Rain pelted from the storm clouds above, dripping against the cold, stone walkway that was the only source of direction through the walls of black abyss. Shadows of abandoned homes aligned the side of the walkway, a faint light dimming in the area where windows would be located. A purple and red sky stretched across the desolate place, the last stars of the night falling with a trail of fire blazing behind them, perishing into the darkness. The moon, which was floating in between the destruction, was splattered with deep, dark crimson, the bottom of its white rock surface dripping with the same, ugly substance. When the drops of crimson came in contact with the shadowy smoke along the sides of the walkway, it stained the darkness for a moment before being swallowed up, disappearing completely. Everything in this dark place resembled death, everything except the light at the end of the path, which showed the sight of a beautiful garden, growing luxuriously in the newborn sunlight. It was so awful, the way the place tantalized living creatures that happened to walk along this path. The light was right there, yet it was so far away. When you thought you were close, away from the destruction, the moment you blinked, you were right back to where you started. Every corner, every stone beneath the foot, every star that seemed to fall, everything looked exactly the same. There were no landmarks, no shortcuts. It was all just one, simple, everlasting path.
In this place, which was hell to most living things, a little girl found herself walking that very path, the heels of her white rain boots clicking against the stones. She wore a black shirt, one with a collar that wrapped around her neck and laces that aligned the ends of her sleeves. Around her waist was a velvet, black skirt. Long locks of beautiful, black hair dripped down from her head and hung loosely at her shoulders. Yet even in all the black, the girl herself exhumed a light of her own. Any other creature that lived in the same darkness could make her out, especially by her white boots and wide, curious, amber eyes. If a child were to come here, they would immediately cry, too afraid to face the dangers, too afraid to get hurt. However, this girl was not daunted by the horrors of this place. She did not cringe whenever strange, glowing eyes radiated out of the darkness. She did not cower at the sight of the bleeding moon. She did not hesitate to walk down the path, even with the stars above threatened to crash upon her. This girl was not afraid whatsoever.
As the girl walked on, a lioness jumped out from the shadows, just as black as the area around it. Its glowing, yellow eyes pierced the dark while it curled its lips back into a snarl, feeling the presence of another being near. The lioness turned, looking directly at the girl. They stared at each other, the lioness challenging, the little girl standing her ground. The girl tilted her head slightly to the side, then nodded her head in a silent agreement, reaching a hand forward lovingly. Seeing as it was accepted, the lioness gave out a yowl and shrunk down to the size of a black house-cat, meowing pitifully. Emotionless, the girl bent down and picked up the cat, hugging it close to her breasts. Blinking in wonder, the girl glanced up and watched as the path before her began to shape. The stones fragmented, parting into individual steps that floated above a wide pit of death. The girl stepped forward, peering over the edge into the space that threatened to consume her if she fell. Without a thought, the girl jumped onto the first step, staggering a bit, but managing to catch her balance. She continued to leap, landing successfully on each step before her, that was, until she became reckless.
When the little girl landed on a certain step, her ankle twisted painfully, putting her body to an angle that she could not recover from. The cat in her arms yowled in alarm, dabbing at the air with unsheathed claws, trying to push itself out and onto the step which the girl missed. But in the slight moment of fear, the girl hugged the cat as tight as she could, shutting her eyes as she curved to the side and fell, disappearing into the darkness. As the stones came back together again, completing the path that was destroyed for the moment, all that could be heard was the distant sound of a yowling cat and a girl that was beginning to cry.
