Accidentally Ever After

(two) • the most ridiculous things

I'm either dreaming or I'm dead.

The ground beneath my face is warm and soft, and a song of birds' drifts to my ears. A literal song, like something a Disney Princess would hear when wandering through the woods. The reek of muddy snow is gone and is replaced by the sharp, sweet scent of pine. I don't even have to see anything to know something is very, very different.

I'm lying flat on my stomach with grass in my mouth as I crack open my eyes and squint into the sunlight. Sheer brightness blinds me for a moment and I shield my eyes with one hand while I rise to my feet. The sun is warm against my fingers, making my puffy coat suddenly feel way too hot, so I unzip it and shrug it off, then knot it around my waist. I spit out the pieces of grass from my mouth and tuck my tangled mess of hair back so I can see clearly. Blinking a few times, I turn in circles, taking in the world around me, my gaze roaming left to right, up and down, and back over it all again in disbelief.

Winter is gone and spring has sprung. I'm in a blossoming meadow, a forest of towering pine trees circling the area with me in the center like I'd just dropped into the middle of an enclosed field. The sea of pastel flowers seem to sparkle as they sway, dancing in the soft breeze. When I look up, there's nothing endless blue sky with no sign of the hole I remember falling through. This doesn't look like any place in the Ozarks that I know of. The trees are the greenest green I've ever seen. The air is cleaner than anything I've ever breathed. How did I get here and what is this place?

A dream or heaven. These are the only two options. I close my eyes and pinch my arm, but when I open them again, I'm still here in this meadow. Not dreaming then. I must be—

"You look lost," comes a voice from behind me.

I nearly choke from surprise and spin to face the voice, my hair whipping me across my cheeks. Quickly, I brush the strands away, but it doesn't change the strange sight in front of me.

Somehow this person sneaked up on me and is only a few steps away. He stands to the height of my shoulders and has to look up at me slightly, which is odd for me because I'm usually the short one. My eyes fall first on the tiny, yellow pointed hat that sits crooked on his neatly trimmed black hair, then onto his perfectly symmetrical face which smiles up at me. His eyes are unnaturally glossy, his teeth shining like plastic, and as I look closer, I realize his skin isn't skin at all...it's wood.

I stumble backward and nearly fall back on my ass. "Stay back!" I yell, throwing up my hands as a shield, crossing my pointer fingers in front of me like I have the holy power to ward off this demon. He takes a step toward me, his brows twisting in confusion, so I yell again to be as clear as possible. "Stay away from me!"

The wooden boy stops and cocks his head at me as his gaze travels down my clothes. "You're not from around here, are you?" he asks. His voice is soft and gentle, with a lilt of humor. "Not from anywhere around here, I take it."