Right

The next morning, he woke up beneath the old tree.
For a moment, he thought everything had been a dream.
The forest was silent.
The stone beneath his head was cold.
The sun was slowly rising through the branches.
No goddess.
No magic.
No impossible encounter.
Only a foolish man who had spent the night chasing a story.
He laughed at himself.
How could he believe that a creature from old legends would come to him?
How could he believe that someone powerful would look at a man like him?
He stood up, ready to return home.
Then he noticed something.
A small mark on his hand.
A symbol he had never seen before.
He touched it.
And suddenly…
He remembered.
Her touch.
Her voice.
Her smile.
She had not been a dream.
That night, when the moon was high again, he returned to the forest.
This time, he did not call her name.
He simply waited.
And she came.
The darkness moved first.
Then the wind.
Then her voice.
“You called for me.”
He looked at her.
This time he could see her.
Not completely.
Never completely.
But enough.
She was beautiful.
More beautiful than anything he had imagined.
“You wanted my power,” she whispered.
He lowered his eyes.
“I wanted to be more than I am.”
Hecate smiled.
“That is what everyone wants.”
She walked around him slowly.
“Kings want more kingdoms.”
“Rich men want more gold.”
“Beautiful people want to remain beautiful forever.”
“Powerful people want even more power.”
“And ordinary people…”
She looked at him.
“Ordinary people want someone to finally see them.”
He said nothing.
Because she was right.
“What will you give me?” he asked.
The smile disappeared from her face.
“Ah…”
“There it is.”
“The question everyone asks.”
“What must I pay?”
She stepped closer.
“I do not take gold.”
“I do not take your house.”
“I do not take your blood.”
“Those things are too easy.”
She touched his face.
“I take what you value the most.”
His heart started beating faster.
“What do I value?”
She smiled.
“You will find out.”
The next morning, the villagers noticed something strange.
The poor man who had always walked with his head lowered was gone.
In his place stood someone different.
Someone confident.
Someone people listened to.
Someone who could make others obey.
His dreams became reality.
Doors opened.
People admired him.
Women wanted him.
Men respected him.
He finally had everything he had ever desired.
Everything…
Except peace.
Because every night, when the forest became silent, he heard her voice.
A reminder.
A promise.
A warning.
“You asked for more.”
“And you received more.”
“But nothing is given without a price.”
Years passed.
He became wealthy.
Powerful.
Important.
But he slowly noticed something.
The more he gained…
The less he felt.
The faces around him became meaningless.
The admiration became empty.
The love became impossible to trust.
One night, he returned to the forest.
The same place where everything began.
“Hecate.”
The wind moved.
The trees whispered.
And she appeared.
“You came back.”
“I want to undo it.”
She looked at him sadly.
“Everyone says that eventually.”
“I gave you what you wanted.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You gave me what I asked for.”
“But not what I needed.”
For the first time, Hecate looked almost human.
“Now you understand.”
“Desire is dangerous because we rarely know what we are truly asking for.”
He looked at her.
“Can I have my old life back?”
She smiled.
“Perhaps.”
“But remember…”
“The man who entered this forest is not the same man who stands here now.”
And with those words…
The forest went silent.

Left

But the smile is not the one you expected.
It is not the smile of a goddess.
It is the smile of someone who has been waiting.
Not for you.
For someone like you.
Someone foolish enough to walk alone into the forest searching for a dream.
The woman moves closer.
“You called for her,” she whispers.
Your heart stops.
“For who?”
She touches your face.
“For Hecate.”
The name sounds strange coming from her lips.
“You wanted power. You wanted beauty. You wanted someone who would make you feel special.”
She smiles again.
“People always come here wanting something.”
You try to move.
But suddenly you notice something.
There is no perfume.
There is no warmth.
Only the cold air of the forest.
“Who are you?”
She looks at you.
“Does it matter?”
The question frightens you more than the answer.
Because you realise something.
You never came here to find Hecate.
You came here because you wanted to believe that something extraordinary could choose you.
And that was your weakness.
The forest becomes silent.
The trees stop moving.
Even the wind disappears.
The next morning, people find your footprints near the old stone.
They follow them deep into the forest.
But they find nothing.
Only a name carved into the stone.
A name that nobody recognises.
Except the old people.
They know better.
They know that sometimes, when someone goes searching for a goddess…
They find something much older.
And much more dangerous.