The first thing she could feel was the crunch of the leaves as she moved her head ever so slightly to the left. Then other things came to her senses, the dampness of the ground and the breeze that stung her skin, the fact that her hair was tangled and knotted from lying on the floor for so long. Slowly, she opened her eyes halfway, which where dry from sleep, she looked through her lashes to see a mass of green and brown. She opened her eyes fully, and the sudden light stung them. But she did not close them again, just waited until her vision had cleared. It was then she realized she was surrounded by tall thick trunked trees. Using one arm she began to sit up, the leaves crunching again underneath her. She felt extremely tired and weary, as if she had greatly overslept in an uncomfortable place.
She forced herself to stand, and immediately had to lean against the closest tree. The bark scraped her arm roughly, and she had to catch her breath as it began to sting. Taking a deep breath in, she began to walk very slowly in a random direction. Each step felt like she had ran a mile instead at first, but as she walked it slowly got better. Until at last she felt she was walking without tiredness, and that she could see things clearer, as if in more detail. It was like someone had finally got round to going over a rough drawing in neat. But still, all that she could see was tree after identical tree, the leaves still crunching under her feet.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she looked down to see herself dressed in a pure white gown of sorts. She had never seen anything in this kind of style before, but it felt comfortable, loose against her skin. The sleeves were very loose and came to just below her elbows and the full length of the gown came to just below her knees. Briefly she wondered how on earth it had stayed so clean, and then she noticed she was barefoot, which she had not even realised. Although the leaves had been rough against the soles of her feet as she walked, it had not hurt the slightest. Reaching up she began to comb her fingers through her hair in a attempt to neaten it. Surprisingly this seemed to work and soon her hair flowed freer around he shoulders and down her back. She took a single lock between her fingers and noticed the deep blue that started at the top, her eyes trailed down as she watched it become at least five shades lighter by the end. Breathing out slowly she let go of the strand and began to speed her pace, suddenly eager to find out where she was.
As she walked something fluttered down and fell to her feet. She stopped quickly and looked at it for a few seconds in wonder. It was a very small piece of paper, a ticket of sorts. Looking up, all she could see where trees, no clue as to where it had come from. She bent down and picked it up in one swift movement. She looked at it, and saw what looked like a date and a strange word beginning with N. But before she could fully read it, or commit it too memory, it blew out of her light grip and fluttered suddenly up and away. Sighing now, she continued to walk, wondering what it was, or what it even meant.
Before she even realized, she had emerged from the woods into a vast collection of huts. They where all hand made, and looked very tired, if that were even possible for a building. People mulled around, chatting, laughing, fighting or just sitting. As soon as she was visible, all fell silent and turned slowly towards her. No one even whispered, they just stared. She could not think of a word to possibly say. Why where they looking at her with such sudden dislike? Frowning she looked at all of them, they all wore ragged clothes, much like her gown, but in faded colours. She noticed they where all barefoot too, and that they all had dark hair. Self consciously, she reached up to touch her own hair. She realized that she stood out, probably frightened them.
Suddenly a man stepped forwards, he was middle aged and looked extremely weary. But at the same time it was clear he held much respect among the people. He wore a dark brown gown, and when he spoke his voice was calm but firm.
"Are you new then?" He looked her in the eye and she could only blink back. She felt him looking her up and down, his eyes settling on her empty hands. "Lost your tickets have you already?" He made a sound of annoyance and sharply turned towards the crowd which had slowly gathered, watching. "Calm down everyone, she isn't doing anything. Just another lost soul. Seems to have materialized in the woods. Go back to your business then." He spoke roughly, in a commanding tone. Then he gestured for her to follow and began to turn and walk away.
Again, all she could do was blink at him before quickly following after as all the people gave her one last suspicious look and went back to their "business". She followed him for no more than a minute, walking through huts very much like the others and getting looks very much like before. Suddenly he turned left into a hut that seemed larger than most and sat down on a straw cushion that was one of many scattered around the room. He gestured for her too to sit, and she hesitantly obliged. Looking around she saw a small stove, a couple of sleeping mats and a single worn table. Before she could analyze the room, or think about anything else, he spoke again.
"What's your name then?" He said, kinder than before.
Very briefly, a thought fluttered into her head. It was like a butterfly, just a passing thought, but it was a name. It felt right, like she owned it, and it was the only thing that she could be sure she knew about herself.
"Rima." She answered, her voice sounding strange to her own ears. "Rima…" She slowly repeated, savouring the way it sounded on her tongue. For the first time now, she smiled slightly, pleased with herself. But she quickly stopped when she saw the man watching her with a look of annoyed patience.
