The sounds of the forest stretched out all around. Birds chirped and the cool breeze steadily blew through the trees. Hazel wandered along the forest path to her home with her brown hair flowing in the breeze while the trusty blue cloak she wore kept the most of the cold at bay. The bright sun bathing the open paths and gaps between the trees in a golden glow, while it created dark shadows beneath the green canopy.

Hazel come to a stop along her path as she reached a large cliff that had steady stream slowly winding below. The occasional fish leaping from the waters while predatory birds watch for prey. Hazels gaze stopped to gave into the forest beyond as she halted her trek home. Her eyes scanned the shaded undergrowth attempting to find something.

But as she searched, she quickly lost hope in whatever she was looking for and marched onward along the well-trodden path that her village uses. She had hoped to find something that caught her eye for many days as she travelled the dirt road but alas, as soon as she thinks she saw the figure in the shadows of the trees, it could never be directly seen.

With the figure once again nothing but shadows or maybe her imagination, she continued onward to the small town she once called home. Alone she travelled into the village and after retrieving some food and water in a small woven basket that she holds within her cloak, ventured away once more. The once sunny sky now dotted by increasingly dark clouds. With the rain imminent, Hazel ran to her current home in the woods. The sounds of rain pouring heard from far away and slowly grew. She ran faster as the rain approached and once she reached the creek, she turned her head at the glimpse of the figure but it once again could not be seen. Although a strange new call joined the sounds of the approaching storm. With darkness slowly descending through the forest, and the not far behind storm washing away the current day, she could see her small home in the distance.

As she reached to door, the corner of her eye once again caught the figure she sees in the forest and for the first time as she gazes into the forest, a figure stands shrouded in shadows. It raises a black shadowy hand and raises one of its three fingers to its mouth. A breeze silently howls through the trees as the rain reaches Hazel and the figure vanishes into the shadows.

With the rain pelting down upon her, she swings the door open as she darts inside and swiftly closes it behind her. The rain batters down on her home as the storm outside rages onward. The sounds muted by her home. She stands there soaked from the short time in the bucketing rain as she grabs out her small basket of thankfully dry supplies. But her mind remains elsewhere.

Her mind remains on the thin shadowy figure that revealed itself to her. She stands idly as she wonders

Why did it want her to be silent about it.