Over the rolling hills and across the fine silver ribbon of a river, there began the forest. It stood tall, taller than any forest on the entire planet. When the sun was hardly ready to set it already was poked by the bristly tree tops. Even in the harshest winters when the rest of the world was laden with chilly white this forest remained green as emeralds.

This was partly due to the fact that it hosted the only remaining magical beings left. As humans moved in and settled, many were either killed or hidden away in the earth. The genteel spirits of the water dove deeper into lakes and settled at the bottom. The hostile rock spirits and trolls grumbled in discontent as they blended into their caves or built mountains atop them.

Some distance before the forest there was a small village. Only one hundred people lived in it. It was in the shape of a circle—the outer ring being ports, inside that there were houses, and on the inside the merchants and shops dwelled. Closest to the forest the young man named Tino lived.

He shared a home with his two cousins. After his previous expedition into the forest, he returned home with a brown bag of berries he had collected just before exiting the outer perimeters.

The older of the brothers looked toward him with stoic eyes. His lips were thin and drawn in permanent displeasure. His hair was golden blonde and long, pushed back by a clip in the shape of a cross. He looked at the bag that Tino had dropped on the table and picked it up. Opening it, a small line between his eyebrows appeared.

"Something wrong, Lukas?" Tino asked timidly.

"You only managed to get berries." Lukas stated, picking it up and setting it in a basin filled with cold water.

"I was unable to hunt," Tino replied. He pulled up a wooden chair and sat on it. A length of cloth covered the seat of it, so as not to poke splinters in the rump of the sitter.

"Did you run into that 'mysterious object' again?" Lukas asked, rolling up the sleeves of his coarse shirt and washing the berries free of dirt and possible parasites. He discovered a bruised berry and picked it up, tossing it into a waste basket.

Tino softly replied in the positive.

"Winter is coming," Lukas said gravely. He spoke as though he were Tino's elder, and not the contrary which also happened to be the truth. "We need some meat. It will sustain us much longer than these tiny fruits."

"I understand that," Tino said, his voice rising in pitch.

The door swung open, bringing with it a faint trace of cool autumn air. At the door was Lukas's younger brother: Emil. Emil hardly resembled his brother. His hair was shorter and silvery, his face pale and spotted with freckles gained from being in the sun for too long, and his legs were thicker than his brother's. The final fact could not have been noticed at the moment, however, because he wore brown fabric that sagged at his thighs and knees and was partially hidden by a cloak.

In his hand was a basket containing light green cabbages and gnarled carrots. He set it down on the table in front of Tino wordlessly and left to the other half of the house. The house they lived in was just as impoverished as the other villager's. When Tino lived in it alone it was spacious and comfortable and all at once that changed when the brothers came in. It was divided into two sections: a bedroom and everything else. The two rooms were divided by a thin wall. Tino could hear Emil rustling around and pulling off his shoes. Emil would not leave the home again for the day.

"Tomorrow I'll go again. This time if I find this creature I'll kill it!" Tino declared, curling his fingers into a fist. He was lying, though. He doubted he could even harm the being.

"It's probably a wolf or bear," Lukas said gruffly, picking up the basin of berries and pouring the dirty water into another barrel. "If you kill it take its hide. In fact, bring the entire thing over. A bear's meat is edible and we could make use of everything else. If you don't want its hide we can sell it for a nice price."

"And if it's not?"

Lukas laughed a dry, unhappy laugh. "What else could it be? I doubt an elk could scare you so much."

"But what if it's a spirit or creature?"

"Tino, do you really believe in such asinine tales?"

As the population of fantastical creatures lessened so did the amount of people who believed in them. The sightings grew less frequent and now it was only the elderly people who told the tales to young children to entertain them and keep them sitting still. The belief had nearly evaporated before the eyes of new generations that those who set up this village by the forest did not know it had inhabitants. Those who saw traces of frolicking fairies and what not would dismiss them as their imaginations fooling around. Lukas was one of the people who vehemently disagreed with even the retelling of such tales. Emil remained silent on his opinion.

Tino was quite different. He took the beings to be genuine. In his heart he believed that they did exist and that they had gone into hiding from the dirty human beings.

"Well, perhaps I do," Tino began to argue in a wavering voice.

Emil returned and sat down by Tino, keeping his silence intact. Emil's nose was crimson and his cheeks were pink from being outside. He had gone into the inner network of the town to buy supplies. Since Lukas was the only one to manage to find a well-paying job they had to all pull their weight when winter came. Tino tried many times to find another job after an accident had cost him his previous one. Lukas worked in the fish trading business and scarcely mentioned it. Emil was still seeking something to do.

