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Book One

Written by Zlatko Enev on . Posted in Book One.

The Ghost Forest

This is the world where
the story of the first book unfolds.
The map shows its key locations —
click on them to learn more.

  • The Meadow of Freddy the Scarecrow

    Europe

    In the middle of the meadow, leaning to one side like the Tower of Pisa, stood a lonely scarecrow.

  • Altar

    After a long walk, they had reached something like an altar, built from massive, roughly hewn stones, embedded in the ground in a circular formation.

  • Eagle’s Nest

    Firmly embedded in the massive cliffs, on one of the many ledges along the canyon wall, was a huge nest — or more precisely, a system of several nests, surrounded by a network of hanging ladders and bridges.

  • Anthill

    Suddenly, the stalks in front of them parted, and through the opening, three strange figures literally tumbled out. Their armored bodies looked heavy and menacing, and the large curved cudgels they carried didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

  • The Ghost Mansion

    There was no doubt — they were standing in front of the Ghost Mansion! Everything around them spoke of ruin and desolation, just as one would expect from a house full of ghosts.

  • The Watermill

    The little mill was wonderfully beautiful. At the base, it began with a stone masonry foundation, as tall as a person. The neatly whitewashed walls with their tiny, charming windows looked so delicious that Anne couldn’t help but think of Hansel and Gretel.

  • Heino’s Secret Dwelling

    Built from thick, roughly interwoven branches, a large nest-like structure was fastened at the base of the millwheel — wide and comfortable. Its interior, lined with neatly planed and varnished boards, gleamed in the sunlight like a mirror.

  • The Magpies’ Meadow

    After a few more steps, a small meadow appeared before their eyes, with a single withered tree at its center. Perched in its branches were two magpies, each taller than Anne. Both were decked out from head to toe in earrings, rings, and necklaces — though at the moment, they looked rather disheveled.

  • Fisherman’s Jetty

    The third path led them to the bank of a wide stream. A narrow walkway of flat stones led to a small fisherman’s jetty, hidden among cattails and reeds. With the help of a large branch propped up in a forked stick, a woven fishing basket had been lowered into the water.

  • The Spider’s Meadow

    The path led to a second, smaller meadow, blocked by the massive trunk of an ancient tree. The tree was so thick that it completely blocked the way. However, someone had hollowed out a large tunnel through its center — wide enough for a person to walk through upright without any trouble.

  • The Meadow with Three Exits

    It was deep within a dense forest. The small clearing she had stumbled upon was surrounded by thick, hollowed-out trees, with thorny bushes growing between them. The vegetation was so dense that, if not for the cheerful sunlight streaming in, the place would have seemed quite dark and unwelcoming.

  • The Swamp

    As far as the eye could see stretched a vast swamp, speckled here and there with small tuft-like islets, each crowned with thick stumps.

  • The Orchid Meadow

    A wide clearing between the trees led to a vast meadow — the largest they had seen so far in the forest. Most of it was covered with ordinary grass and flowers, but a relatively narrow strip near the front was dotted with fiery red orchids — not ordinary ones, but enormous flowers, taller than a person.

  • Madam Owl’s Dwelling

    The thick trunk was encircled by numerous wooden ladders, making it accessible even to those who couldn’t fly. At various heights along the trunk were several hollows, all but one locked with heavy padlocks.

  • The Magpie’s Dwelling

    It was, in fact, a proper little house, built into the low branches of a thick tree. Woven from tough twigs and covered with bundles of straw, it looked quite cosy. A sturdy wooden ladder led up to a small veranda in front of the house, furnished with a table and a few chairs.

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Ghost Forest

Ghost Park

Ghost Desert

Read more …Map of Book One

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Written by Zlatko Enev on . Posted in Book One.

The river
in the box

Where it all begins…
And in a wooden box, it turns out
a whole miniature world
could quietly fit.

Firecurl was just wondering whether to keep sulking or, on the contrary, admit her guilt, when the doorbell rang. At least for the moment, it felt like a welcome distraction, and she dashed down the stairs. In the chaos, maybe she’d come up with something better than a miserable apology.

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Reflections on the scene

⸻ ❦ ⸻

– ❦ –

This is not just an introduction. It’s a rite of passage. The story opens not with wonder, but with rupture: a tantrum, a shattered toy, a disappointed parent. The doll is mutilated, the mother turns away, and the child—Anne—is left alone with her rage and shame.

This moment plants the book’s first essential question:
What does it mean to destroy what you love?

And deeper still:
Where does that impulse come from?

Enter Mr. Laptsev, mysterious but oddly transactional. He offers not comfort, but a product: a magical game that seems too strange to trust. It’s bigger on the inside, filled with impossible landscapes and moving pieces. But above all—it is alive. The Forest breathes, listens, and, as Anne will learn, remembers.

When Anne lashes out and smashes the game with a hammer, it is not out of malice. It is something far more complex: a child testing the limits of consequence. And this time, the consequence stares back. The game doesn’t simply break—it reacts. It answers. And with that, a line is crossed.

This is the true beginning of the journey—not a leap into fantasy, but a moral awakening. Anne does not escape into the Forest. She is summoned—by her own actions, by guilt, and by the strange magic of responsibility.

There’s no prophecy here. No chosen one. Just a girl who makes a mistake—and is asked to face it.

⸻ ❦ ⸻

– ❦ –

Participants in the scene

  • Anne

  • Mom

  • Nerod Laptsev

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All Scenes Book I

Next

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Ghost Forest
Selected Scenes

Ghost Park
Selected Scenes

Ghost Desert
Selected Scenes

Read more …Book I - Scene 01: The River in the Box

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Written by Zlatko Enev on . Posted in Book One.

