Odelia Sui bounded through the woods. She was going to her grandmother's house to help her bake cookies for the town fair. The sun was bright and Odelia smiled happily. She had eyes as green as emeralds and hair black like ravens feathers. 

    She rounded a bend on the dirt path and saw her grandmother's village. It felt weird to be out of the forest because she lived there with her father. She heard a flock of laughter a ways off and saw a group of kids about her age. Curiosity got the best of Odelia and she quickly ran over to see what the fuss was about. 

    The crowd of kids surrounded two, a boy and a girl who looked a lot alike. The girl was looking scared as the boy looked quite pleased with himself for some reason.

    "Well," he said. "Are you taking the dare, Tatiana?"

    The girl nodded slowly as her lip quivered. Then, a loud voice rang out from the school building, "Children! It's time for school! Return to your classes or you will all be staying late!"

    The crowd quickly dispersed and Odelia started back for her grandmother's house. Once she reached it she saw her aunt standing out on the porch. 

    "Ah, Delilah, you're here!" her grandmother said.

    Her grandmother had always thought Odelia's name was Delilah because she had always been hard of hearing. But she had been calling Odelia Delilah for thirteen years so Odelia never bothered to try and explain that her name was Odelia. 

    "Hello, grandmother," she said in her quiet voice. "How are you doing."

    "Quite well. But my cookies need your special touch before they can be perfect, my dear."

    "Of course," Odelia said, walking into her house."

    "A horse?" her grandmother asked, not having heard her right. "I don't see one and I don't plan on buying one

anytime soon. Your aunt had one and she said they were real hard to take care of."

    "I said of course I'll help you with the cookies!" Odelia yelled, but not unkindly.

    "Opps, heh, sorry, my hearing is not quite what it should be."

    Odelia stayed until the afternoon helping her grandmother bake delicious pumpkin cookies. And finally, as the sun was setting, Odelia set off back through the woods on her path. She reached her father's cozy cabin and stepped inside.

    "G'afternoon, Miss Sui," he said as she ran to give him a

tight hug. "How was grandmother's?"

    "Great, the cookies were delicious."

    "You better have not eaten all of them."

    "No, just two, the rest are for the fair. Oh, can we go? Then you can taste our cookies!"

    "Of course we can go! But I must make sure I can make it. If not, then grandma will have to take you."

    "You always work so much, Dad, isn't lumber work hard?"

    "Yes, but I do it so that you can be happy."

    "I would be happier if you didn't have to work so much."

    "Yes, sweetie, but you will understand why I work once you're a little bit older. Now it's late, nighty-nite."

    After her father tucked her in, Odelia stayed up thinking of ways to cheer up her father. He always looked and acted happy, but that was only around her. 

    Just as Odelia was about to close her eyes, she heard a loud scream. She almost jumped out of her bed and rushed out of her room. Throwing on her slippers she ran outside and looked around at the dark forest. 

    She heard the scream again and ran toward the sound. Now she could definietly hear the panicked voice of a young girl screaming, "Help! Komi! Please! Ahh!"

    She saw a light and the same girl she had seen in the circle of children that day stuck in a large spider web. But it was one of the webs that belonged to the poisonous spiders of the forest. As Odelia was realizing this, she also realized that she didn't have any light to keep any of the spiders away. Just then, she saw a boy approach with a lantern. He threw it and fire spread, scattering the spiders in Odelia direction.

    As the boy saved the girl, Odelia, terrified, ran as fast as she could. But she was no match for one spider that locked onto her ankle and bit her. 

    Odelia screamed as tears rushed to her eyes. Then she 

saw a light coming her way as blackness covered her eyes.

                                       .    .    .    .    .

    Odelia sat in Mother Sun's potion room, reading a small scroll for a sleep potion.

    "Are you having trouble sleeping, Odelia?" Mother Sun asked as she entered the room.

    "No, I just miss my father," she responded.

    "I understand. You haven't seen him in five years, that must be hard. But you have anew family here, now."

    "Yes, but I never got to say goodbye to him."

    That night, once Odelia had been bitten by the spider, her father had been awakened by her screaming and had