this sanctuary, no evil could ever follow me. The Master had taken me here in search of safety, and for a while, it felt like an impenetrable fortress protecting me from the outside world. The pain I felt slowly morphed into anger, and I clenched my fists. I longed to scream out all the anguish and despair that had welled up within me, but the words caught in my throat, leaving me voiceless. I wanted to lash out, but I couldn’t find my strength. I was weak and helpless in the face of this unexpected calamity. The night, once my sanctuary, now felt like a cruel joke as I stood there broken beside the fallen willow. My world had crumbled before my eyes, and I was left with nothing but the fragments of a shattered existence.

“Now you have no reason to stay.” He seized my arm, and I followed him to the mossy path. My feet were numb from the rapid steps I had to take to keep up with his brisk pace. Then I completely couldn’t feel them. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, and I felt my body hitting the cushion of thick moss that blanketed the solid ground.

The hunter bent his knee to reach for my arm. When he touched me, his hand twitched. “What’s happening?” he blurted out.

I took a glance and saw my arms losing color, translucence covering my skin. They feel so light, almost weightless, as if my flesh was decaying. I was confused as he was, yet I knew, deep within my mind, this was something I should anticipate. They turned transparent and slowly fractured little by little, until they started drifting away, following the wind like ashes.

I looked into the hunter’s eyes. I could tell there was a tint of fear washing over him. Slowly, his eyes blurred; everything became blurred and hazy. I might have been covered in mist. I wanted to believe that until this heavy mist slowly began to fade into nothing. It collapsed into total darkness.

We were never meant to go far from the haven. I was never meant to leave my willow tree, my source of being.

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