CHAPTER 2:

Hayley's eyes fluttered open and her stomach dropped as adrenaline pumped through her. Blood started racing to her legs as she prepared to run as far away from the mysterious scratching at her window as possible. All the possible scenarios of what could be outside her house started to rush through her head. She pushed past a series of mythical monsters that were stored away in her mind and could usually only be accessed at the least of necessary times, such as when she was trying to fall asleep in her dark bedroom, or when she was home alone; and she finally settled on the fact that it was probably just her cat trying to get in from a long night of pestering neighbours and tormenting the guineapig that lives next door.

Honestly, she attempted to sooth herself, you're getting worked up over your cat? Pathetic! Think of Dean and Sam Winchester who have to fight REAL monsters! The 'Dean and Sam Winchester' speech was quite a commonly reoccurring one for Hayley to chant in her mind as a sort of mantra. She lifted herself out of bed whilst quietly mouthing to herself, "Dean Winchester…" She slung her dressing gown over her white nightdress that clung to her frail form. "Dean Winchester…" With fragile fingers, Hayley gently grasped the brass doorhandle and twisted it to be rewarded with a satisfying click. "Dean Winchester…" She entered the hallway and took a deep breath whilst taking in the appearance of the front door. The wooden slab that blocked her off from the outside world was coated in a crackle of white paint that had yellowed over time. It was meticulously detailed with small carvings of a forest scene, and a fox's face for the door handle. Her hand closed around the fox's head as she twisted it circularly, with a final projection of her mantra, "Dean Winchester!"

The door swung open to reveal her front porch empty, apart from the splatter of mismatching outdoor furniture. Hayley was both relieved and perplexed by the apparent emptiness of the porch. And then she noticed it. A tree. A thick willow with knobbly limbs and thin, silvery strands of hair was crouching over her porch and tickling at her window. Hayley stared; utterly bewildered on how the willow had sprung up overnight, when she noticed three apple trees were cheerfully blossoming in her front garden, showing off an array of plump, red apples. Small robins bounced boisterously from the different limbs of the youthful fruit trees, and sang melodically as they flaunted their acrobatic skills. Hayley noticed a thick strip of grassy moss leading down to the front garden, and, still in a discombobulated frame of mind, began to follow the trail down to the garden to explore the phenomenon. The moss beneath her bare feet was springy and dewy, as if it were the dawn of a new morning, and as she followed the trail, more trees began to wiggle their roots into the soil and position themselves nicely in her garden.

I must be dreaming… Hayley tried to convince herself, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it was all too real – she could see the trees and flowers appearing all around her, she could hear a distant stream somewhere, she could feel the cool moss beneath her feet occasionally giving way as she padded along. As the new world around her was becoming more and more clear the further she went, her house was slowly becoming more vague and distant, much like how gentle waves on the beach slowly tear away at any sand castles within their reach. It was as if she were stepping into another dimension or bursting through the walls of a perception filter. Hayley knew she should have been feeling nervous, but her sense of adventure and excitement was flooding through her brain and sweeping over and swallowing up any other emotions that tried to push through. As her feet carried her forwards, the cement floor suddenly exploded into a thick, bright carpet of green grass with the occasional head of a peppy flower flopping through.

Hayley was suddenly enveloped in a forest of trees and splurges of dappled sunlight. Oaks and ashes, pines and firs, all surrounded her along with the occasional tangle of brambles or ivy climbing up the bases of the thicker trees. She could hear a stream in the distance, the soft tinkle of flowing water over rocks, and decided to follow it. Several meters up, there was a clearing of trees where the golden sunlight could wiggle its way through the revealing crack and shine down on the steadily moving water. White lilies sprouting golden tufts from their centres bobbed absentmindedly in the water, dragonflies darting from one another, chasing each other through the sky. Hayley began to walk towards the clearing along the river to see if she could get her bearings and find out where she was, when she heard someone lightly singing. Hastily, she ducked down behind the choked base of a tree that was strewn with ivy, and slowly started to edge her way towards the melodic tune. Hayley leant over the edge of the riverbank to see a beautiful woman with long, golden hair like the sunlight, dressed in a rich olive-green dress. The woman was sitting in the shallows collecting water lilies while quietly humming a tune to herself, similar to what the birds sing to each other. Hayley watched how as the woman wandered through the stream collecting flowers, and how delicately she had pushed a handful of wavy, golden hair behind her ear before returning to the water flowers. Hayley's decision on whether to approach the strange woman or not, was made for her when she heard a man coming towards the river calling out "Goldberry" (which she assumed must be the name of the fairy-like woman, as she answered to it), and the woman gently hoisted herself from the glistening water to go and meet the man. Hayley decided that she would follow the stream to see if it collected into a large lake or dam where she might find someone to ask for directions.