Lost and Found in the Enchanted Woods: A Transformative Tale of Identity, Fear, and Song

Once upon a time, in the U.S. state of Wyoming in the year 2021, there lived a spirited 6-year-old boy named Ethan Johnson. Born on January 11th, 2015, Ethan was a rather average boy in weight, about 45 pounds, and height, standing approximately 4 feet tall. He was particularly recognizable by his moppish mop of chestnut brown curly hair, and beautiful, bright green eyes. Ethan's mother, Emily Johnson, was a beautiful and young woman aged 26 years. She was born on Christmas Day, 1994, and thus she loved telling Ethan stories about Santa bringing the most precious of all her gifts on a cool winter's evening. Emily stood at 5 feet 6 inches and weighed about 135 pounds. She sported a gorgeous head of long strawberry blonde hair and striking blue eyes, a hint of the beauty that was her soul. Ethan's father, Andrew Jones, had left the picture a long time ago. Born on April 4th, 1992, Andrew was now 29 years old. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, Ethan inherited his height and eye color, a light shade of green from his father. Andrew was known for his ruffled black hair and matching thick beard. Ethan also had an Aunt, Madison Johnson. Madison, born on July 10th, 1996, was 24 years old in 2021. Slightly shorter than her sister Emily, Madison was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds. With jet black hair kept usually in a high ponytail, and captivating hazel eyes, Madison was quite the contrast to Emily. Ethan's Uncle, Brandon Jones, was a busy man, always occupied with some venture or the other. Brandon was born on November 16th, 1989, and was 31 years old, standing proudly tall at 6 feet 2 inches with a weight of 195 pounds. He had golden-hued, shoulder-length hair tied back in a bun, and deep-set, brown eyes. Lastly, Ethan's beloved Grandma, Jane Johnson, had been born on September 5th, 1956, making her 64 years young. Delicate and wholesome, she stood at 5 feet and weighed 160 pounds. Jane dyed her naturally gray hair, a vibrant shade of red, and she had the most sparkling blue eyes, just like her daughter Emily. On this particular day, Ethan was walking home alone for the first time. Scared yet excited, the route through the woods appeared more daunting now. Alone in the grey-scale hues of twilight, shadows stretching eerily, seems like the realm of fantastical creatures from his storybooks. Suddenly, his shoes and socks started to hurt, adding a physical strain to his emotional turmoil. Believing it to be easier if he removes them, Ethan knelt down and took them off, placing them in a neat pile on the side of the path. He continued to walk cautiously, the sharp twigs and rough leaves pricking his bare feet. Suddenly, an ordinary-looking, worn-out rolling bag caught his eye. Curiosity piqued, Ethan ventured towards the oddity. As he rummaged through it with tiny, unsure hands, the bag revealed its contents. That consisted of torn, used clothes, an old, faded photograph of a woman, a rusty hair tie, a decaying piece of bread, and multiple bits of crumpled paper, each having a distinct, but unrecognizable smell—an eerily familiar stench of homelessness. As he ventured further into the bag, his hand brushed up against something unexpectedly soft. Pulling it out, he found himself staring at an old purse. The inside of the purse held weird remnants: an old, crushed lipstick pipe with the remains of a deep red shade, some half-used tissues, and a mysterious brown substance wrapped in cellophane, an old toothbrush with bent bristles, and some random trash from the streets. Ethan remembered his mother telling him about respecting others' belongings, but he shrugged the thought away, for his small mind couldn't comprehend his curiosity of the particulars of the bag. "Thith is gething thcary out here. I wanna go home," Ethan voiced aloud, his lisp making his exclamation sound distorted yet somehow more real. The expanse of the woods echoed his statement, and Ethan was sure he had heard a soft rustling in reply. Suddenly, fear ignited in his small heart. He decided to hasten his steps. Ethan continued down the path, his mind reeling with frightful thoughts when he stumbled. Recovering his balance, he looked down to realize a pair of rotted, overused women's flipflops—the color faded, the straps nearly torn and some old, dried mud underneath. Unknowingly, he had slipped into them. With shaking fingers, he attempted to remove the shoes. However, to his horror, he found his clothes disintegrating into