Chibi Ghostly
The tiny tree spirit pitter-pattered around the remains of what was once his forest home. Where there had been towering trees and foot-high grass only weeks ago, now was just soot and destruction. The kodama bounced from remain to remain, brushing the death away and attempting to will anything back to life. But it was no good.
None of the trees or flowers woke up, nor did any of his brothers. He frowned, and contemplated what to do next. One tiny kodama was not enough to fix a whole forest. Especially not a forest this far gone.
The spirit wanted to weep, but he could not. Instead he found what was once a stump and sat. And sat. And sat. In the distance, he could hear the humans rebuilding their town. Shouted commands echoed through the wind, along with joyful cheers each time a new wall was raised and roof patched. The kodama thought maybe he should be happy for them, but he couldn’t muster up even a semblance of the emotion.
Instead he remained on his stump and sat. And sat. And sat. The sun set, and darkness took over. The moon hung low in the empty sky. No stars came out to join her, as if they had also been burned away. The tree spirit pitied the moon and wondered if she pitied him too.
No, that won't do. Misery never solves anything – and it especially doesn’t mend forests. The kodama raised himself slowly and looked around again. He was determined. He would rebuild the forest. He would! Even if it took 100 or 1,000 years, he would bring every single plant back to life. Starting with this stump.
The kodama rubbed his ethereal hands together and placed them on the stump. He concentrated like he never had before, willing every ounce of magic inside him into the decayed stump. Please, please, please, come back, he begged wordlessly.
And then it happened. From the black stump came new life. A tiny sapling, almost too little to see in the moonlight. But it was there. The tree spirit was overcome with joy. He did it! And he would do it again. And again. And again.
The kodama glided over to his next project, a pile of ash that was once his favorite flower patch. Once more, he rubbed his hands together and placed them on the refuse. But this time nothing happened. His magic must have been used up on the tree. He had never grown anything by himself before, so it was no surprise he had these limitations. He decided to rest and try again in a few hours.
The tree spirit turned back to his stump and stopped. He blinked in confusion and rubbed his eyes, but there was no mistaking it. Standing there, right behind the sapling, was another kodama! One of his brothers had finally woken up! They embraced each other tightly, using their arms to express what they could not with words. Then, just as quietly, they returned to the flower patch.
With the two of them working together, the flowers returned almost instantly. And with them came more spirits. In fact, with every newly risen plant and tree, more and more kodama woke up and joined the restoration. By morning there were at least 100 new seedlings and twice as many kodama. The forest and all its inhabitants would surely be back by month’s end.
A kodama’s work is never done. But it goes a lot faster with friends.
Story and profile by 
Calypso
Kodama are spirits in Japanese folklore. The ones pictured in the profile are from the film Princess Mononoke
