I knew it was stupid. I had just met her after all, but there was something about her that told me I could trust her. It also didn’t help that I thought she looked absolutely beautiful. Maybe it was the way her choppy poker straight white hair contrasted against her smooth dark skin, or maybe it was the piercing stare she gave with her unbandaged eye. Regardless of the reason, I still followed her into that portal.

It was cold and dark with the added bonus that I had no idea which way was up. The only thing I could tell was that her hand was pulling and guiding me to her destination with a grip that was extraordinarily tight for her small size. As she pulled my hand, calluses from many years of working rub against mine. That surprised me. Looking at her she looked like she didn’t work a day in her life. She looked like a fairy, all small and graceful, but she acted at one point like she had been a commander of an army. She knew what she was doing. At least, that was what I thought.

Our journey ended as I stepped out into a blinding light. When my eyes adjusted, I looked around—I was now in the middle of a snowy forest. The evergreen trees were tall and the snow was up to my waist. The girl was standing next to me, and she was staring straight at me. This made me extraordinarily uncomfortable. It didn’t help that she looked at me like I'd already disappointed her.

As we stood silent, the wind decided to pick up, making me shiver and clutch at my summer clothes. This finally made her break the silence.

“You’re cold.” Was all she said.

As she spoke, she draped a cloth around me. I was too cold and grateful to ask where she got what I now understood was an extraordinarily large cloak. Once she had made sure I wasn’t going to freeze to death, she started pacing and muttering. I couldn’t understand a word she uttered, but by her movements I could tell she was anything but happy. So, I decided to stay quiet and watch her pace back and forth. Then she suddenly stopped, and quickly turned to me. Grabbing my shoulders she sniffed me. I was now really regretting my decision to follow this seemingly insane girl. As she let go of me I decided to break the re-established silence.

“You-You never told me y-y-y-y-your name.” I could barely get the words out. She froze. I started to worry that I had said something wrong. She looked me over for a long time before replying.

“My name is Algea.” With that, she quickly turned and started to set up a fire pit. Every now and then she would look at me then return to what she was doing. After the sixth or seventh time, she finally spoke to me.

“You should go and find some firewood. You look cold, and it’s getting dark.” Grateful to have something to do, I hurried to fulfil her command. I wandered through the woods. I found several good pieces, but they weren't enough to sustain a good, long fire. As I continued searching, the sun started to set. Before long I could barely see my hand in front of me, let alone find my way back. I whipped around trying to find a land marker, but I couldn’t see anything. I was kicking myself—how could I be so stupid? I haven’t been in the woods often enough to go anywhere by myself, especially in the snow and at night. This was a very bad idea. If I was being frank with myself, I was making those a lot recently. I was losing feeling in my limbs, and I was starting to freak out. ‘I’m so going to freeze out here. Algea has no idea where I am. Hell, I have no idea where I am. I hope there aren't bears out here.’ My thoughts got interrupted by a rustling to my right. I followed a complete stranger into the snowy woods at night and got completely lost. Now a bear is going to kill me and no one at home is going to know what happened to me. My rampant thoughts got interrupted by a familiar voice.

“What are you doing?” It was Algea. Relief flooded me. She had found me. I wasn’t going to die here. I was saved.

“I was getting firewood.” She looked at my pile of wood with a look of approval.

“Not bad. How about we go back to camp and start a fire? You look frozen solid.”

When we got back to the clearing, it was clear Algea had been busy: she had already put up a tent, cleared a spot for the campfire, and made some seats out of fallen logs. I was wondering where that came from. Before I could ask, Algea took the wood out of my arms and made a campfire.

“Sit.” She commanded while pointing to the log positioned across the fire from herself. I didn’t know how cold I was until my limbs stung with the reintroduced warmth. As I sat by the fire, Algea began to rummage in her backpack.

“Do you eat meat?” She asked.

“Yes!” I said with too much vigor.

“Alright. How about some rabbit?”

“Sounds delicious.”

She pulled out some meat and a metal stick from behind the log. With the rabbit roasting over the fire, we both sat in silence. We stayed this way until I had eaten the rabbit. Algea had opted for some blueberries instead. We finished eating and the fire was still going strong. That was when she cleared her throat to get my attention.

“You should get some sleep; we have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow.”

“What about you? Where are you going to sleep?” I had noticed the tent was pretty small—just enough room for me if I curled into a ball.

“I’m going to keep watch. Don’t worry. I’ll sleep.”

I nodded my understanding and stood to go to the tent. As soon as I hit the sleeping bag, I was out.