nonexistence, leaving him bare under the heartless twilight. He then noticed his feet morphing, the degree of his terror elevating exponentially. His small innocent feet started cracking, signs of age marring his skin, his toes oddly bending and bruising as if having braved a lot. Frantically he yanked off the flipflops, but it was too late. The transformation to something macabre was well underway, and it was irreversible. Tears flowed down his cheeks freely as he whimpered, "I'm gonna mithth my mommy and gwandma tho much. I didn't be an icky girl. I need to go home," his words distorted with the sobs wracking his tiny form. Momentarily, Ethan thought about the woman in the photograph. He somehow discerned that her birth year was 1986, making her much older than his mother and aunt. This inexplicable revelation shook him to the core. Resorting to the only comfort he knew, Ethan decided to sing the soothing lullaby, the same one his mother always sang to him when he was scared. His childish voice softly started in a trembling whisper, "Hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird..." His own shoes and socks had disappeared. As Ethan sang, with each passing minute, the reality of the boy that was Ethan was crumbling away. His young limbs matured, cuts and bruises marring the skin. A torn, skimpy outfit formed on his changing body. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the woman from the photograph sans the purse, the rolling bag, and, of course, the flipflops. As he continued to sing, Ethan began to lose his memories. The features that were once distinct started blurring. His voice started to alter; his once soft, clear voice was now raspy and toothless. The metamorphosis of the once innocent boy was complete. His reality had twisted into a living nightmare. Ethan's lullaby, too, started changing, morphing into something unrecognizable. His words were now those of a woman, seemingly talking to no one in particular about a peace offering, "You all need to take a chill pill, maybe like a peace offering or something... Y'know— I gotta add this to my birthday list," she muttered to no one in particular, stomping her foot down and holding up the crumpled paper from the rolling bag. She looks down and notices her flipflops near her. A distinct familiarity comforts her as she walks towards her purse, her movements observing a strange rhythm. She bends down to pick it up in a single fluid motion, slinging it onto her shoulder, the familiarity cocooning her, offering a strange semblance of peace. Next, she reaches for the flipflops, her movements filled with a strange, methodical fluidity. She sits down, bending to slip in each foot, securing the straps around her cracked and bent toes. Each step is slow, almost calculated, painting a picture of her resilience. "I need in there," she talks to seemingly no one, pointing to her rolling bag. She opens the bag and pulls out random things—torn clothes, a book with several pages missing, an empty cigarette packet. "Tomorrow is mah birthday," she repeats with glee, sticking the crumbled piece of paper from earlier snug into her purse. The woman is Meredith, a poor, homeless lady suffering from schizophrenia. Born on June 14th, 1986, Meredith was now 35 years old, ironically older than Emily and Madison. She was approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and her weight, a mere 120 pounds. She had been homeless for 10 years now, her long unkempt brown hair and dull hazel eyes painting a grim picture of her circumstances. Meredith believed herself to be a prophet of sorts, her words though nonsensical, carried an air of assured conviction. Suddenly, Meredith felt her bladder urgently knocking. She hastily threw the bag down and rushed toward a nearby tree, the tree bark becoming a temporary restroom. Meredith's scrawny figure assumes a straining posture, the tree getting dirty in return. Like any other day, she covered herself back up post her business, a severe stench emanating from her already dirty clothes. Back into her soiled clothing, she returned, picking up her purse, slinging it around her shoulder before continuing through the forest. Meredith halted upon spotting a gnarled old tree. It reminded her of a friend, and she extends her hand, as if shaking hands with it. "Happy day you tree... happy day," She mumbled, the words clear yet the meaning of her speech still elusive. And just like that, as the moon cast long shadows on the trail, the little boy named Ethan was lost, absorbed into the tragic tale of Meredith, living a life she barely recognized.