Wisp awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the river rushing past her home. Stretching out her sleep encrusted bones and rubbing at her eyes, she let out an exasperated huff. Yesterday she hadn’t achieved much in her mission to collecting food for the winter and she was no longer certain that the food in the forest was as abundant as it used to be. That was the only thing that seemed to be on her mind lately, food.
The forest of ‘Pioma’ was known for its vibrancy and never ending supply of creatures and homes. Wisp in particular lived near the west of the forest. Her home was inside a very old oak tree that she had dug herself into. With a small river nearby and lots of fruit trees, Wisp had never had a complaint and always thought herself intelligent for choosing such a safe and resourceful home. However, the past few weeks had been brutal for her.
The autumn season seemed to be dragged out and it took double the amount of time for her to find only half the amount of food that she was used to collecting for herself. Her neighbors no longer seemed to acknowledge her existence when she went forth to purchase milk and bread and the old oak tree no longer seemed to be able to withstand the cold winds and was falling apart.
	“Maybe today will be better,” She muttered hopefully to herself before getting out of her bed and dragging herself to the mirror.
Wisp’s home was built out of what seemed to be random bits and pieces she had found in the forest. Her bed was built of old cotton and piles of soft leaves all stuffed into a shabby looking piece of wood. Her mirror was an old broken shard of glass; her fridge was a hastily made box near the cold front of the tree. The windows of her home were tiny peek holes she seemed to have kicked out, covered with random rags and clothes. She had an absurd looking collection of candles near her pile of clothes and it also appeared as if she was hoarding anything that shined or sparkled in the sun. Coins, glass, bottle caps and anything she could get her hands on were all stored underneath a tiny trap door. She considered it to be her basement, and bafflingly enough she was quite proud of her hand built home though most of her neighbors sneered at the sight.
Though her home wasn’t in the best of shapes, her neighbors also had one certain reason as to why they avoided her. Wisp was not a mouse, a bird, a squirrel, a fish, a fox nor any furry or scaled creature you would usually find in Pioma. Her hair was a vibrant blue and burst into curls atop her head. Her green eyes shined at night and sparkled in the sun as if laughing at those who stared. Her pale soft skin had a splash of rosy pink and her pointed ears could detect any whisper within miles around her. Wisp may not have been a forest creature, but she was a creature of the paranormal and her neighbors were more than aware of it. Wisp was a fairy.
Her wings unfurled into a beautiful golden net around her tiny body, floating towards the window. Grabbing an old crusted piece of bread on the table nearby for breakfast, Wisp peered out the window and noticed something quiet peculiar. On a usual day Wisp would have witnessed her neighbors, who were mostly mice, scurrying around and loudly squeaking to each other to get their daily business done early. Instead, the forest ground was empty and it did not appear as if anyone had been around for hours. The only thing her pointed ears could hear was the sound of the river and an occasional chirping up in the leaves.