The author would like to give special thanks to KillerRomance and teresawrites2u for proofreading and feedback.
Callista was distraught. Her mind was too busy to allow her to fall asleep. She hated to see otherwise good days ruined by bad news, and today was such a day. She found out while visiting her mother that, beginning in two days, much of the forest near her childhood home was going to be cleared by loggers. Fond memories of exploring those woods came to her. A deep love of the natural world manifested itself early in her life, and her family thought her a tomboy for the amount of time she chose to spend in the thick woods down the road from her home. Often entire days would be spent walking along the old paths her feet had made previously, searching for new hidden and enchanted places where no other person had yet explored. Callista's favorite place of all was a large clearing deep in the woods which surrounded part of a small creek, where she would go swimming on hot days and try to catch the minnows and tadpoles in her hands. She also remembered Moort, who lived next to the creek.
That was what she missed most of all, visiting Moort. She named him that when she first found the clearing at age seven. He was the only one of his kind she had ever seen — he seemed like a giant snail or squid, or perhaps something in between. Since he never moved out of that clearing, she often went there to visit, talking to him about her days. Callista remembered the strange sight of a big, purple flower that seemed to sprout right out of his skin, which made a liquid that smelled and tasted like honey. Most children would have been afraid of the creature, but not her. She adored him as a pet of sorts, albeit an unusual one. She always felt happy and peaceful around him, which is why the clearing was always her refuge whenever she felt sad or angry. Her mother had warned her more than once to stay away from Moort and out of the woods because it was dangerous, but Callista never listened. The forest was her second home, and her friend always had a gentle nature.
She had made many memories in that place, but it had been an entire seven years since she had to move away with her parents to the city. She was eighteen now, and a biology student, with more important things to do than spend hours idling among the trees. And now, very soon, the forest would be gone, leaving behind only her remembrance of their special times. As she thought about it, Callista realized she was crying, and wiped the tears away with her bed sheet. She needed to make one last visit there, tomorrow, before it was gone forever.
Eventually, she found sleep.
• § •
The dirt path she had made on her many trips into the woods was now somewhat overgrown, but Callista managed to follow it, easily recalling the way to her favorite clearing. She walked slowly, enjoying the familiar sight and smell of the summertime woodland. The afternoon was hot, even in the shade afforded by the trees, and Callista's perspiration caused her thin brown dress to cling to her skin. She was careful not to let the garment get caught on the branches and thistles along the path.
She came to a point in the path where a large tree had fallen, blocking her way at chest height. Callista made sure it was solid, and then, finding a branch to use as a foothold, carefully hoisted herself up and climbed over the fungus-covered log. She grinned to herself, imagining her mother chiding her: "You're not a little girl anymore," or "That's not very ladylike." Callista knew that she was still something of a tomboy at heart, and still able to negotiate the woodland terrain. She pushed her blond hair back behind her ears and began walking again.
The clearing finally came into sight after several more minutes of walking, and it was, for the most part, as Callista remembered it. The grass seemed to form a thick, soft carpet that glowed a brilliant shade of green in the sunlight, bordered by the shallow creek on one side. She knelt down and removed her socks and boots, setting them between two low branches of a nearby tree. She then looked to her left and saw Moort.
"Wow, you've grown," Callista thought aloud. She walked barefoot through the thick grass towards his part of the clearing where the grass stopped. The top of his large olive-green shell was level with her waist, and she guessed he must have been at least two meters long. It was difficult to think that this creature was only the size of a small pumpkin when she first found him, but then again, she had grown a bit herself since then, as well. She walked around to his head, which faced towards the creek, and glanced at the two large, black eyes directly below the flower-like growth.
"Moort!" Callista said, cheerily. She knelt to stroke one of his cool, slick feelers, one of six which sprawled across the clearing for several meters in every direction, each about as thick as her own upper arm. The young maiden allowed her hand to run along the smooth length of it, feeling it contract slightly under her touch. As she had hoped, Moort slowly curled the appendage around her in an embrace. Although he seldom moved very much, she remembered fondly these occasional "hugs" from earlier years.
"You do remember me," the girl said in her melodic voice, smiling. "I'm really sorry I haven't been around in so long." The smile vanished. She truly regretted having neglected her old friend, especially now that … no, she would not dwell on sad thoughts.
