She walked with such a grace and poise through the dim light of the hidden dead woods far past her backyard. Her bare feet did not ache as she took a step further into the woods while snapping a twig in half—wooden shards pressed against her bare skin, not daring to draw blood from it’s almost porcelain tone.
She did not know if it was morning or night, only that the fog was thick, blocking the sight in front of her. She would reach her bare fingertips forward, hoping to touch some sort of object, perhaps a tree or maybe something close to home.
She felt her dark blue dress snag on a fallen branch of some sort, but she only kept moving. Under her breath, a simple little tune was hummed while her mouth was barely open, just a little slit to let air pass to and from. Her pale grey eyes attempted to search the sky above while her hands were still reach out in search of something to touch. But there was nothing to see, and only some dead bark to touch; only the fog was visible in front of her.
There was a noise. She turned in all directions to possibly have a chance to see the distance. The noise became louder as she stopped. Her breath stopped in a quick gasp as another crack came from beneath her feet. Louder and louder and louder the sound became. Then she ran, in what direction, she did not even know for herself.
Run, run, run. That’s what she did—afraid? Possibly. The pain underneath her feet became much more clear to her mind now, letting out cries of pain with each step she took but she did not stop running.
Something caught her attention so far in front of herself, so much that she had to force herself to focus on the light than on the pain beneath her feet. Freedom, perhaps. She forced herself to run faster than before, making herself move quicker and quicker to the point as she failed to notice a branch poking up from the ground. She tripped.
Her voice screamed out in pain. This had all been so new to her—she had never felt this excruciating feeling before. How? Why?
“Get up!” Something roared while she laid on the ground, gritting her teeth together in agony. “I said get up!” She felt a sudden pain to her stomach, like the all of her oxygen had been stolen from her lungs. She cried out again.
But somehow, she managed to slowly pull her weight together and lift herself from the ground. Her beautiful blue dress was now torn to shreds, her pale grey eyes were bloodshot and glassy, her pristine brown hair was all knotted and appeared as if pulled one too many times. She held bruises on her arms. What was happening?
She mustered up enough strength to keep walking forward towards that light once more, staggering every now and then, wincing in pain from the cuts on her bare feet. She held her left arm within her right hand, determined to get to the light. The dead wood still all around her. The cool breeze touched her skin, as if pleading for forgiveness. But she kept such a stare on her face. She wanted to run. Run so fast.
The light grew closer as she tried to reach for it, moaning and groaning for herself to move a little faster.
Something snapped inside of her. Her eyes widened as she fell to the ground and drift into the darkness around her.
How long had it been since she had slipped into the deep rest? She felt her nose twitch and the feeling of some sort of warmth around her. She slowly opened her eyes to a bright new scenery—a beach. A beautiful beach. She could not believe it.
Slowly, she began to sit up and soon enough try to stand up. The sea breeze whipped around her as her knotted hair was tossed in her view of the clear blue water. But she didn’t mind. She attempted to walk forward and did not fall, only wincing in pain from the sand touching her open wounds.
She walked into the sea, gasping lightly at the pain of the salt water cleaning her cuts, to where the water touched just below her knees. Her blue dress soaked and floated in the water while her grey eyes scanned the area. How long has she waited for such a beautiful freedom? A soft sound escaped her chords,
“Open your eyes and live freely.”