"Emil?" Tino asked softly, to change the subject.

Emil looked up curiously. He was silent, but hardly unintelligent or mistrustful. He quite enjoyed company but dislike speaking when it was not necessary.

"How are you?" Tino could not find a better question to pose.

Emil shrugged.

"Are you still thinking of enlisting as a soldier?" Lukas asked, not even bothering to keep the worry out of his voice.

Emil nodded. "I feel indebted to their service. I should fight some."

"As you like," Lukas said and began to sort the produce Emil had brought in.

Tino stood up and helped Lukas. Afterwards they decided to make dinner. It ended up being a watery cabbage soup. Neither of them were good cooks.

Emil and Lukas came to live with Tino through some very unfortunate circumstances. The best place to begin is at the very start of trouble: when their house burned down. Emil and Lukas were still young children who were still trying to understand that there was more to the earth than their town. Their mother perished in the flood of flames, leaving the two with their father. The father was a soldier and had to leave the children, so they remained with their elderly and withering aunt. Tragedy struck again and their father was lost. His location was still unknown. Many suggested that he had perished and been so mutilated that no one could identify them. So the children stayed with their aunt until she became quite fed off and sent them to their eldest cousin: Tino.

Tino thought about this misadventure while he lay in bed: a long and tough mattress that had to be shared among all three of them. He remained awake for most of the night, starting to fall asleep by the time Emil did his habitual routine of waking up and wandering around the house in a half-sleeping daze.

The next day Tino slung his travelling cloak on and ventured into the forest again. The wind was stronger that day, throwing him off balance several times. When he entered the warmer inside of the forest he rested, enjoying the shelter the trees provided from the incessant wind.

He was successful; catching three rabbits and several squirrels. He set them in his sack and, deciding that he still had quite a bit of time to kill until Lukas would return home and Emil would begin to wonder, meandered through the forest.

He reached the barren circle again and found another creature there. This time it was a blue bird, its tail feathers longer than its tiny, spherical body. Its head twitched in Tino's direction, as though inviting him to come closer.

Its innocence resounded so that Tino did approach, holding out his hand. "Come on, dear, I won't hurt you," he said softly, edging closer. At that moment scratchy hands grabbed his wrist and scruff, tugging him upwards. A peal of terror escaped him in the form of a screech. The ground became smaller and smaller under him. A sudden fear of heights gripped his heart and turned his stomach to water. He launched upwards at such speeds that he needed to shut his eyes.

In a moment it was over. He was on the topmost branches of a tree, quaking in the wind. Cold air bit at his nape.

"Who are y-you?" Tino stammered, opening his eyes slowly.

He met the strong-jawed, broad face of a woodland spirit.

Tino gawked, starting to scoot back and nearly fall over. He gripped the slender branches behind him for support, his knees wobbly. The creature did not smile. His dark blue lips were unmoving. The whites of his eyes stood out like rings between green skin and hazel eyes. His hair was wispy, the color of snow, and cropped short. He wore nothing but a leafy material.

"Who are you?" Tino repeated, comforted that he was still alive.

"Berwald," the spirit said in an accented, but clear voice. When he parted his lips he revealed bright white teeth. "And you are Tino, correct?"

"Yes… How do you know? Oh—oh!" Tino beamed excited, "You are the being I kept running into these past three times!"

Shyly, Berwald nodded, his eyes flashing black as soil.

"Why did you scare me like that?" Tino asked gently, relinquishing his grasp on the tree with one hand and grabbing Berwald's bark-like fingers, pressing them.

"I wanted to speak with you. I was afraid to."

"Why are you afraid of me? I'm hardly scary at all!"

Berwald looked at Tino's fingers, clamped around his own. His skin felt hot and tingly where Tino's fingers pressed. "I was afraid of you seeing me," he said at length.

In the two hours Tino spent with the spirit, he learned quite a bit about him. Berwald was an indefinite amount of years old. He did not remember how old he was in numbers but knew that when he was a little sprouting the trees were shorter than he was. He was one of the remaining forest spirits and it was his task to keep them alive and thriving and to heal them whenever they fell ill.

There were other spirits in the forest, but they were not even a tenth of the original amount. Berwald relayed this fact with great sorrow so that Tino felt tears spring up in his eyes.

"My cousin doesn't believe in you," Tino said.

"We have been hidden for so long. I do not disagree with your cousin." Berwald nodded.

