Elan decided that today had been a good day to go out for a walk in the woods. As darkness was descending and he seemed to have no good way to figure out what direction he was going he began to feel a little panicky. every little snap of a twig, every little rustle of the wind caused him to jump and turn around. Why had he decided to walk in a strange forest? he wondered to himself.

As he was beginning to feel like he was never going to find civilization again he sat down on the side of the path and was about to sob when he heard something faint. Something recognizable. He strained to hear what he thought were voices. He stood and began to walk slowly in the direction he thought he heard things. As he walked from the path into the woods, it got very dark. He stopped, trying to hear the noises again, because every time he stepped, twigs snapped, leaves crackled and he couldn't hear it as well.

Soon, the voices grew louder and he began to see fingers of light penetrating the darkness of the woods. He picked up his pace and ran to the light. He was about to emerge into a clearing when his foot caught a root sticking up and he tripped, rolling into the clearing. He lay there a minute hoping beyond hope that 1, no one had seen him fall, and 2..that there were nice people here.