The branches of the trees swayed with the refreshing breeze; white petals descending slowly but steadily from a nearby flowering tree. The birds chirped and the cicadas sang; music to Elizabeth's ears as she lounged on a soft, checkered picnic blanket. With her long hair tied up in a loose bun and her shoulders open to the warm spring air, curled up with one of her favorite books, she was truly happy.
A sigh of content fell from her lips, laying her book open on her chest temporarily to admire her surroundings.
The field that surrounded her seemed endless, the only company being the flowering tree, birds that sang, and any small insects that lived beneath the dirt or in the air. Dandelions sprouted from the vibrant green grass which she had picked from to put in her hair. She even made a wish with one of them, blowing away the seeds and watching them gently float back into the grass as she thought of her wish. She didn't dare speak it aloud, for if anyone else were around to hear that she didn't sense, it wouldn't come true.
For once in her life, Elizabeth was content with being alone. She wasn't locked in a tower and forced to wander the same halls day after day, watched over by a terrifying, overprotective mechanical bird. She was allowed to roam free and feel the sun on her skin; smell the real flowers and hear the birds sing firsthand. She had even made herself lunch, a sandwich that she had eaten earlier. With a medium sized weaved basket, she also brought along with her iced tea that she had made herself. Once and a while, she would take a small sip of the glass sitting beside her to further cool herself off and re-wet her mouth.
On of the little birds that sat in the tree suddenly flew down to Elizabeth, landing lightly on the spine of her book.
"Oh. Hey there, buddy." She giggled, smiling as she lifted one hand cautiously towards the animal. It hopped backwards slightly.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." She spoke softly, holding out her index finger in front of the tiny creature; patiently waiting for it to warm up to her.
It took a few minutes for the bird to hop up on Elizabeth's slender, outstretched finger; chirping. She chuckled, observing the bird as it balanced on her.
"So cute." She whispered to herself, reaching over with her free hand to grope around inside of the basket, pulling out a bag of plain sugar cookies that she had baked. It was a bit difficult to open the back one-handed, but she managed to do so without frightening the bird.
Taking a few crumbles from one of the cookies in her hand, she gathered them in her palm and held it in front of the bird. It hesitated for a moment, but began to gobble down the crumbs, making Elizabeth laugh from the ticklish little pecks of the bird's tiny beak against the skin of her palm.
When the bird was finished, it flew away; back to the lone tree.
With a soft, sleepy smile on her lips, Elizabeth rested her hands behind her head for comfort; her eyes falling closed to the leisurely sigh that escaped her.
When she opened her eyes again, everything was dim. There was no sunlight warming her skin, no relaxing mid-afternoon breeze through her hair. No birds singing their sweet songs, the air not fresh, clean.
Elizabeth just laid there, staring blankly up at the bleak ceiling of her cell-like home; the walls flickering with the shadows of deep-sea fish among low, blue-ish green light streaming through the windows.
Shivering from the chill of the air, she sat up in her creaky bed. Exhaling shakily, she ran her fingers through her sleep-tangled hair and groped for her pack of cigarettes and lighter on the bedside both hands, she plucked a cigarette from the nearly-empty pack and brought it to her lips; inhaling deeply as she lit it. She exhaled long and slow, placing the pack and lighter back on the surface of the bedside table once more.
She sat there in silence, the only sounds those of her breathing as she smoked and the quiet hum of the ocean just beyond the thick glass of the window.
Staring aimlessly at the sea life swimming near the window, she longed to be back in that warm, sunny dream. She longed to be anywhere except here, thousands of miles under the sea with her sense of loneliness being one of her only friends.
As she exhaled another smoky breath, her bottom lip quivered. Her free hand covered her face as she let out a quiet sob; hunching over further than she already was. Ashes from her cigarette fell to the bed sheets, making the pungent stink of smoke even stronger.
Sobbing alone in her sad excuse for a home far, far under the surface away from sunlight and nature, she wished that she was dead.
Soon, she would be.
All of her.