Best of Intentions

Best of Intentions Written and Illustrated by Yeebing Tse

“There are many tales of the humans that live outside of the forest. I don’t quite remember them. Mama would always tell me and my sisters when we were younger, a tale to keep all of us here in the forest and to stop us from trying to see what laid just outside of it.

I wish they had also taught us that the forest wasn’t safe from them either.”

The barren land, covered in nothing but wilted grass and tree stumps, stretched as far as Hikaru could see. It was once a home, thriving with beautiful trees that stretched as far as the sky and bushes that provided the perfect red berries for dessert, occupied with the laughter of the nymphs that would gather together to sing and dance as they watched over their respective places.

That was years ago, though. Something had happened to this land that drove out all of the nymphs, and now, as one of the researchers for the world’s only mythological restoration team, it was up to Hikaru to examine the land to figure out how to bring them back. There were supposed to be other people too, but they had all bailed out of fear.

It’s probably just a bad day for all of them. There’s nothing to fear in a place where you can see everything.

Hikaru walked around the stumps and wilted plants growing , taking notes of their appearance. Each stump looked as if someone had cut it with a chainsaw, the top being smooth enough to use as a comfortable seat. There was not a single animal in sight, and everything was completely silent.

Not even the chirps of a cricket could break the uneasy silence.

“Trees still remain intact,” Hikaru wrote in her notebook, “Likely the work of woodcutters rather than a natural disaster. Figure out what the wood in this forest was used for if needed, to prevent it from happening again.”

There was a sound of someone wailing, and Hikaru felt something prickling on the back of her neck as she turned around, noticing a woman sitting on one of the stumps. She had flowing red hair, long, pointy ears and antlers with pink flowers growing on them, her back turned to face her. Hikaru walked towards her, and the woman turned to make eye contact, her rosy skin dotted with freckles glowing under the cloudy sky.

A flower nymph?

There was a sudden flash, and the nymph disappeared. Hikaru walked towards the stump, noticing a flower bush growing near it, blooming with pink azaleas.

Flowers, huh?

Among the blooming flowers, there were little buds that had yet to fully blossom. Hikaru felt the dark soil under the bush, noticing that it was damp despite there being no visible water.

I’m guessing the nymph is taking care of it…maybe I can recruit her?

Hikaru took a sample of the soil to test for later, heard the wind blowing heavily behind her. She turned, vaguely noticing a figure in the distance.

“You’re finally here,” she said, walking towards them, “It’s been a-”

The figure walked towards her, and Hikaru noticed it was the nymph.

“Oh,” Hikaru said, “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

The nymph nodded, then handed Hikaru an axe.

“She’s going to come later,” she said, “Protect yourself.”

“What-?”

The nymph started to walk off. Hikaru grabbed her arm in an attempt to stop her, but her hand ended up going through, as though she was not there. She then stared down at the axe, then at the remaining trees.

Is this some kind of clue? And who exactly is “she?”

Eh. Might as well continue.

Hikaru noticed another flower bush. She looked back, noticing the previous flower bush that was there, then went to the second flower bus.

Probably magic.

I wonder if there’s a way to get her to speak?

“Hey!”

She turned, noticing two nymphs. One was the nymph she saw before, and the other was one that resembled the previous nymph but with curlier hair, longer antlers and an axe.

“We will not let you destroy our forest.”

“What?” Hikaru asked, “I’m not here to destroy anything.”

“Then what’s with the axe?”

Hikaru glared at the other nymph, who was smirking.

That wench!

The other nymph lunged at her, holding the axe over her head. Hikaru dodged, grabbing the handle of the axe with her hand, using it to block the other

nymph’s attack.

“What’s your name?” Hikaru asked, dodging as the nymph tried to swing the axe at her head.

“My name is Chrysanthemum!” the nymph with the axe shouted, “It symbolizes the death that awaits you if you don’t leave! I have killed many of you humans and I will not hesitate to kill another!”

The other nymph formed a pink flower with her hand.

Azalea.

“We just want to fix our land,” Chrysanthemum said, “How many people do we have to kill before you finally leave us alone?”

So they were already working on it, huh?

Hikaru felt the butt of the axe slam onto her head, feeling a numbing pain as she crumbled to the ground.

“We do not need the help of you humans to fix our land,” Chrysanthemum said, yanking the axe from Hikaru’s hands, “We can fix it ourselves.”

This is it! This is where I die…

“Well…wouldn’t you like some help?”

Hikaru tried to stand up, but was immediately shoved back down by Chrysanthemum. She realized at this point it would be stupid to resist, and stared up at the sky to mentally prepare for her end.

“You’d make a lovely flower bush,” Chrysanthemum said quietly, placing a hand on Hikaru’s cheek, “Just like your friends who came here before.”