Daylight's glow came slowly over the green hills, and with it came the singing of the birds and the frantic rush of the little critters that could be found anywhere from the ground all the way up in the treetops, and most noticeably, the loud chirping of numerous grasshoppers everywhere.
Frost covered the grass all over the meadow, which was to be expected in late Spring's chilly mornings, though, that meant one thing was going to be known for the rest of the day. It was going to be a hot day; and, unfortunately for the season, one particular young lady loathed hot days.
She opened her window in hopes of cooling down her heating room, but the moment she did, she sneezed harshly. Oh, yes, she seemed to have forgotten already. It was still pollen season.
She sighed as she wiped her nose with her index finger. She didn't even bother getting ready for the day, knowing she wasn't going out today. Not that it made any difference regardless since her home was in good distance of any other, one of the reasons her days were usually spent alone, distance giving her few chances to make friends. Not having many people to do things with or to talk to didn't bother her so much, though she feels it should sometimes. It's not that she had a dislike for people, oh no, quite the contrary; she truly wanted people in her life she could trust and talk to, in fact, there are few things she wanted more. It's just that sometimes it doesn't seem worth the pressure of starting the friendship. She thought too much of what she may be saying wrong and overthought everything, it was nearly impossible for her to enjoy the presents of others. Spring was especially hard for her, because, while every other child and adolescent are outside, enjoying the nice weather and beautiful atmosphere, she couldn't walk outside at all without sneezing so much, her nose hurt. It didn't help that this also happened to be a very hot day. At least she knew she wasn't the only one unhappy now.
She had closed the window, deciding that allergies were worse than heat. She was able to find things to do for a little while, but it wasn't hard to get bored in her mostly empty home.
She hadn't worry long, though, as a small squirrel-like creature caught her attention outside of the window. She was so perplexed by the little creature as she'd never seen such a small squirrel-like critter. Why, it was so small, she was sure it would very easily fit into the palm of her hand. Suddenly, she gasped as she created a completely new idea. A pet is what she needed! Animals don't judge, and they are completely loyal and trustworthy. A pet is a friend she could have!
She slowly walked to her window, frightening them being the last thing she wanted. The critter didn't move from where it was, fortunately, and looked just as curious as the girl did.
She gave them a wave and a smile when she made it to the window, very happy the animal wasn't frightened of her. Maybe she would finally make a friend today! She had hoped for a friendly response back, but the creature only gave her the same curious look. She sighed as she looked down at her hands resting on the window stand. If she was going to do this, she was going to have to be in closer contact, even if it might cause a stuffy nose.
She immediately regretted her decision, because, as soon as she opened the window, the critter took off running.
"No! Wait!" she gasped, the large dose of air causing her to cough. She climbed out of her window in a heartbeat and started chasing the animal. She continued sneezing along the way, sometimes faltering her running pace.
"Where did you go?" She frowned. Soon enough, she lost them completely, but she continued to search for them, though it was highly unlikely she would be able to find them in such a vast forest. "Oh, you don't have to hide from me!"
"Well, if you insist." The girl almost screeched from the unexpected noise. It was coarse and gravelly, though she could still tell it was a woman. She hastily looked around for the direction of the voice but saw no one. She held her hands close to her chest nervously and could feel her own blood rushing from her face and her heart beating from fear. She lost her own voice in the process.
"You look like you've seen a witch," the same voice said. Then, out of the shadows came the strangest thing the girl's ever seen. It was a woman, a very old one by the look of it, with a strange sense of style, with a very big nose, and holding a single cane to support her. But none of that was the most remarkable thing about her. Oh, no, not even by a bit.
It was that she seemed only about one foot tall!
"Well, now you have." The old woman cackled to herself.
The silence that followed after seemed like forever. She had nothing to say, could say nothing from sheer shock. The Witch, as she called herself, did not look surprised as she did, but only gave her what she could only see as a scowl. Was that just her face? Truthfully, she could not tell.
"Now, care to tell me what you're doing here?" The Witch finally spoke. The girl was still surprised, but the Witch seemed harmless enough for the most part, so she hesitantly replied.
"I was trying to find someone- er, something." She felt very embarrassed, feeling very silly for not only her height, but also for choosing to go this far to catch an animal, but, of course, she wouldn't tell anybody that's what happened.
"Well, I find it very odd you went to search for them in here," she remarked. The girl felt her cheeks turn hot, looking away, not wanting the Women to see how nervous she was. She's probably going to catch on anyway...
After no other comments said by The Witch, like she hoped would happen, she felt the pressure to respond. After swallowing the silva that had built up in her mouth from anticipating and gathering herself together, she said, "how so?" she unnoticeably cringed. That came out a lot shakier than she had hoped…
"Well, I've never seen anyone walking around in these woods, and certainly no one like you." The girl almost gasped when a possibility clicked in her head. She jerked he head to The Witch.
"You live here?" she suddenly gasped. She was tempted to just start running away, the possibility of coming across somewhere someone lives being very embarrassing, but The Witch dismissed that immediately with a wave of her hand.
"No, no, stop being dramatic, I live here, but these woods aren't mine." That made her a little more relieved, but she was still embarrassed about being near someone else's living place.
"But even so, it's not often I find anyone of your nature in here." She would assume The Witch was talking about her size, but she didn't seem caught off guard by it at all, so she could assume she must be talking about something else, she just didn't know what.
"May I ask why that is?" The girl hesitated. She wasn't sure if that was a stupid question.
"Well, young lady, you're in the exact forest folks like to call the 'Forest of Witches', in fact."
"But you are a Witch yourself, aren't you?"
"Indeed, I am, but it'll best you leave now, I don't want any children interrupting my work."
