That night, Ferry couldn't sleep. He could hear, again and again, Danny's voice, begging for help. He found himself getting dressed and then sneaking out of the window. 

The moon cast a soft light upon the streets, guiding his way. He left without knowing where to. But he decided he would stay away from the forest until the time would come. He needed the map, and he didn't have all the pieces yet.

Soon, he felt his feet taking him to May's house. He needed to talk to May that night. He couldn't have left without saying goodbye. The thought of going to the forbidden forest all by himself made him shiver. He had no idea what he would find there. What if it was the last time he would see May?

The streets were empty that late hour, yet the moon lit the surroundings as in the daytime. Far away, he could hear laughter and jolly songs, a sign that there were still people having a good time at the tavern.

He carried on to the side streets and in the blink of an eye, he was under May's balcony, throwing pebbles at her window. After a few minutes, May showed up in the balcony, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was ruffled, and she wore a blue nightgown with pink piggies. Her movements were soft and Ferry felt sorry for waking her up that suddenly. Yet, he could read both wonder and joy on her face at his sight.

"Ferry, what are you doing here?" she whispered.

"I had to see you, May," he said without even breathing. "I needed to ─ I need the drawing I gave you on Christmas," he mumbled.

May seemed a little confused. "All right... then come up!"

In a blink of an eye, Ferry climbed the thick stalks of the climbing plants that were embracing May's house. May tidied up her hair, then sat on the small bench on her balcony.

"Where have you been, May? I've been looking for you all day," the boy said after a few moments of silence.

May turned sad. "I've been to the Big City..."

"Why?" Ferry wondered.

The little girl kept gaze to the ground. "My parents... Their business isn't going well. But please, don't ask me anything else..."

A thought crossed Ferry's mind. And a twinge stung his heart. "You're not moving away, are you?"

May shook her head, "No. At least, I don't think so..."

Ferry wanted to say something else but couldn't find his words. He sat on the other side of the bench and they both watched the night sky. The moon smiled, wrapping them with white, soft light like a cozy, warm coat on a stormy night.

"Why do you need the drawing?" the girl eventually asked, looking at him with her big eyes which never ceased to wonder.

"Ben has a theory that the drawings are all part of a map."

"I'm surprised it isn't a theory about aliens this time," she smiled. But then she turned serious, "Do you really want to go? Aren't you afraid?" she asked.

"I have to," he said, looking at the moon so she won't see the fear in his eyes.

Then, the silence settled again. The night was bright and quiet. No wind's blow. No sound. Only two children and the moon. For a while, they just stood there, dangling their feet, sitting on the wooden bench and making it screak like a song.

Then May jumped on her feet. "Wait here," she said before going in. After a while, she came back, holding Ferry's drawing.

"When you come back from the forest, I want it back," she said, giving it to him.

Ferry forced a smile. He should have been home a long time ago. Somewhere, far away, the first spears of light were piercing the sky. Yet, he couldn't leave. Not yet. He noticed May was hiding something behind. Eventually, she revealed an old handkerchief which she carefully unfolded. It was the old comb from her grandmother.

"I want you to have it," she said looking him dead in the eye. "You are the moonlight boy my grandma told me about, Ferry. I'm sure it's you. I've seen the way you shine under the moonlight. The way it wraps you. You act differently, you look different under the moonlight. I know this comb is magical. And I also know it might be of great help in this journey of yours."

Ferry looked at the blue stone in the middle. He could have sworn that hidden words were glowing inside it. He carefully folded the comb in the handkerchief, and then, he stood up. But May stopped him on his way, grabbing by his hand.

"Please come back, Ferry," she said holding his hand tight. "You're my best friend. Promise me you'll come back!"

Ferry smiled, trying hard to look confident, "I'll come back, May. I promise."

⃰

"Look, if we place them next to each other, they all look like part of the same picture."

Ben was putting all the drawings together on the floor in Ferry's room.

"First, it's my drawing," he continued. "It looks like it's a representation of the forest. But look—on the other side of the stone, the landscape changes. It's more colorful, more alive. Then, there's Matt's drawing, the one with the treehouse. Then it continues with May's, the fairies in the meadow. The last one is yours. Until the dark side in this corner," he said, pointing with his finger.

Ferry looked closer. At first, he thought the map was only in Ben's imagination. Now, he could see his ideas had some logic.

Watching the drawing, he could see it turning a bit darker in the upper right corner, as if in the shadow of a giant tree. There were several unclear, dark silhouettes in that corner, staying in a line as if waiting for a command. Right behind them, there were some pillars that looked disturbingly similar to bars, rising to the sky like trees. But the drawing looked incomplete.

