Maja and Tymek find a hidden stone gate in the Shining Forest and step into a strange, glowing world that seems to be calling them for help.
The Shining Forest was never truly quiet. Even on the stillest afternoons, leaves whispered overhead, branches creaked, and something small and unseen always seemed to be moving just out of sight.
Maja and Tymek had heard Grandmother's stories about the forest since they were little: enchanted trees, foxes that sang at dusk, and paths that changed when no one was looking. They had always smiled politely and thought they were only stories. But that day, deep among the silver trunks and hanging moss, the forest felt less like a place and more like a secret waiting to be found.
Tymek held his little compass in one hand. The needle spun, then jerked north, then spun again, as if it could not make up its mind. Maja slowed beside him, scanning the roots and stones along the path. Then she caught a flash of light beneath a curtain of ivy.
"Tymek," she whispered. "Look."
They knelt together and brushed away the moss. Beneath it lay a flat stone slab, cool and damp, carved with symbols neither of them knew. The moment their fingers touched it, the ground gave a soft shudder. Leaves rustled. The air smelled suddenly of rain and wildflowers.
Then, right in front of them, two thick trees slowly bent apart as if pulled by invisible hands. Their branches curved overhead and met in a perfect circle, making a gate framed in glowing green moss. Beyond it stretched a meadow bathed in light. The grass shimmered blue and gold. Huge butterflies drifted through the air, their wings shining like glass.
Maja felt Tymek take her hand, and for a second neither of them moved. Then, because the gate was there and because the forest seemed to be holding its breath, they stepped through together.
On the other side, the world changed at once. The air was warm and sweet, and strange murmurs floated through the grass like half-finished songs. A white rabbit darted from a thicket and stopped in front of them. It had tiny blue wings folded neatly against its back.
It looked straight at Maja, then at Tymek, and spoke in a voice as clear as a bell.
"I have been waiting for you. The Lost Light is fading, and the shadow is already waking. If you want to leave this place alive, you must come now."
Before Maja could answer, the meadow flickered. The shining butterflies vanished in a blink. From somewhere far beyond the trees came a deep, rumbling sound, as if something enormous had just opened its eyes.