Tino asked to see another being, if that was at all possible. Timidly, Berwald rejected the offer. "If you come again then perhaps will I show you."

The sun was beginning to set; staining the clouds gathered around it a blood color. Berwald hoisted Tino up in his arms and quickly launched himself downwards, landing catlike. He set Tino down and bade him farewell, overcome with a sudden shyness and vanishing just as quickly. Tino smiled brightly, his belief now backed up by actual evidence. He returned home with a light heart and his head held proud.

So he continued to visit Berwald. The days grew shorter and the hours of sunlight became scarcer. Yet that never disheartened Tino. Lukas and Emil showed signs of concern which he ignored completely, focusing completely on his expeditions. He did end up bringing masses of meat and berries home, which pleased Lukas.

One night, when Tino came home exceptionally late, Lukas asked him where he was. Tino, beginning to feel the symptoms of a lovelorn man, answered Lukas vaguely. "I've been hunting."

"You've been hunting and yet you smile like an amorous boy!" Lukas retorted hotly. Tino only shrugged offhandedly and went on his usual tasks.

A week later Lukas came up to him, frowning with worry. "Tino, this is the last day you're allowed to go into the forest. Do you see those clouds? They're gathered in the sky like a horde of cats ready to spring! I feel a storm coming on in my knees!"

Tino agreed, bundling up in warmer clothing. He left his bow and arrows back home. Lukas made no comment, knowing that if Tino really needed them he would come back and fetch them. Tino did not come for them.

Any sunlight that poured in from the skies above was only light without warmth. A filmy layer of clouds was now above them. And, as Lukas stated, there was a clump of darker ones in the horizon. Tino entered the woods and looked around the clearing, calling for Berwald.

Instantly Berwald appeared, hanging upside down from one of the branches. His face was gaunt and paling, losing its green and becoming gray. Tino grabbed Berwald's hand and he hauled him up, springing from branch to branch in the usual hiding spot.

They resumed conversation as though they were never interrupted. Berwald explained his day and so did Tino. Tino, however, spoke in a distracted way. Berwald noticed and inquired about it.

"I… Berwald, I won't be able to come back until springtime." Tino replied, grabbing Berwald's hands again and pressing affectionately.

"I will be asleep during the winter, so you mustn't worry," Berwald said, bringing a wave of relief over Tino. "I need this sleep and without it I would wilt and fade away. I was wondering how to tell you this…"

Tino smiled and, for the first time in their entire acquaintance, bent forwards, lowering his eyelids. His dark lashes were long and fluttered when he blinked in a way Berwald found most endearing. Berwald leaned forward as well, slightly confused. He kept his eyes wide open, even when Tino shut his completely. Tino plunged in and pressed his hot, soft lips against Berwald's.

Woodland spirits had a different means of showing affection, but this way raked a fire in Berwald's chest, exciting him and sending his mind into a whirlpool of soggy, unorganized emotion. He pressed back and, just as he was running short on breath, Tino broke away.

"I love you." Tino said.

"I…" Berwald began but Tino pressed another kiss to his lips and another to his cheek.

"I should be going."

"Y-yes," Berwald stammered, grabbing Tino and feeling that peculiar tingle again as he took him down.

Tino went home, his heart boiling over with love. Ever since that first meeting that affection had brewed inside him, strengthening with each visit. There was something about Berwald's rigid exterior and his soft core that Tino adored.

Once at home, he was confronted with Lukas. Lukas looked cross, like a wife who had caught her husband cheating. "So you went hunting? Then why did you forget your bow?"

Tino did not know where to look or how to reply.

"Where have you been? Have you been neglecting your duties in this family to wander off and have an affair?" Lukas said, a streak of panic lining his voice.

"L-Lukas!" Tino cried, "No, you can't think that! I'm sorry I've been a terrible uncle. I'm sorry I have neglected to pay attention to you two. But you aren't children anymore. Emil is nearing his sixteenth birthday and you your twentieth!"

Lukas stiffened but made no comment.

"You and Emil can fend for yourselves now. You don't need a nanny to wash your faces and remind you to eat all the food on your plates. You're old enough to care for yourselves as it is. So what if I have fallen in love for the first time in my life? What's there to do but to submit to it and enjoy it? I'm getting old, Lukas."

Tino was nearly twenty-three, which in this time and portion of the world was nearing middle-age. Most people died of sickness before they reached this or died of old age some twenty years later. Tino had never hoped to raise children and his cousins were like them in their place. Tino knew he could not have children anyway, as Berwald was not only a spirit but a male. He was content with that.

