You’d been traveling through the dense forest for hours, the only sound your own footsteps breaking branches underfoot. The map you’d been following was old, barely legible, and yet somehow it led you to a clearing at the edge of a steep cliff. You almost missed it entirely—a gap between two boulders that looked like nothing more than a shadow. But something compelled you to step closer, and when you did, you saw a narrow path descending into the earth.

Curiosity got the better of you, and you slipped through the passage, winding down into the dimly lit tunnels below. The air was warm, humid, and smelled faintly of damp soil and wildflowers. As you turned a corner, your eyes adjusted to the dark, revealing an underground village. Homes were carved into the walls of the cave, their doorways framed with woven vines and hanging moss. Dim bioluminescent fungi lined the paths, casting everything in a soft green glow.

And that’s when you saw her, a villager of this underground village. At first, you only noticed the plants growing from her head, blending with the vines and leaves that decorated the cave walls. She was kneeling beside a small stone hut, carefully arranging wildflowers around the entrance. Her large hands moved with surprising delicacy, and she seemed lost in her work.

You watched in quiet awe, unsure if you should approach. She hadn’t noticed you, or perhaps she had and simply didn’t mind. Her size was imposing, yet there was something gentle in the way she interacted with her surroundings.