He is friendly to the cat, the man who stole what is mine. His touch is tender as he coos over me. I am disgusted with him but I must commit to the role of a cat so he doesn’t know the truth. I am watching him, waiting for the right moment to strike and then I will punish him accordingly for taking what’s mine. It takes me two days to realize that fool doesn’t know what he took. He think it a pretty figurine that he’ll probably place on a shelf.

I hate him. His curiosity is a thorn in my side as I worry. His laugh is a torturous song as I calm myself. I couldn’t take the sight of him anymore so I enchant an item of his for convenient tracking and leave.

Weeks later, we meet again as he moved with caution through the night. His head is always turned a bit behind him and every sound turns him into a statue. I enjoy his fear. Tonight, I am in the form of an owl. He admires me from below, his eyes lighting up. For some reason, he makes conversation with the owl telling of his loneliness and requesting…friendship.

Friendship with an owl? What a strange, strange man he was. I then imagined us as friends. Me in the form I rarely take nowadays and I scoff at the idea of it. I couldn’t say no in the form I was currently in so all he hears is a hoo in response. He thinks it a hoo of agreement but if he were to properly translate know that I am calling him a fool.

The next night, he is even more talkative, telling the owl things he wouldn’t tell the cat. He says he is looking for someone and when I answer back with an owl’s hoo I truly mean the word who. Instead of answering, he gets quiet, his shoulders slump. I’ve never seen him sad before as he never frowned when with the cat.

Days pass, and for some reason I’m still at his side. His demeanor has become more depressed with each passing day. He is also getting closer to the forest of endings. A place where only a fool will trek into. Fitting. A foolish man who will find himself having a foolish end. I decided to leave him to his fate and fetch what he took from me after.

Yet, days later, I find his camp in the forest of endings. I am now a dog, a loyal companion who will follow him to the death. He feeds me. His eyes light up when I eat a hearty amount. He stands near me and speaks of a dog he had as a child by the name of potion.

“I named him that because my dad was a wizard and he—“ he stops himself, looking at me with sad eyes. “Why do you follow me?”

I bark a confused bark but his eyes are serious. I decide to speak with my actual voice but still I stay in the form of a dog.

“Do you know what I am?” I say and he doesn’t look surprised to hear me speak.

“Yes, I’ve sensed your magic. You were a cat then an owl now a dog. You also enchanted one of my rings. Why?”

“The trinket you took in that cabin. It’s mine.”

“The one in the torn down abandoned house?” He asks, shocked.

“Yes. Can you please give it back to me?”

He goes over to his backpack picking up the figurine. Walking back, he has his hands out as he waits for me to take it. I transform, turning into my form of a woman. A form I barely spent time in as the sight of my face reminds me of what I lost.

I grab the figurine, a smile of relief on my face as I breathe out a word.

“Mother.”

“Mother?” He repeats, shocked.

“Are you okay?” I say, my focus on the figurine in hand.

She does not respond. She never does but that doesn’t keep me from always hoping she will one day. I conjure my enchanted bag and slip the figurine inside. Once it disappears, I am startled as I forgot all about the man in front of me.

“My father was a wizard too and after an argument, he turned my mother into a figurine then never came back home. I always guard it but the day you came my magic was weak because I was working on a transformation spell that could fix her.”

“I’m sorry, I took your mother.”

“Thank you for returning her,” I look at him, his face full of regret. “May I ask you a question?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you in the forest of endings?” I wonder. I’ve followed you long enough to see you are a fool but clearly you can’t be that foolish.”

“I am looking for my father.”

“You will not find him. It’ll be impossible. For here, one can only find an ending.”

“I must try.”

“You’ve sensed my magic all along, haven’t you? I assume you're trained.”

“Formally, yes. I’m not very good at it though.”

“So a fool takes on a fool’s task.” I observe him for a moment. My heart has an odd reaction as if it’s a word I’m stumbling over. “I will journey along with you as payment for your kindness.”

“I would like that,” he says, sincerely.

A heat rises up inside of me. What strange magic was this fool doing to me?

Clearing my throat, I say. “Good, and just so you know to answer your question from days ago. You and I are not friends.”

“Befriending an owl. What a foolish man,” I continue, muttering under my breath.

“Are you forgetting I was aware you were a wizard?”

“Either way, still foolish.”

He chuckles, heat rises within me again and I start to feel like a fool.