Lukas turned away and stepped into the house. For the rest of the evening he had worked himself into a bad temper and refused to exchange a single word. When Emil stated that he had signed up to be one of the first soldiers to leave in a year, Lukas scowled and left for the room. Emil and Tino later went in to discover Lukas absent from his bed. The tousled bedspread proved that he had planted himself there, but no other trace of him was there.

Worried, Emil started to go out. Tino told him not to and to remain inside. Snow had begun to fall in fat, wet flakes and had already coated the ground in a thin layer.

An hour later, while Tino slept and Emil remained awake, Lukas returned. Crystals of snow stuck to his eyelashes and hair. His nose was bright red and his cheeks pale. Emil sat up, looking at him in deep concern.

"Where were you?" he whispered, frightened.

Instead of replying, Lukas embraced his brother warmly and crawled into bed. Emil curled up next to his brother, trying to warm his frozen body.

The next day Emil found out that Lukas had enlisted himself as a soldier as well. Lukas made no comment on the matter.

So winter passed and Tino tended to the house and found himself a job of clearing snow in the centre's streets. Deep in the heart of the forest Berwald slept. His dormant body had entangled with the roots of a tree, holding him rigid. He molded perfectly, camouflaged from any prying eyes. Snow stuck to him and his hair. His body had turned a dust-color as his circulation slowed.

But that year's winter, although bitter and cruel, passed quickly and melted into spring. The ice thawed from the trees, exposing sweet green leaves and the pink buds of flowers. The grass exploded with green and the people were elated to see warmth. Food supplies were running low but now there was enough to eat for all. Apples fell, ripe and hard, to the earth, ready to be eaten. Fat rabbits bounded through the fields.

Most of the village came out alive, unscathed by the winter.

Wagons led by strong horses with gleaming coats rattled up the hills and stopped at ports. Haggled men stepped off and entered the inns, drinking and eating themselves well again. The horses were tended to. These wagons had come for the enlisted soldiers. Ten men came up from the tiny population. The men who led the horses were disappointed, but happy enough to have been at least fed.

In one of the wagons, dressed and prepared, were the two brothers. Lukas pulled the cross from his hair and held it in his gloved fingers. The gold gleamed in the penetrating sunlight. The gem in the center twinkled and Lukas fondly tucked it away in his pockets, knowing that his hair would be cut.

Emil finally asked the question that had nagged at his mind for so long. "Why did you decide to come?"

"Someone needed to care for my little brother," Lukas said, allowing a ghost of a smile to play on his lips.

In the forest some miles off, Berwald had long awoken. He returned to his clearing, drawing various animals of all colors to it. He waited patiently for Tino to come back. The first five days of spring he did not. Berwald began to worry. But Tino probably had to tend to his house and brothers back at home. Most likely Tino would be back the next day.

However, he did not.

Nor did he the next month. When winter came and Tino did not show up, Berwald went into hibernation. Still, hope gleamed in his heart. He was sure Tino would keep his promise.

Truth of the matter was this: Tino was among the three villagers who passed away that winter. He had caught a terrible sickness from being outside in the cold clearing the snow. He fell ill in the end of winter and lay still in bed. Emil was forced to tend to him. But each day he only grew sicker and weaker. A week before Emil and Lukas were supposed to leave for their enlistment and while they were debating whether to go or to tend to Tino, Tino died in his sleep. He died thin and upset. He could not keep his promise. He had strived with all his might to push to wellness, begging and pleading the gods to grant him life at least long enough to see Berwald and tell him of his condition. That promise still lingered in the air, like an oath, sealed with his endless love for Berwald.

But Tino was unable to do it, his blood losing vigor and his head growing faint. When Lukas and Emil woke to the early morning chill they discovered Tino dead, his body still warm.

But Berwald never learned of this. For hundreds and hundreds of years, until his forest died of a fire and sickness, he waited. His endless love and hope in Tino remained alive and well in his heart. It never lessened, no matter how long he had to wait. He woke each day with the thought "Tino will come today for sure!"

When the fire killed half of his forest and some other forces destroyed the remaining half, Berwald fell limp in the ashes. Dying as Tino did with endless love still in his heart. He crumbled and blackened, sinking back into the earth, with Tino's first and last kiss tingling his lips.

Here it is, requested by popular demand.

All I ask is please don't make me regret writing this and putting all my effort into it. Please at least pretend to show some appreciation.

Thank you for reading!