The village lay in a valley between two hills.
A river ran along its eastern side, and beyond the river stood a forest. The villagers crossed the river to gather wood, collect berries, and visit the old stone house that stood among the trees.
There was a path through the forest.
It began beside the river, passed between two large oaks, and continued towards the stone house.
Everyone knew the path.
One morning, a woman named Elian went into the forest to gather hazelnuts.
She took the path between the oaks.
After a while, she noticed that the trees had grown closer together.
She stopped.
The path continued between them, but the forest beyond was unfamiliar. The trees were taller than those she remembered, and the ground was covered with small white flowers.
Elian turned around.
The path behind her was gone.
She looked at the trees.
There was a narrow opening between two ash trees.
She went through it.
Beyond the trees lay a meadow.
At the far end stood a house with a red roof.
Elian had never seen it before.
She walked towards the house.
A man was standing beside the door.
He greeted her.
Elian asked him where she was.
The man looked towards the meadow.
"Where you have come," he said.
Elian asked whether the house belonged to him.
The man said that it had belonged to his family for a long time.
She asked whether there was a path back to the village.
He pointed towards the trees.
Elian thanked him.
She went through the opening.
The path between the ash trees led to the river.
She crossed the river and returned to the village.
That evening, she told her husband about the house.
He said that there was no house in the forest.
Elian said that she had seen it.
Her husband asked whether she had seen anyone else.
She said that she had met a man.
Her husband looked at her.
"Which man?"
Elian could not remember his name.
The following morning, Elian went back to the forest.
She took the path between the oaks.
The trees stood where they had always stood.
The path continued towards the stone house.
Elian walked until she reached the place where she had found the meadow.
There were two ash trees.
Between them was an opening.
She went through it.
The meadow was there.
The house stood at the far end.
The man was waiting beside the door.
He greeted her.
Elian asked him whether he remembered her.
He said that he did.
She asked whether he knew her name.
He said that he did.
Elian asked him to tell her.
The man smiled.
"Elian," he said.
She stood still.
The man asked whether she had brought the hazelnuts.
Elian looked down.
She was carrying a basket.
It was full of hazelnuts.
She had not gathered them.
The man took the basket.
He thanked her.
Then he asked whether she would like to see the garden.
Elian said that she would.
They walked around the house.
There were apple trees, a well, and a small wooden shed.
Beyond the garden stood a hill.
The man pointed towards it.
"That is where the path goes."
Elian looked at the hill.
She had never seen it before.
She asked whether the path led back to the village.
The man said that it did.
She thanked him.
Then she went through the opening between the ash trees.
The path led to the river.
She crossed it and returned to the village.
After that, Elian visited the house whenever she went into the forest.
Sometimes she found the meadow.
Sometimes she found a stream.
Sometimes she found a clearing in which a small wooden bridge crossed a deep ravine.
The man was always there.
He never seemed surprised to see her.
He knew her name.
He knew the village.
He knew the river.
But he never asked her where she had come from.
One day, Elian asked him whether he had ever visited the village.
He said that he had.
She asked when.
He looked towards the trees.
"Before the path was there," he said.
Elian asked what he meant.
The man smiled.
"Before you found it."
In the village, people began to notice that Elian was spending more time in the forest.
Her husband asked whether she was gathering hazelnuts.
She said that she was.
He asked whether she was visiting the stone house.
She said that she was.
Her husband said that the stone house had been empty for years.
Elian said that she knew.
He asked whether she had met anyone.
She said that she had.
Her husband asked who.
Elian told him about the man.
Her husband said that there was no man in the forest.
Elian said that she had spoken to him.
Her husband looked towards the window.
Beyond the village, the forest stood between the hills.
He said that he would go with her.
They crossed the river the following morning.
Elian took her husband along the path between the oaks.
The trees stood where they had always stood.
The path continued towards the stone house.
They walked together.
After a while, Elian noticed that the trees had grown closer together.
She stopped.
Her husband looked at her.
"What is it?"
Elian pointed towards the opening between the ash trees.
They went through it.
The meadow lay beyond.
The house stood at the far end.
The man was waiting beside the door.
He greeted them.
Elian introduced her husband.
The man said that he knew him.
Her husband looked at him.
"Have we met?"
The man said that they had.
Her husband asked when.
The man looked towards the trees.
"Before the path was there," he said.
Elian's husband turned to her.
She looked at the house.
The man asked whether they would like to see the garden.
They said that they would.
The three of them walked around the house.
The apple trees were in blossom.
The well was full.
The wooden shed stood beside the garden wall.
Beyond the garden, the hill rose towards the sky.
Elian's husband looked at the hill.
He asked whether there was a path over it.
The man said that there was.
He pointed towards the trees.
Elian's husband looked at Elian.
She nodded.
They went through the opening.
The path led towards the hill.
They walked until they reached a place where the trees grew apart.
Beyond them lay another valley.
There was a river.
There was a village.
And beside the village stood a house with a red roof.
Elian's husband looked at the house.
He said that he had seen it before.
Elian asked where.
He said that he did not know.
They stood together.
The man was no longer with them.
When they returned to the village, Elian's husband told the others about the meadow.
Some went to look for it.
They crossed the river and took the path between the oaks.
The trees stood where they had always stood.
The path continued towards the stone house.
Some found the opening between the ash trees.
Some found a stream.
Some found a clearing.
One woman found a path that led towards a hill.
She followed it.
At the top, she found a small wooden bridge.
Beyond the bridge lay a valley.
She stood there for a long time.
Then she returned to the village.
Nobody asked her what she had seen.
Years passed.
The village remained beside the river.
The forest continued to grow.
The path between the oaks was still there.
Sometimes it led towards the stone house.
Sometimes it led towards the meadow.
Sometimes it led towards the hill.
And sometimes, when someone entered the forest, they found a path that had not been there before.
Nobody knew where it came from.
Nobody knew where it went.
But the villagers learned to leave the paths open.
And, in the forest, the trees continued to grow.
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