A Tale of Miracles
Book 1/ Arc 1: Journey of a Thousand Miles
Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting
Once upon a time in a far away land, in the heart of a forest beyond a cave, inside a tower, there lived a beautiful girl who has a long blonde hair that reaches just about down the very bottom of the tower when she lets it fall out the window.
Her supposedly mother uses her hair as some kind of lift to enter the tower. This was their routine every day.
Well, not until a runaway thief has chanced upon this place. He turned their lives upside down. For good.
But that is not our story. Nope. Not at all. It's just a flashy intro. Okay? Our story is not a fairy tale, but a close one to it.
Running.
Labored breaths resounded within along the rapid footsteps and scrunching of leaves.
Elizabeth kept on running. She ignored the tiredness she's feeling within her body, and the soreness her feet feel as long as she can run as far as possible. Each breath was ragged, her lungs screaming for a small break. She didn't take notice of what she is feeling right now and continued to venture the unfamiliar forest, hoping to find safety within the darkened woods.
A pair of heavy footsteps can be heard from afar. Hearing this made her pick up her pace pushing her feet to their limits. Her long flowing brown-hair waltzing with the cold northern wind as each step took her breath for a while.
The footsteps became faint as she went deeper in the woods. Taking one last glance behind her to make sure that her pursuer is gone; she stopped by a large oak tree, and leaned against it, catching her every breath.
She slid down and rubbed her sore feet. It was the middle of afternoon, meaning that the sun is at its peak. Well, that was what she expected, but the forest surprised her for the deeper she goes, the darker her surrounding gets. She looked up the sky, passing the tangled branches of trees, and sees the blue sky she'd always love.
Seeing this calmed her racing heart, and her exhausted body. The serenity she's feeling right now automatically sent her eyes to slowly close and her body to finally relax.
Darkness descended, and she was as never been happy to welcome it.
Drip.
Drip.
Droplets of cold liquid rouse her from her deep slumber. Elizabeth's eyes were hazy from the sleep, but as soon as her vision adjusted, she realized that those were rain drops.
She bolted up as each droplet got harder. Luckily, she found a cave in the very heart of the said forest, underneath a very, very old and big oak tree. Elizabeth hypothesized that this must be an old rabbit hole or something. She went inside, fitting perfectly, realizing that it was a tunnel, and not just a normal cave like she thought.
The place was unnerving as she walked and followed where the tunnel ends. She groped the supposedly cold but were actually warm walls, smelling the faint scent of the muddy earth. Somehow it reminds her of her home.
The place she'd forgotten over time.
It was astounding to be reminded by the things you've forgotten. The warmth, the smiles they shared, and the goodnights and good mornings they say. These feelings overpowered her strong determination of never shedding another tear again. She was putting up a fight against her emotions, but a single memory grazed her eyes.
It was a hot summer noon. Elizabeth and her little brother were sitting by their porch, watching the passing carriages. They were eating a freshly sliced watermelon, grinning with each other.
Her brother was seven years old that time. An age, that is still innocent with the horrid things that envelopes the whole world. There at that place and time, and right moment, she vowed to never let her brother see the bad side of this wonderful world. She vowed to protect him.
The dam broke, after that. She covered her honey colored eyes not wanting anyone to see her crying, even though there's really no one present to witness the unfolding scene. She slid down the tunnel walls, sobbing her heart out, as her pent up emotions slowly left her like a waterfall at the mountains.
After her small session of weakness, she quickly composed herself and continued on following wherever the tunnel was leading her.
She saw flickering lights up ahead.
She looks at it. The lights were frail and kinda moving.
She walked closer and as she touched the place where the light is coming from, she fell forward as she felt nothing but swaying ivy. She closed her eyes as she stumbled, and when she opened it again, she was greeted by a grand place.
An almost 14 acre land stretched in front of her. She gaped.
Elizabeth felt excited as she ran around the meadow, playing with the beautiful butterflies and the sweet smelling flowers around her. She felt happy, completely forgetting about her problems.
After a while of laughing non-stop, and running around, she got tired and decided to take a short nap under the shade of a narra tree. She can feel the sun rays radiating warmth all over her face.
But then it dimmed.
"What happened to the sun? ," she asked with her eyes still closed.
"Mmm~, stranger, you're not allowed here," a lazy voice answered.
Elizabeth opened her eyes and what she saw,
was,
a
GIANT!
"Ahhh!," she screamed accidentally tipping the jar-thingy the giant was holding.
Its contents spilled out of the container.
"We're those potato chips?," she was shocked at her own words.
She was about to run when her stomach started growling.
She quickly held it and shied away to him.
"Those were my snacks for the whole day," he pouted like a child much to Elizabeth's shock.
She eventually felt sorry for the pouting giant so she crouched down and started to pick up the chips that were not ruined when it fell. She was concentrating on picking the chips when she felt another presence beside her.
She looked at him and noticed how his face is still pouting like a child, his purple colored hair tied messily behind to keep from falling n his face, and his unusual body built.
"Sorry," she said as she held the jar in front of him.
"It's okay. Stranger-chin helped me pick up my snacks after all," he patted her head gently.
He's adorable.
They leaned against the narra tree and proceeded in watching the floating clouds at the sky, sometimes pointing at them randomly and calling out its shape.
"There! That one looks like a rabbit!," she said pointing at a cloud on the far left side of her field of vision.
"That one looks like a potato," he called out pointing at an odd shaped cloud.
"Hahaha! How can it be a potato? It's shape is undefined!,"
They laughed again until they tire and fell asleep, Elizabeth leaning at his shoulder, while he's leaning at the tree.
"Thank you, Atsushi-kun," she muttered.
The purple haired man just smiled at this.
"You too, Eli-chin"