There’s a forest in Ireland they call Coill na Ceilte — the “Hidden Wood. Most people don’t go in after dark.The old people in town say fairies live there - but not the nice kind.They say if you hear a child laughing deep in the woods after sunset… Don’t follow it.Once, long ago…A girl named Orla lived near the edge of that forest. She was 13 — curious, brave, and a little too bold.She wandered alone often, searching for mushrooms and old stones. Her mam always warned her…“If you hear laughter in the woods and it sounds like a child… But you can’t see them…”“You turn around. Because what you hear isn’t human anymore.”But Orla laughed it off. “Fairy stories,” she said. “I’m not afraid.”Then one foggy evening…Orla heard it. A giggle — light and playful — drifting between the trees.It sounded like a child, playing hide-and-seek.She followed it. Of course she did. Step by step… deeper into the woods.The trees twisted. The air turned cold. The giggling grew louder.But still… she saw no one.Then — a clearing. A ring of mushrooms. A fairy ring.And in the center… stood a girl.She looked exactly like Orla. Same hoodie. Same eyes. Same freckle on her chin.“You’ve come,” the copy said, grinning too wide. “You can rest now. I’ll go back for you.”Orla turned to run. But her feet were rooted to the moss.The girl stepped out of the ring. The real Orla vanished.When her parents found “Orla” the next morning… She seemed the same.…Except her voice was just a little too sweet. And at night, her eyes glowed faintly green in the dark.To this day… they say if you step into a fairy ring at twilight, you might trade places without knowing it. And somewhere, deep in the woods… the real Orla is still calling out. But only the wind hears her.
