Emily twirled through the forest, her waist-length sheet of dark brown hair flying wildly behind her. She sang to herself, a wordless song that carried no real tune, but was beautiful all the same.

She loved the forest; it was her favorite place above all else. She enjoyed the lush green trees and wildly over-grown vegetation. She took in her surroundings in all their glory as she danced through the trees. There were many twisting paths in these woods, but Emily had a good sense of direction on which she relied frequently.

At only thirteen, Emily was tall and very skinny. She had ghostly pale skin, but pretty features. Her pale skin and thin frame made her look extremely delicate, and she really was so, despite her efforts to be strong. She had huge, sparkling eyes that carried an odd trait – they changed color with her emotion.

Admittedly, she found them to be pretty cool, and loved their uniqueness. However, being one who preferred to keep her feelings locked up inside, she disliked that they gave others the ability to so easily read her thoughts. She had taught herself to change them at will, and often kept them stony gray – the hardest color to read. At the moment, however, her eyes were a soft shade of gray with flecks of gold to show how relaxed she was in the woodland setting.

She wore an ankle-length, powder blue skirt and a white tank top. It was an unusually warm day in October, and she was taking full advantage of the nice change in temperature. Her feet were bare, as usual, and they felt good against the soft soil that covered the forest floor.

Her eyes were closed and a small, contented smile touched her lips as she continued to dance and sing.

Suddenly, her toes felt a root, and her ankle caught on it. Her eyes opened, and she let out a small shriek as she fell to the ground.

"Owww…" she said, rubbing her ankle. She stood and brushed the dirt from herself. Once she was satisfied with the cleanliness of her skirt, she looked up and gasped at the sight that greeted her eyes.

She stood in the center of a ring of tall trees, but these were not normal trees…Each had what looked to be a painting on it. There was one with a heart and another with a shamrock. She continued to look around and realized that these paintings represented holidays. Of course! There was one with an Easter egg, and one with a Christmas tree. Finally, Emily's gaze came to the tree that she immediately took to be her favorite – Halloween. A large Jack-O-Lantern was painted onto this one.

She couldn't believe what she'd found. It was all so amazing. She stepped toward the Christmas tree one, and on closer examination realized that it was not a painting, but a door! All of them were doors, and being curious girl she was, she obviously wasn't going to leave them unopened.

She stepped over to the Jack-O-Lantern tree, and placed her hand lightly on the knob. She looked around cautiously, and once she was satisfied that no darts were going to fly out of booby traps, turned the doorknob. The Jack-O-Lantern swung open from the tree with ease, and Emily peered inside.

"Hmm…" she said thoughtfully, her voice echoing around the inside of the tree. This was all so strange, she decided she had better go home to find some useful supplies, then come back and examine the doorway more carefully, before stepping inside. She turned to go, but suddenly felt a breeze stirring through the trees. She let the soft wind caress her cheeks, basking in their gentleness. Then suddenly the breeze turned much harder. Her hair and skirt whipped around her. She felt herself stumbling backwards, and then she was swallowed up by the blackness inside of the Halloween Tree. She screamed as she fell through the darkness, wondering where in the world she would end up.