"parents" took you was for two reasons. First, they knew you were a very valuable tool in their plans, and second, to draw me to you and eventually capture me too."
"Me?" I asked. "I wish! I've been the weirdest kid in my entire school. How could I important?"
She sighed, "We're what we call the Guardians of the Willow. We must protect the Willow you used to enter this world. The Willow allows us to stay connected to the human world. And since we are born when a human is born, and die when they die, we won't be able to survive if the Willow is destroyed, which is exactly what your keepers want to do. And with us gone, the human race will live in fiery pain and agony for all eternity."
"That was a great joke! I almost believed it!" I tried to laugh. However, she did not laugh, and I assumed it was not a joke. "Darn it!" I whispered.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"Oh, um... nothing! When do we get started?"
"Now."