Because of Oliver's recklessness, the preparations for the Harvest Festival were delayed a little, yet the villagers still managed to finish everything in time.
The streets were decorated with autumn flowers, the ones that only bloom on the first day of the festival.
The people's laughter blended with the sound of festive music, and with the voices of children running between the cottages while sharing apples dipped in honey.
Small spirits floated through the air above the villagers' heads, leaving trails of light behind them.
Everyone in the village was celebrating except for Oliver, of course.
He was locked inside the sage's tower, cleaning the library for the eleventh time. The sage sat on a high wooden chair with one leg crossed over the other, eating a caramel apple while watching Oliver clean again.
Oliver turned toward him.
"Can I go out and celebrate with the others? I have cleaned the library at least ten times."
The sage replied while biting another piece of the apple.
"You should have thought about that when you decided to do something stupid like entering the forest alone."
"I learned my lesson. I will not repeat it. Just let me stop cleaning at least."
The sage shrugged.
"If you have any complaint, tell Elinor. I am only supervising."
"You can let me out without her knowing."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you made me worry when you disappeared."
"Come on Daniel, who are you trying to fool?"
"Who do you think you are to call me by my name directly, you brat? I was about to lose the only person who cleans my library every week. Of course I would be sad."
Oliver muttered a small curse, then went back to wiping a shelf that was already clean. But he suddenly stopped, placed the feather duster on the shelf, then turned around.
"Daniel, do you know anything about hybrids?"
"Daniel? Have you completely lost respect? Say, oh great Sage of the village."
"Oh great Sage of the village, do you know anything about hybrids?"
"Better. As for answering your question, I do not know anything about them."
"Are you serious? You are the village's sage. Did Mister Robert not tell you anything?"
"Why do you care anyway? I do not think they exist."
"They exist and I am one of them."
The moment he heard that, the sage burst into laughter.
"Yes, wonderful. And I personally am the great Spirit of Autumn."
"I am serious. Tell is the one who told me."
The sage raised his head toward him while clasping his fingers over his stomach.
"And who is Tell? One of the village children?"
"She is one of the little autumn spirits."
"Oliver, spirits have been running away from you since you were a baby. Do you expect me to believe one of them suddenly appeared to tell you, surprise, you are a hybrid?"
"Not exactly, but yes, kind of."
The sage pointed at the floor.
"Kid, tone down the imagination a little and finish cleaning."
Oliver let out a long sigh, then picked up the duster again and continued wiping while silently insulting the sage with every curse he knew.
...
Meanwhile the masked man was sitting in a secluded corner at the edge of the square, his back resting against the trunk of an old tree, his arms folded across his chest. His eyes wandered between the villagers running and laughing with the small spirits, those tiny balls of light floating in the air.
His look toward them carried no warmth.
From afar, Elinor noticed him while placing some items in her basket after buying them from a nearby shop. She stopped, then walked until she stood in front of him.
"Hello."
The man did not look at her. He only nodded without saying anything.
She said while looking at the square,
"It seems you are enjoying the festival."
"Enjoying is not the right word. Let us say curious. It is rare to see humans and spirits living in such harmony."
"Is it rare outside?"
"I have never seen anything like this in any place I visited."
"It seems you have traveled a lot."
"Something like that."
"What brought you to the village? It has been years since anyone from outside visited us."
"There is someone I need to meet."
"Someone? Who is it? Tell me his name, maybe I know where he lives."
"He does not live here. I only passed through the village by chance. That person lives deep inside the forest in an isolated place alone."
"Deep in the forest? He must be very strong like you. Oliver told me you killed a large monster there by yourself right in front of him."
"He is extremely strong."
"Will you stay until the end of the festival? I recommend it. On the last day, all the autumn flowers bloom at the same moment and their petals fly with the small spirits in the air. It is beautiful and only happens once a year."
"If I have the chance I will stay."
Elinor lifted her basket again, then pointed to a distant house at the edge of the village.
"Thank you again for saving Oliver. If you need anything, just tell me. That is my house over there."
He nodded again.
"I will."
Although in truth he had no intention of doing so. Talking with her was beginning to tire him. She reminded him of Oliver immediately. Even if they did not look alike, he guessed right away she was his older sister or relative.
After she left, he looked at the spirits again, his eyes filled with the contempt he had tried to hide earlier. Then he noticed one of the autumn spirits separating from its group and moving quietly toward the edge of the square without being noticed.
He stood up and followed it, his hand close to his dagger. The spirit crossed the village boundary and headed for the forest.
At that moment Oliver had just left the sage's tower after finishing the cleaning, finally allowed to go. Not because the sage pitied him, but simply because he wanted to sleep and, according to him, Oliver was annoying.
The moment Oliver stepped out, he spotted the masked man heading toward the forest, and began following him from afar.
The spirit kept moving, its glow fading gradually, until it reached a dark area at the forest's edge.
There, in the middle of the darkness, another person was standing.