Moments from the Ghost Forest

Scenes from the Beginning of the Road –
where fear takes shape,
and friendship becomes strength.

Book One – Selected Scenes

  • The river in the box

  • The spider’s meadow

  • Grandpa Hedgehog’s Watermill

  • The Swamp

  • Madam Owl

  • The Queen Mother

  • The Ghost Mansion

  • The Secret of the Ghosts

  • The Fire of
    Eternal Change

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Ghost Forest
Selected Scenes

Ghost Park
Selected Scenes

Ghost Desert
Selected Scenes

Read more …Book One – Selected Scenes

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Written by Zlatko Enev on . Posted in Book One.

The Meadow with Three Exits

First encounter with the world of the Forest –
a strange place, three exits, and a backpack
that suddenly starts to talk.
Plus two jokers who could
scare anyone to death.

Boom! Anne hit the ground hard. Good thing she landed on something soft — otherwise, she’d be in real trouble. Still dizzy from the wild flight, she lay there for a moment, then sat up, rubbed her eyes, and cautiously looked around.

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Reflections on the scene

⸻ ❦ ⸻

Anne doesn’t gently enter this story—she crash-lands into it. One moment she’s soaring, the next she’s flat on the ground in a strange new world. It’s not unlike Alice’s tumble or Dorothy’s whirlwind ride: a jolt that throws a child out of the familiar and into the fantastic.

But this forest clearing isn’t a wonderland or an emerald land of witches. It’s tense. Crooked branches reach like old fingers. Odd sounds echo from deep within the trees. Something growls. Still, sunlight slips through, and Anne, though frightened, doesn’t run. She watches. She listens. She waits.

That quiet hesitation matters. This story doesn’t rush forward—it asks us to pay attention.

Then: three paths. One barely visible. Two others connected by a worn trail. It’s a simple image, but a powerful one. We’re at a fork before the plot has even begun. It’s a story about decisions—big and small—and how the smallest detour can shape everything.

And just when she’s about to choose, whump! Something falls from the sky.

Her backpack.

At first it’s just a relief—soft, familiar, safe. Then it speaks.

The shock is funny, but also quietly profound. Suddenly, a cherished object has a voice. Not a wise guide like Glinda, not a white rabbit with a pocket watch—just a cranky, mistreated sidekick with a lot to say. Pouchy doesn’t explain the rules of this world. She challenges them.

This moment flips the usual roles: Anne isn’t just the child giving meaning to her surroundings. The world around her is alive—and it remembers. What she once ignored now demands attention.

The charm of the scene lies in its balance: it’s playful and strange, but rooted in emotion. Anne isn’t handed a map or a prophecy. She’s startled, a little angry—and beginning to engage.

This is how the journey begins. Not with destiny, but with a fall, a voice from the unexpected, and three unknown paths waiting ahead.

⸻ ❦ ⸻

Participants in the scene

  • Anne

  • Pouchy

  • Quirk and Boo

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Ghost Forest
Selected Scenes

Ghost Park
Selected Scenes

Ghost Desert
Selected Scenes

Read more …Book I – Scene 01: The Meadow with Three Exits

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Written by Zlatko Enev on . Posted in Book One.

The spider’s meadow

Anne begins to understand that in this forest,
almost nothing is what it seems.
And even spiders can be
so terrifying they make your knees go weak.

The path led to a second, smaller clearing, blocked by the trunk of a mighty centuries-old tree. The tree was so thick it completely blocked the way. Someone, however, had carved a large tunnel right through its middle — wide enough for a person to pass through upright. But the path wasn’t free: right in front of the tunnel, suspended by a complex system of levers and gears, hung a massive spiderweb.

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Reflections on the scene

⸻ ❦ ⸻

– ❦ –

What waits at the end of a forest path? Not always magic or mystery—sometimes it’s bureaucracy. Or worse: bureaucracy with fangs.

Anne arrives at a second clearing, only to find the way blocked by a giant tree and a paywall. Literally. A hairy spider guards a massive web, a coin box gapes open like a hungry mouth, and a helpless fly pleads for her life. Welcome to the toll gate of absurdity.

There’s something distinctly adult about this setup: the sign, the rules, the dry “customer service” tone. It’s a parody of systems we all know—where fairness is a formality, and compassion has office hours. The spider isn’t evil. He’s just… on break.

Anne’s reaction is all too real: hesitation, polite retreat, then full-blown panic. She doesn’t try to fight, doesn’t argue. She runs. And in this moment, the story reminds us that fear is natural—and that bravery doesn’t always show up on cue.

Pouchy’s commentary, as usual, blends comic relief with clear-eyed judgment. The world is full of creatures who want something—sometimes money, sometimes obedience—and being small doesn’t protect you from them.

But then comes a flicker of something else. Anne wonders, quietly, if they should help the fly. It’s a small moment, easy to miss. Yet in it is the seed of courage—not the loud, swashbuckling kind, but the kind that begins in empathy.

It’s no accident she mentions Pippi Longstocking. The wish to be stronger, to be braver, is already taking root.

And while they don’t turn back—not yet—something in Anne has started to shift.

⸻ ❦ ⸻

– ❦ –

Participants in the scene

  • Anne

  • Pouchy

  • The Spider

  • Buzz the Fly

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All Scenes Book I

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Ghost Forest
Selected Scenes

Ghost Park
Selected Scenes

Ghost Desert
Selected Scenes

Read more …Book I – Scene 02: The Spider’s Meadow

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