Moriko

There I lay on a soft bed of leaves, way up high in a great tree. Surrounded by branches and darkness in the night. A little ways off I saw a flicker of dim lights. I looked straight ahead and saw a beast made of shadows. It moved yet stayed in the same spot. Its shape seemed to twitch and change. Small glowing eyes showed where the head was. I saw a mouth open and fangs gleamed in the moonlight that was shining through the branches. I heard a deep chuckle. A raspy voice. "You'll make a fine meal." I didn't move a muscle. My eyes didn't waver. I had never before been able to keep myself so calm when afraid. "If you're hungry, why must you feast on human flesh?" I surprised myself with how peaceful I felt while staring into the face of shadows ready to devour me. I heard a growl. "Yes I am hungry. But not for human flesh." Its dark raspy voice did not seem to scare me. "Then what am I?" I asked. The beast's great mouth opened wider, revealing more sharp teeth. "Look around you, girl." It said. I sat up and did as it told. I saw shooting stars falling from the sky right into my tree, sending tiny sparks every which way. The glowing globes of heat and light themselves surrounded me and flew into my hair and went in me, coursing through my whole body. Hundreds of green leaves were flying off the branches of the tree and seemed to gather behind me connecting with the stars. I could feel their warmth spreading though my back. Then I felt a peculiar feeling in my spine, just below my shoulders. A jolt of pain shook my body. The shadow beast threw its head back and howled like a wolf. "See there! You are nothing more than a part of this tree!" I looked behind me. I saw something that resembled the tips of large wings. My hand went behind my back and I felt them. Emerging from the middle of my spine and pulsing with the heat of thousands of stars. I spread my wings and saw they were made from the green tree leaves, the fallen stars had spread like glue and held them together. I looked at the shadow beast. "I am not human." It moved closer, the undefinable shape seemed to be twisting and turning in the darkness. All I saw were the outline of a head, glowing eyes and a snout with an open mouth showing it's fangs. "No. You are not human. And only on your kind I can survive." There are others like me?" "There are, but not very many left. We shadows feed on you tree-creatures. Your earthen flesh nourishes us and your devoured wings gives us strength. It continued to slowly move closer. I thought I saw a tail swinging back and forth in the scattered moon light. It stepped noiselessly on the branches and beds of leaves in my tree. It came right up to my face. My wings surrounding me, I stayed rooted to the spot. I faced the shadow beast and looked into dim lights that were it's eyes. And there, I saw its true form. I closed my eyes and felt the darkness of the beast closing around me. "Yet, you are just a shadow that starlight vanquishes." My wings spread and flew back. Light rained down on the beast. The rush of a great wind came. I stood there and listened to the hushing of darkness. I opened my eyes. The beast was gone. "I am only a tree," I whispered, "and it is only a shadow."