I guess it would help if I did some reading up on your character for me to understand what this is about. However, I didn't see any blatant grammar/spelling issues, and this story wasn't copypaste (which is what I'm used to seeing). It looks like a tidbit from what could be a pretty good story.

I did wonder whether I ought to try and either add more exposition to this story, or try to write another as a prequel first. So I can understand not knowing quite what's going on. But thank you for the compliments - I do intend to develop it and turn it into hopefully something halfway decent.

A most interesting read, short but succinct. I like the overall feel of this so far, (I'm one for the less jovial and more dramatic as you know), the main character although not fully explained, does carry a certain truthfulness throughout. I guess my only contention with the story is if James has no fear of death, but that of tales and of this encompassing wood, what allows him to have no fear of unknown? Surely this spirit of the wood carries that visceral notion of the unknown and potential threat to this timid character. I guess what I'm saying is; to give yourself to something you've feared and that you do not know, isn't that a fate much worse than death?

I do like it by the way, I thought I'd just give my feelings on it seeing as you've asked me to read it :3

Thank you for reading it, sir deer, and I'm very glad you liked it.

The theme of the story, really, is acceptance of change - understanding its necessity even when you're uncertain quite what it is that you'll be when it occurs. Throughout his life, James had been conditioned to accept the status quo and to resist all forms of change, and death is an irreversible and - apparently - final one.

The spirit embodies change itself by being amorphous, formless, and timeless; it transcends even death and shows that even death is not the end, and thus stands to contradict everything he thinks he knows. By playing on this, it seeks to convince him that if he's wrong about that, and that he should not fear death, then he should not fear it, and the unknown changes it promises. It taunts him, teases him, and breaks his resistance, until by the end his acceptance is inevitable and complete; by the end he no longer fears it, but it isn't necessarily James any longer.

Hopefully some of that made sense. ^.^; I'd love to continue this, and might like to bounce some ideas off you for a follow-up?