Category : Diary/Journal

Sub Category : N/A

The sound of laughter carries across the wind accompanied by the light crunch of dried leaves and twigs. The sun shines bright cascading down over the trees creating a dizzying pattern of light and shadow. The small legs continue unhindered. She steers herself clumsily between the trees using them to keep herself upright just as much to push off of in hopes for more speed. Suddenly, she stops, the world around her falling silent. Taking a step forward she reaches out to the tree in front of her. Small fingers run over the rough edges of the scratches marking the bark. She looks down at the forest floor. There, between her feet, an asphodel, slowly wilting. She crouches down in front of the flower and removes the stray leaf that fell into the otherwise clear dirt mote separating the flower from the rest of the forest. She stands, having preserved the dying flower’s peace she now begins scanning the forest. 

Today will be the day. Off in the distance a noise. She turns in that direction. Closing her eyes she listens closely. She will make sure it wasn’t a trick this time. She inhales slowly, focusing deeply on the sounds around her. one… The leaves rustle overhead. two… The quiet murmur of a nearby stream. three… The crescendo of the cicadas all around her. She closes her eyes tighter and holds her breath. one… A woodpecker knocks on a tree. two- There. Her eyes snap open, her body automatically facing the sound. A wide smile spreads across her face as she takes off after the sound without further hesitation. 

Today will be the day everything changes. The wind rips through her hair. Leaves skitter across the ground threatening to destroy the flower’s peace. 

Today will be the day I find you. 

It isn’t long before her breathing becomes labored. Her giddy smile long faded into a stern frown held in place by concentration. The warm spring air scratching at her throat, burning in her lungs. She can feel herself slowing. Her movements become more uncertain with every step as her mind fogs over, its concentration now focused on her limitations rather than her goal. She’s never been good at games. Never fast enough. Never strong enough. Never smart enough. Her foot catches on a tree root sending her stumbling forward. She closes her eyes out of instinct and stretches her arms in front of herself bracing for the fall. But it doesn’t come. Instead her hands come into contact with a tree. Her hands- followed by forehead and upper body. She takes a moment, leaning against the tree, to regain her composure. She gives her lungs a moment to relax as she listens around her hoping for a sign that it isn’t too late. She will not allow herself to give up after one scare. 

Today is different. She rights herself with renewed determination and sets off at a steady pace in the direction she had last heard the noise.
 
The wind picks up around her, sending the leaves tumbling across the ground. She stops and turns in the direction the leaves run. As the wind slows and the leaves settle a new sound emerges. Faint - a whisper gently tugging her at the recesses of her attention. She subconsciously turns towards the whisper just as it sounds again. She takes in her surroundings once more. Apprehension gnaws subtly in her gut. She’d never been this far yet, the area although overwhelmingly similar at first glance, transformed into a whole new world, one the girl wasn't certain she’d like to learn of. 

Just a little further…  She presses forward at a slow crawl fighting off her sudden doubts and worries. She stops just short of a small ledge and looks down over her toes at the ground several feet below her. A small satisfied smile returns to the young girl’s face as her worries disappear. She takes her time now, working her way down around the ledge to the lower section. She walks carefully along the sharp rocks bordering the bottom of the ledge before jumping into a pile of leaves kicked up from the recent fall. She squats down and reaches a hand into the pile. She digs briefly before lifting her hand again bringing with it brunette curls and glassy eyes. 

“I found you,” the girl smiles, “just like I promised!” She drops the curls and stands allowing herself a moment to admire the ever-growing pool of crimson surrounding brunette before setting off once more. She stalks back up the ledge towards where she first came kicking the leaves as she goes. She takes her time, reacquainting herself with her surroundings, while slowly but surely making her way back to the asphodel and its tree. Upon her arrival she runs her fingers once more over the scratches in the tree’s bark before digging long, sharp nails into the tree gouging out new letters underneath the old ones. She then ducks down next to the flower and digs a small hole in which she plants a new asphodel. She stands and smiles to herself, taking another moment to admire her work before disappearing back into the trees.