haldjas means a nature spirit in Estonian language. It can be translated into elf, fairy or something else like that, but this is only half the truth. Forest, tree, stone, lake, spring can have its own haldjas - the soul or a being who lives there, cares for the place and sometimes reveals to the humans.

There is a story from northern Estonia, speaking of a  haldjas of a sacred grove that was burning and the spirit ran into the lake nearby, crying out loud with the voice of a girl.

Sometimes when you walk in the forest you can hear them laugh or talk. If you happen to see them, they tend to look weird - like a human from the front but like a tree from behind, for example.

If people happen to cross the elven footprints, they usually end up getting lost in the woods. Sometimes they never find their homes again...