The Girl Who Spoke to the Spirits of Beasts

In a small village surrounded by dense forests and wild rivers lived Aïna, a sixteen-year-old girl. Since childhood, she had carried a strange gift: she could enter the minds of animals.

A single glance was enough for her to understand their thoughts, their fears, their joys. But more than that, she could guide their movements, as if part of their spirit was bound to hers. The villagers secretly called her the girl of the beasts. Some revered her, others feared her.

One stormy night, the wind howled like a wounded animal. Aïna felt a powerful call in her chest. She stepped out of her hut, barefoot on the wet earth, and lifted her eyes to the forest. There, a pack of wolves emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing like embers.

But instead of attacking, they stopped before her. Their thoughts flooded her mind:

“Man is destroying our forest… he burns our dens. Help us.”

Aïna understood. Deep within the woods, a group of men were cutting down the sacred trees to sell the timber at the market. The wolves, the deer, the owls… all were threatened.

So she placed her hand on the soaked ground. She closed her eyes and let her spirit scatter like invisible mist. Suddenly, the forest itself awakened: birds burst into chaotic flight, wild boars crashed from the thickets, wolves surrounded the woodcutters.

Terrified by this silent army led by a mere girl, the men dropped their axes and fled.

When calm returned, Aïna still stood among the wolves. She had saved the forest… but she had also revealed her power to the world. Now, people would come for her—some to worship, others to chain.

She knew: this was only the beginning of her destiny.