Elf

Nonna taught him that the forest behind her old house was filled with fairies. He listened with the most attention a five-year-old could compile, and she spoke with the most simple words a grandparent could find after eighty years. The elves were his favorites. Nonna said they lived inside the trees; that was why it always felt like the forest was watching you.

When he was sixteen, Nonna was gone. Mamma told him she was with the fairies. He didn't believe her, but he went to the forest anyway. For old time's sake.

As he walked, he felt something watching.