The Leshy watched the human child as it entered their forest. The Leshy ignored humans so long as they were respectful and did not harm the forest. The villagers avoided the forest at night and rarely left their young unaccompanied, so its presence was unusual.
The child moved like a mouse trying to outrun a snake, making strange, shrieking calls. The Leshy swooped down and stopped the child with a broad, leafy hand. The child looked up, and the Leshy finally noticed the bruises.
Few records remain of the village’s destruction, but survivors claimed the forest came alive with rage.

“gloomy forest” by gorchakov.artem is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0