Is it a dream of the past?

Everything is dark. I stand in the middle of the darkness, which slowly feels like it is crushing me. I was so exhausted that I closed my eyes. This must be a dream. But I'm not sure what is stranger, that I have never dreamed since I have been in this body or this dark space I am in now. 

In the distance shines a weak light. Slowly I walk nearer. Almost near the flying light, I lift my arm and try to touch it slowly. But before I can touch it, the ground shatters into thousands of pieces. I hear the clinking of shards everywhere while I fall into the endless depth.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

I fall nearer and nearer into a light in the depth, which is reflected by the shards that fall down around me. The light blinds me, and I close my eyes. Then everything is dark again and silent until I hear voices shouting.

"She's a witch!" 

The voices are becoming louder and louder. Fast, I open my eyes. Now I'm standing in a forest, but no one is here. Only the complaining voices, which are becoming increasingly difficult to bear. I try to block my ears with my hands, but the voices don't become silent. A dark figure comes out of nowhere in front of my face. The voices are instantly silent as the figure starts whispering.

"You have to bear your existence forever. That's your curse."

Shocked, I open my eyes, grab my dagger, and swing it in the direction of the figure. A second later I see that I am awake and Lionel is holding my hand with the dagger, and a little bleeding scratch appears on his face.

"I wanted to wake you up. Are you fine?" he asks, irritated.

"Yes, you just scared me a little," I say.

"When you grab your dagger every time someone touches you while you are asleep, then remember me, that I will never do that!" Caspian says.

"Lionel, are you ok?" I ask him while I stare at the scratch on his face.

"Yes, it's just a scratch. Are you really fine? You look stressed."

"Yes, I am really fine," I say while standing up,  jump out of the wagon and walk into the forest.

A winding river stretches before me, and its clear water reflects the light. I sit down in front of the river. As I look at my reflection in the river, Sisli appears next to me.

"Are you really ok, Aria?" She asks, and then she whispers, "Is it some kind of witch stuff?"

"Just a bad dream," I say.

"Dreams can be prophetic. They can reflect the past, the present, or give an insight into the future. But probably it was a normal dream."

"What do you mean exactly?"

"What did I say again?" she asks.

"Nothing..."

She's truly an interesting character. She seems to know a lot, but then she acts stupid again. Actually, I prefer it at the moment. But why?

"Sisli, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"Is it true that Kodama can only be seen by supernatural beings like me and humans with pure hearts?"

"I will tell you a secret because I like you. The answer is yes and no. This is essentially true. But Kodama are not inherently invisible. We can decide whether we want to be seen or not."

"So you could make yourself visible all the time? Why didn't you do this? Don't you want to interact with the others?"

"I would like too, but it is forbidden and a secret only the Kodama know. Anyone who breaks this rule will be banned from the tribe. You are a witch so you are immune to the magic, which makes us invisible."

"And what is with humans?"

"A pure heart cannot be deceived. It believes in the good and sees through the facade."

This is really suprising and was not even hinted a bit in the novel. I have one question already since I read the novel.

"Then I have one question. Why can't Lionel see you? Has a hero no pure heart?"

"Lionel's heart is pure in its essence, but insecurity and the feeling of guilt threaten to swallow it."

"What do you mean?" I ask, irritated.

"I don't have the answer to your question. You have to ask him yourself."

There seems to be more to him than meets the eye. I wanted to keep an eye on him, but since we started our journey, he seems to have stayed somewhat in the background.

"I want to ask you something too. Why do you pretend to be a human healer?" Sisli asks.

"Thats a difficult question to answer. It just happened that way. And who would want to mess with a witch? If they knew who I was, they would... I'm hanging on for my life, you know!"

"But who cares? You could just go or kill them. Why help them? They are mere humans after all."

"Dark thinking for someone like you, but regarding the circumstances, it's not a far-fetched idea. I'm not quite sure, but in short, I want them to defeat the mage and have a happy end. Eventually someone like me can also become happy."

A slight smile comes across my lips as I stare slightly lethargic into the river. 

Suddenly there is a rustling in the bushes behind me. I look tensely in the direction of the noise, stand up and put my hand to my dagger. 

"Who is there?"