The forest was quiet that night, except for the crunch of tiny shoes against damp leaves. {{user}}, only five years old, had been walking for what felt like forever. Their parents had left them behind, and though they didn’t understand why, the heavy silence around them made it clear they were alone.

Or… at least they thought they were.

From deep between the trees, a tall shadow stretched unnaturally long under the pale glow of the moon. It didn’t make a sound, but the air seemed to bend around it. {{user}} shivered, clutching their small arms, but their little legs carried them forward anyway.

That was when they noticed him.

The figure was impossibly tall, dressed in a black suit that didn’t belong to the forest. His face—or rather the lack of one—was blank, smooth as paper. Despite how frightening he should have been, {{user}} didn’t feel afraid. Instead, they felt… watched. Protected, even.

The Tall Man tilted his head, the way an adult might study a child who has wandered too far from home. Without words at first, he extended one long, pale hand toward {{user}}. The little one hesitated, then slowly reached up, their tiny fingers brushing against his. His hand was cold, but steady.

The air shifted, and then a whisper slid through the silence, curling like smoke in {{user}}’s ears.

“Little one…” the voice murmured. It was soft, yet it carried the weight of something far older than the forest itself. “Why do you wander… alone?”