4. The Forest of Adolescence.

I was loitering near the forest for some time without feeling predisposed to enter it. I didn’t see either Hope or Destrouch again, and I didn’t want to call them either because I feared they would insist that I go in there once and for all.

Then, one day, while playing with a friend in the confines of the prairie, we started talking about that mysterious place. She told me that she had also met three lovely fairies and that they had told her about that forest, which we would have to enter sooner or later. But she was also a bit scared.

My friend explained that she had realized she was no longer the girl she used to be, but it was clear that she was not yet a woman either. 

“Don’t you sometimes look in the mirror and find it hard to recognize yourself in that image you see reflected there? I can spend hours looking at myself and trying to guess who that person looking back at me is, who I’m turning into. They make fun of me at home and think I look at myself out of vanity or flirtation. They don’t understand that I’m trying to find something in that image that is still familiar!” She sighed. 

I told her I understood because the same thing happened to me, too.

After reflecting in silence, she asked me: “Don’t you wish there was a magic mirror in which we could see ourselves as we are going to be in ten years?”

“Of course, I do!» I answered without hesitation. “Not only would I like to see how I’ll look physically, but I would also love this image to speak and tell me what I will do: where I will study, what job I will have, and other such things. But they haven’t yet .invented a time machine, so we’ll have to wait!» I said jokingly. 

She smiled at me, and we both sat there, trying to imagine the future that awaited us beyond the forest. Suddenly she stood up with an unexpected impulse and with a determined voice she said: “Let’s go in a little bit, without going too far. If we both go together I’m not so afraid. Do you dare?“ She challenged me.

I didn’t feel like going in right then, but neither did I want to come off as a coward. Besides, she was right; it would be better for us to go together so we could care for each other.

It was so that, with a spirit of adventure and a bit of fright, my friend and I entered the Forest of Adolescence for the first time; looking in all directions with every step we took.

«I don’t see any path,» I said, fearing we might get lost and not find the way back out.

“In this forest, there are no paths! Didn’t your friends Hope and Destrouch tell you that?“ She asked.

«No, they didn’t,» I mumbled as I struggled through the bushes.

We advanced a few more meters, and the prairie was no longer visible behind us. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was ready to end our adventure, return to the prairie, and ride my bike. But I didn’t want to be the first to give up. My friend didn’t want to look like a coward either, and having given me the lead, she followed me in silence. I sensed she wanted to leave, too, but, just like me, she was too proud to admit it. “The fairies told me that not far from the entrance to the forest, there is a beautiful clearing surrounded by fruit trees and full of flowers. They promised they would be waiting for me there when I decided to go in,» she finally said, breaking the tense silence between us.

«And where is that clearing?» I implored her.

«I don’t know,» she stated: “The fairies said that I would find it as soon as I got tired of making my way through the branches and scratching myself with the thorns,” she grumbled crossly.

For the first time, I was glad my friend always got tired before me! Every time we went hiking or played a game that required physical exertion, she quickly got tired and had to be waited on and encouraged to keep going.

My efforts to motivate her were often useless because she was often very stubborn and packed like a mule. I decided to speed up my pace so that she would get tired soon and we would reach the clearing the three fairies had told her about. And my idea worked because she soon started complaining about scrapes and punctures, as she was falling further and further behind! Finally, she sat down, angry with me because I did not wait up for her, and she began to cry.

I, too, was exhausted and felt guilty for making her cry. So I went over and tried to comfort her: “Come on! Don’t cry, I wasn’t going to leave you alone! It’s just that I thought that when you got tired, we would find that clearing with fruit trees and flowers, we would see your friends, and you would feel happy again,» I explained while I caressed her head.

“But they lied to me! I can’t take another step, and that clearing isn’t anywhere near!” She complained between sobs. 

«We never lie to our protected bugs,» said a soft voice coming from among the branches of a tree a few meters from us.

«Who said that?» I asked without seeing anyone.

A fairy the size of Hope flew up to us and sat on my friend’s knee. “I’m Laziness, one of this beautiful young lady’s friends. Fantasy and Melancholy are already waiting for us in the clearing of the butterflies,» replied the fairy, pointing to the right.

And without giving me time to say anything, she added: “The clearing is two meters away, and I assure you that it is worth going as soon as possible because Fantasy is about to start telling the story of Cinderella. And what’s more, Melancholy and I have new threads of soft white silk to weave the warmest and most comfortable cocoons!”

These words instantly returned my friend’s smile and strength. She jumped to her feet and began to walk firmly in the direction Laziness had indicated. I, suspiciously, followed her in silence.