"Oh." The girl's previous embarrassment returned, and she turned away when she felt her face heat up again. "Alright then." She began to walk away, but she didn't make it very far before she realized…she didn't know where she was going. She had been so focused on catching the animal, she completely didn't think of taking the time to remember where she had previously been, so she was completely lost.
She twisted her hands around awkwardly, discussing in her mind what she should do. It didn't take her long to come to the conclusion she really only had one option. She took a breath. "I don't actually know…where my home is…"
She heard The Witch's footsteps come to a halt (she had surprisingly large sounding footsteps for such a short person). "Well, then, how did you make it here before?"
"I don't know—I can't really…um…" She knew she couldn't really know; everything looked so similar to her, though she wasn't sure how to say that.
The Witch shook her head. "That was a very foolish thing you did." The girl felt her face heat up once again, and she turned her head away in shame. This was too much.
The Witch, seeing her genuine worry, sighed. "But I may be able to help you," she nodded. The girl lit up. She smiled happily. "But, first, I think I need to take care of your very unusual size."
"What are you planning on doing?" The Witch took her to where she lived and had gone in without telling her what she was doing. The girl wanted to come in as well, but, of course, the house was so small, she would have to squat all the way to be able to fit.
The Witch did not answer her, and the girl became worried that she possibly shouldn't have said that, in fear of sounding ungrateful and impatient. She didn't have to wait very long, however as it didn't take much time to come back outside. She had an open book in her hand while coming out, but right after, she closed it and brought it to her side.
"It's been a long time since I had to cast a spell like this, but I can still do it perfectly, I'm sure." The girl gasped, not expecting that (of course, she knew it was obvious now, since the old lady is a Witch after all), but before she could say anything, The Witch spoke what sounded like gibberish the girl, and she watched as the ground got closer and closer, and The Witch gets bigger and bigger.
"Oh dear, oh dear!" she gasped. Not many things made her have such a reaction, but it was such a big surprise, and she had so many questions.
"There, that should make things a little easier for you now," The Witch said proudly. Now, this girl wasn't one to cause a scene, especially in front of people who are more or less strangers, and she did truly try to hold back as much as she could, but…
"Why would you do that?" she hadn't meant to sound so offended, but that's really just how it came out.
"Well, I only did because your original size was much too big for you to even come into my house, I don't know how you expect me to help you without changing that," she defended confidently. The girl thought perhaps she may have been or just simply sounded too judgmental, but she was still very worried, having never experienced something like that.
"How am I supposed to go back to normal? You can do that, can't you?" she asked, trying to sound the least alarmed as she could.
The Witch narrowed her eyebrows. "But of course, I can! You think I would do something that extreme if I didn't know how to reverse it?" The Girl adverted her eyes away shamefully. Of course, it was very clear that The Witch was very offended by that statement; still, that queasy feeling didn't go away.
"…Are you sure?" she asked timidly. She just wanted herself to feel better.
"Absolutely. Now, come inside, I think I know what to do with you."
The house was surprisingly cozy and warm for a Witch's house, though she was still very unsure what to do, not used to being in other people's homes. She didn't sit down, and instead simply looked down at her feet. She did tear her eyes away from her feet after a while of getting more comfortable and got curious. She looked around the room (still standing in the same place, of course), and although it wasn't the most interesting place, she could appreciate the simplicity of it. The only thing remarkable that she did notice was stairs that lead up to a small room.
"Is that your room?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly. She knew the question was a little silly, but the atmosphere was starting to get awkward for her.
"Not mine, but my Granddaughter's."
"Oh." She tried to not sound surprised when she heard that; not at all was she expecting her to have descendants.
"She's not here though, and she's probably not going to be back until much later either." The Witch added.
"Why?" Another thing said she figured could be taken the wrong way. Why was talking to strangers so hard?
"She's been practicing her Witchcraft all day today by the beach." The Girl nodded, very happy her one-word question wasn't rude after all. Practicing Witchcraft must also be something that runs in the family, how interesting. She began to wonder if all Witches looked like the one she was talking to now, and if young ones look just like she does, just like regular human beings. Maybe she would be able to meet her Granddaughter and see for herself eventually.
"Now, about you," The Witch started. "You're absolutely certain you don't know your way home?"
The Girl nodded confidently.
"Well then-" The Witch put her book back on one of her shelves. "-I know of a family I think would be more than welcome to give you a place to stay in the meantime." The Girl gasped. "They're very friendly to the point where it's absolutely disgustingly sweet, but I think a polite young woman like you would fit in right along." The Girl smiled shyly at the compliment, despite how odd it was phrased. She didn't think her timid personality could be considered polite, but at least she didn't seem rude, she supposed.
The Witch told her she should leave as soon as possible, as she didn't want her to stay longer than she had to. She must be getting tired of a stranger invading her personal space, which was completely understandable, and she wanted from the beginning to get out of her hair right after she had a plan.
The Witch told her the directions to the house, and she decided to go right then and there. She started out the door but stopped herself right before closing the door. It was rude to simply leave like that…
"Thank you for helping me," she said bashfully, but truthfully. From the corner of her eye, she saw The Witch nod and gestured for her to continue on, and she did.
Suddenly, she felt very alone. She could hear birds singing everywhere around her, and for a moment they seemed to be mocking her. The Girl clenched her fists and tried to remember not to let silly things like that bother her. With that, she started walking forward.
I hope I don't make a fool of myself when I get there.
If you would have told me a year from now that I was going to one day eventually write an 'x Reader' story, I would've laughed at you, but here I am now. I've been working so hard lately with so many things, I thought it would be nice to take a little break to work on something less stressful but also something I'm passionate about. What better to do to share my love for Snufkin with other people who do as well?