The long, winding path through the forest has been more difficult to navigate than I originally expected. Between the overgrowth, the poison oak, and the thickets of prickle bushes, I will surely be returning home with a significant number of scratches and bruises. But I have to see this place. I’ve heard so much about it, and it sounds too bizarre to be true. People say if you walk through this forest, you’ll find an enchanted tower with no windows or doors on the ground floor. The only way in is to climb the hair of Leznupar.

The story of Leznupar is an old wive’s tale. Stories that parents use to scare children, and children use to scare each other. Just as some places show bored youths testing their courage by blowing out a candle in the middle of a graveyard under a new moon, in our town you test your courage by trying to find Leznupar. Other friends of mine have tried, with no success, to find the high tower. But they tend to try in groups. I think the tower only appears to those who search alone. But I’ve had no proof…until today.

I walked for hours looking around and was about to give up when it…appeared. A window, lit by a single candle, floated a dizzying height in the darkness. It wasn’t until my eyes adjusted that I saw the truth of it: a tall, twisted tour of mud and stone. It had a peaked roof and a chimney, but no indication of an entrance on the ground. I strode to the tower, standing directly beneath the window, and cleared my throat to speak.

“Ahem, Leznupar, Leznupar, hear my plea,

Consider hearing out my wish, and lend your hair to me.”

Silence. The seconds stretch and I stand stock-still in the windless night. Above me, I hear a whipping sound, as of clothes being snapped to their full length before being placed on the drying line. A thick, black braid of hair lands be for me with a sharp thud on the ground. As I grab hold, and give a small tug to test its sturdiness, I feel the urge to climb.

As I ascend, I think of the old stories. The high risk, high reward stakes of Leznupar. If you can survive the climb and speak to the mysterious figure in the tower, she will ask you for a wish. If she finds you worthy, and if it’s within her power, Leznupar will grant your wish. But if she finds you wanting, or feels you ask too much, she will cast you from the top of the tower to the earth below. It is a dangerous task, with a high possibility of death or injury, but I’ve come too far.

I reach the top the the hair and take a moment to sit comfortably in the windowsill, gently rubbing my hands. It’s dark, despite their being a candle mere moments ago.

“Excuse me? Fair Leznupar?” I called.

“Yes, child,” a voice reaches my ears, as though coming from right next to me. But I see a figure appear across the room. She is tall, and rail thin, with something not quite right about her. I attempted to ask again,

“Fair Leznupar, please hear my request. I’ve felt alone for so long, I just wish to be with others who may understand my feelings.” There is a pause after I speak, and then the figure moves closer. As the clouds covering the moon part, I see more of her. A dress of black and red attempting in vain to cover pale bare feet. Her skin at her hands, chest, and shoulders bore a striking resemblance to the color of a funeral shroud. But most fearsome of all, when I happened to look towards her face, I let out a gasp of shock. Leznupar was indeed beautiful, with soft and flawless skin, but her neck was unnaturally bent, as though broken, and the smile on her face was inhumanly wide and appeared like a gash across her otherwise pristine face.

As she spoke, I realized the voice I heard earlier as if in my head was the same. It was a high, breathy voice, demonstrating a slight wheezing quality that may not have felt comfortable in her twisted neck.

“Speak child, if your heart is true, and it is within my power, I will do what I can to ensure your wish. But be warned, to fail is to die,” the gash turning into a wide, lopsided smile.

“Again, I ask you se-see if there is a way for me to not be alone. Please, help me feel like I belong.”

At this, Leznupar twitched and wore a wide slash of a smile. “You wish to not be…alone”

“That’s right,” I swallow “I wish to spend more time with people I care about and not feel so lonely.”

Leznupar holds out a hand, “come with me.” We float through the room toward a door and I feel a bout of sickness rush over me. She opens the door and says “take a look, child. The answers you seek will be in there.

Skeptical, I look through the doorway. “I’m sorry fair Leznupar, I don’t see any-“ I feel a hand push into my back, sending me flying. As I recover from the fall I hear a hoarse laugh and “enjoy your new company” as I turn to see a dark, glimmering eye and a slash of a smile disappear behind the closing door. I look around and see skeletons hanging from walls, stripped and bleached. As I look around I realize, this is my fate. And I think to all the stories I’d heard from friends, granted wishes or a tumbling death. At this point, I wish the death was true.