The Hidden Grove

— A story meant to be felt, by Rosita The first thing you notice is the autumn air. Cold and crisp, carrying the scent of wet leaves and earth. You step into your garden beneath a shower of golden leaves. Pumpkins grow among the flowerbeds, and the last vegetables of the season are ready to harvest. At the back of the garden stands an ancient beech-willow tree. Its enormous branches twist toward the sky, while strange mushrooms grow along its trunk and roots. Some look like tiny benches. You have no idea they hide a secret. Beneath the ancient tree lies Autumnia, a hidden city inhabited by tiny elves. For thousands of years, humans have never discovered it. Deep beneath the roots, the elves are preparing for winter. Among them is Finn, a young mushroom gatherer carrying a pouch of magical elven powder. He trips. The pouch tears. Golden dust spills into the air and drifts upward through the roots, escaping into your garden. It settles silently over the vegetables. You notice nothing. That evening, you eat them. At first, everything seems normal. Then your hands begin to tingle. Your clothes suddenly feel enormous. The room seems to grow around you. Or perhaps... you are shrinking. Your body becomes smaller and smaller. A strange warmth spreads across your back. You rush toward the mirror. Two delicate wings slowly unfold behind you. Your face is still yours. Your eyes are still yours. But you are no longer human. You have become an elf. Far beneath the ancient tree, a deafening magical alarm echoes through Autumnia. “HUMAN TRANSFORMATION DETECTED.” Every elf freezes. High above the city, King Aldric rises from his throne, his golden crown shining as he grips his golden staff. For five hundred years, nothing like this has happened. And there is no antidote. There is no way back. Your old life is over. Somewhere beneath the ancient tree, an entire hidden world is waiting for you.