She just needed a place to hide. She was tired through and through and she needed a place to rest and root. The baby would be coming soon.

In the distance Willow could hear the shouts of men and the baying of hounds. She had gone too close to the village and simple men like those in the village had no use for creatures like her.

Willow brushed leafy hair back from her face with hands covered in bark. She untangled a vine that had grown around her legs and tied her hair back from her face. In the quiet she heard sounds of a stream nearby and she made for the water.

The child inside her stirred when Willow’s feet touched the water. Willow listened closely to the noises in the distance. She had time to root. She had to. If she didn’t stop soon for rest of any kind her child would die and she wouldn’t be long in following him.

As Willow waded out to the middle of the stream the roots on her feet grew. She planted her hard, bark covered feet in the middle of the stream and sent her roots into the soft stream-bed. Immediately, cool, sweet water flowed into her veins. She stood rooted in the stream and let the water carry away all her weariness, fear and suffering. The child within her nestled up to the side of his warm home and fell asleep.

Willow felt her head clear and started to puzzle out her circumstances. Her child needed to be born soon. If a child of the forest was going to live after birth he needed to root in good earth. Willow needed to find this earth in a place she and her child could be safe from the men who chased her. Willow shook her head in sorrow. She knew of only one such place, but it was far away. She knew she never should have left the Sanctuary, but when her mate, Ash, didn’t return from his journey she had gone out looking for him. No one had ever told her how hateful or how big the man world was. She had tried to get back to the Sanctuary before her time to birth had come, but that became just another wish.

With a shake of her head Willow made her decision. She would go deeper into these woods and use all her wood-craft to avoid the men and dogs. They were village folk, after all, and not all that skilled in the woods. As Willow crossed to the other side of the stream she could hear the dogs were close now and the sound of men crashing through the woods was not far behind them. With one final glance behind her Willow melted into the woods.

It was not all that hard for Willow to become part of the woods. All it needed was a little skill, some patience and lots of time. But time was not something Willow had. She needed to get lost in these woods and she needed to do it now. On an ordinary day day she would just send her roots down deep and turn tree. But if she did that now the child would be in great danger. So Wilow glided silently, quickly, through the woods and tried to find a place to hide. Now she could hear the men’s voices and and hear them shout and yell and curse the tree-woman who brought them out into the woods. And then one of the dogs came into sight. Willow gave up on silence and simply ran for her life. The dogs howled loud in the close woods and Willow ran as she had never run before. Branches whipped her face and tore her clothes. The ground dragged at her feet and her breath came sharp in her throat. She ran as fast as a deer, but still the dogs gained, snarling and howling. Willow ran as if the dogs came straight from Hell, but still that gained on her. And then, disaster. A root seemed to reach up and grab her. And willow tripped.

She hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of her. She lay just a moment broken on the ground. Then she was up and scuttling as best she could away. Willow felt breath on her neck as with her very last strength she moved just another foot away. And then another. And then she curled herself up around her baby and prayed the end would be quick.

But the end didn’t come. Willow opened her eyes to find herself in the most beautiful grove she’d ever seen. She looked behind her and could see the dogs looking confused and lost. The men ran up and look right at her without seeing her. Their voices came from far away and after a moment the ran off.

Willow looked around her and found a man just like her standing nearby. He reached out a hand out to her and lifted her to her feet.

“Hello, daughter,” he said, “My name is Oak. This is the Garden. You will be safe here.”

He beckoned to some women who had been standing at a distance. “Go with these women. They will help you with your child and then we will talk.”

The women led Willow to a sheltered clearing and there she had her child. He was a fine baby and she named him Aspen. Together they sent their roots deep into the earth and she taught him to drink deep of the earth. When Aspen had eaten and was fast asleep Oak came to see her. He admires Aspen and Willow decided she liked him.

“Where am I?,” she asked. “Is this the Sanctuary?”

“No, daughter, this is the Garden. It is where and what you need it to be. You needed a haven and rest and so the Garden is a place of rest for you. When you leave it will vanish as if it had never been.”

“How did I find this Garden?”

“I don’t know.” Oak chuckled at his ignorance. “I never know who will find us or what they will need. All I know is that I must give aid and security to all who find their way across our border. You are such a one. Though you are not the only one.” And with that he stepped aside and Willow saw a face she had been longing to see. Ash dashed to her and she laughed and cried and they were very happy.

The young family stayed in the Garden until Aspen was old enough to travel. Oak gave them provisions and directions and sent them off with joy. And just as the first snow fell they returned to their beloved Sanctuary where they lived happily ever after.