18. Secret World

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There was a loud thump as Berry entered a green, glowing room on the dirt floor, after rolling over and bumping into rocks from above so that her hands and feet looked slightly bruised."Auuchh!" she groaned."Berry, are you all right?" Fling hugged him, he just appeared and helped Berry."Thank goodness you're here Fling, I need you," he said.Berry opened her eyes slowly and found that the tree roots swallowed her up, through the hall, and led her into a dark room where the only light was a green glow from the green algae growing around the stone walls.

Berry stood up slowly, trying to reach the rock wall, groping for a way out.His hands and feet still ached, his breath began to wheeze. In here oxygen is limited, this room is damp and stuffy. The more Berry breathes, the less oxygen supply.It seemed there was no way out, even though his head was getting dizzy. The whole room felt like it was spinning. He's powerless anymore. This trip was indeed extraordinary for him. 

However, he also feels guilty for not telling his grandparents, let alone him committing dangerous and ridiculous acts in his life. Regret is useless now."Ber... Berry, don't give up yet, come here....," called Fling. He turned his face to Fling, and moved closer to him even though his body was limp."Look Ber....," he pointed at something in front of him, something covered in a pile of algae and moss. 

Berry rubbed it and removing the algae and moss covering it, he found a large frame."Fling, it's a frame, but what is it for...?" he asked. Fling just shrugged.Berry ran his finger into the frame. He felt something cold like jelly. Slowly a puff of smoke enveloped the surface of the frame. Berry gasped in shock."Berry, maybe this is a way out," said Fling happily, but Berry was still unsure."What if it's dangerous?" he muttered."I don't know Ber, do you have any other options? Do you want to stay in this pitch black room?" answered Fling.Berry was silent, he knew he had no other choice. He put his fingers in slowly, then something pulled him into the mirror very quickly.

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The sunlight illuminates his pupils, and the smell of leaves starts to waft from his nose. Slowly his eyes opened, he was in a beautiful green garden with bright colorful spots of fresh flowers. Oak trees are neatly arranged with a variety of colored leaves.Berry saw colorful butterflies gathering on the trunk of every oak tree. The cute bunnies peeked from the grass and were curious about Berry's presence. Small streams even add to the beauty of this place.Flowers in the desertGrow...Really impossibleNow the dew covers the heartPiercing the fog of my heartI'm in the rain... I'm in the rain...I am happyBerry was absurdly happy, he survived the dark cave. He can breathe free and fresh air here."Our berries are safe!" Fling also jumped for joy. They both dance and go round and round. Berry and Fling let go of their laughter, so they didn't feel their stomach growling because of hunger."Fling, I'm hungry," he complained"I think there are fruits in the trees that you can pick Ber," he replied.

The red ripe fruit hanging from the trees tempts Berry's rumbling stomach. He rushed to the tree and began to climb it.There was a groan of anger from beneath his feet. The girl rubbed her eyes, she could hardly believe what she was seeing. An insect or a slender winged creature with a human body, a fairy!The creature then flew and stopped right in front of his nose. Berry could clearly see his form, a small, winged human figure with pointed ears and spiky hair twisted up like a cone."Get away from my house!" he snarled.

Berry, who woke up from his reverie, answered nervously, "Ru... home...?" he asked. He then looked into the tree trunk he was going to climb. Carefully he could see a spiral staircase made of clay. He saw small houses attached to the trunk. Berry realized he was in a fairy nest and unconsciously almost stepped on it."What are you doing?" the fairy flew and stopped right in front of Berry's face, her face flushed."Oh... oh... sorry, I didn't know if this was your house," Berry felt uneasy mixed with amazement at the presence of the creature in front of him. If at this time someone said he was crazy, he would accept it."My name is Berry, I found a mirror and then I got lost in here," he said to the little creature."Humm ...," the fairy looked at Berry suspiciously. "Is that so..." the fairy nodded."My name is Tedder," he greeted. "I'm a forest elf here. You are in our world now, the fairy world," he explained with a smile.Berry heard another sound buzzing, another little elf appeared from behind the trees. 

The elf spoke to Tedder in elf language. The fairy's face looks sweet and has long white hair. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Berry."This is my friend Ante. Ante..., this is a human who just came to our country, his name is Berry," Tedder introduced."Oohh..." Ante muttered with a stiff smile."It looks like he's hungry..." Tedder said to Ante. 

He then flew up the tree and took some fruit for Berry.While eating his food, Berry told Tedder, "Actually my friends really want to come here...," he explained."What are they looking for here?" he asked."They found a mysterious light from here, they are very curious," answered Berry."And now that you found out, you wanted to take advantage of us," Tedder accused, Berry looked down."Why do you think so?" Berries are curious.

"We already understand human nature, to be greedy, to bully the weak."Berries fell silent. He was not in the mood to argue, his stomach was full, his eyes were getting sleepy.Soon he fell asleep under the shady oak trees.

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