Ben studied the dark corner with his magnifying glass. "How interesting," he said. "If you look at these bars closely, behind them ─ Ferry, look! It's a hand! It looks like the hand of a child, holding that bar. I know what this is!" he shouted. "It's a prison."

Ferry also looked at that dark corner through the magnifying glass. Yes, it was a hand holding tight one of the bars.

"If Danny is somewhere held captive in that realm, that's where he would be! That's where you must go. That's where you'll find Danny."

For the first time in weeks, Ferry felt enthusiastic about his journey to Shepherd's Forest. "Well done, Ben! At least we have something."

But Ben turned serious, "Are you going tonight?"

Ferry nodded, "There's no time to wait. I want to come back before my birthday."

"I wish I could come with you. I wish Matt could come along... the way we've planned when we've started Operation VDS."

Ferry tried to look confident, "It's all right, Ben. It really is. You've already done so much. And remember—if I don't come back in three days, go to the veiled lady and ask for her help. Trust me, she'll know what to do." Then he jumped to his feet, "Now I have to go. There's one more thing I need to do."

They went out in the hot street. Ben walked beside him. He looked worried. They said goodbye in front of his house.

"Take care of you," he said, tapping Ferry on his shoulder. "I hope you'll come back safe. You're my best friend," he added before entering his house.

Ferry said goodbye to his friend with a heavy heart. With slow steps, he walked away. He stopped in front of Matilda's house, hoping he would meet her. But there was no sign of her.

He opened the small gate in front of her house and hesitated for a moment, before knocking on the door. Matilda's father came out and carefully shut the door behind him.

"Hello, Mr. Harper. Is Matt home?"

"Ferry," he said, looking troubled. "Well, I'm afraid she's not..."

"Could you tell me where she is?"

Matilda's father hesitated, "I wouldn't know... You know Mattie... She took her bike and went out."

Ferry thanked him, but as he was ready to walk out the gate, he saw Matilda's bike leaning against the fence. He felt his heart broken into thousands of pieces as he went away. When he looked up to Matilda's window, he could see the curtain moving. That moment, he knew his best friend hasn't forgiven him for being a fairy.

With heavy steps, he started wandering the streets, hitting every stone in his way. After a while, he could hear steps behind him. He turned around, hoping it was Matilda. Maybe she has changed her mind; maybe she had forgiven him for something it wasn't even his fault.

But it wasn't Matilda. It was Billy Pride, coming towards him and looking very determined.

Ferry sighed. "What do you want, Billy?" he asked, stopping. "I really don't want to fight with you..."

Billy stopped right in front of him, catching his breath. He offered him the wooden box he was holding. It was the wooden box with Lavender Sky's magical feathers. Ferry couldn't believe his eyes.

"Take this," said Billy. "They might help you in your journey to find Danny..." he added in a low voice. "And bring Danny home, please. He's my only friend," he said before walking away.

Ferry was stuck in place with the box in his hand, unable to do or say anything. When he woke up from his astonishment, Billy was already gone.

⃰

At dawn, he was still awake. He got out the bed with slow moves. He put his clothes on just as slow as if he never wanted to end getting dressed. Then, he put all the things he gathered for the journey into an old leather sack his father once used for his tools; it wasn't too heavy. It had inside the iron filling box, Billy's magical feathers, Lavender's wool ball, and the map. 

He didn't put May's comb in the bag, though; instead, he planted it in his hair, in the back of his head.  For some reason, he knew it was important. He then took from under his pillow the raven's stone and put around his neck. He covered himself in the green cloak Lavender gave him and walked out of the room.

Ferry opened his parents' bedroom door and watched them as they were sleeping. Then, tiptoeing, he went down the stairs to the kitchen where, with trembling hands, he put a letter near his mother's favorite flower pot, a red geranium. He'd put all his heart in that letter. He told her not to worry, that he had left searching for Danny and that they would both come back, safe and sound. And he told her he loved her.

He then came out the door, shutting it carefully. He left without looking back, in fear he might change his mind.

He followed the back streets and watched the darkness fading away under the first kiss of the morning sun.

The boy reached the forest sooner than he had wanted. He took off his shoes and gloves and then slowly put them in the grass at the edge of the forest. He then took a deep breath and entered the woodland.

He had never seen the forest that early in the morning. He had never felt the dew, soft and cold, nor had he smelled the fresh air which cheered him up with every step. He had never heard the happy, careless birds' twittering. And all of his fears and sadness faded away.

But soon, his steps gained echo. He could hear small branches cracking behind him. And a raspberry bush on the side started to tremble like shaken by unseen hands.

He was not alone. 

So Ferry is going to find Danny all by himself. How about that? But who is following him? Can you guess? 

As always, thank you so much for reading, voting, and commenting! Your support is amazing!