Chapter 2

Amu turned around, away from the brick wall and toward the new world which she would soon discover. The first thing she saw was a whole thick luscious green forest, billions of trees on each side of her. Amu looked around her, "so are these what trees are?" She reached forward to touch it, until she remembered. "I better wait to step off until I'm further away from that town." So with her bag in hand, she started forward on her journey.

As she was walking through the forest, she threw her hood back so as to better see things. Amu looked around, all she could see was still trees, but they were still amazing to Amu. A sudden chirping startled Amu, "what was that?" She listened some more, "it's a beautiful sound. I wonder what it could be?" A little furry thing burst out of the bush, and ran across the path, it's tail a cute little puff, it's long ears, floppy. "Aw, that's so cute!" Amu squealed. Amu stopped in the path, looking up to the sky, twirling around, letting nature surround her. "And to imagine, all this wouldn't have been possible if the town hadn't run out of food and it was my birthday." Amu sighed in happiness. Then she smelled the air, "ah, it's so fresh and pure!" Then she remembered that this was only part of the path, "I wonder what's on ahead?" And with that, Amu skipped on ahead. Thinking she was ready for whatever came next.

A few hours later

Amu was tired, cold, and hungry. The rays of the sun had just disappeared below the trees, casting the world in darkness. No light shone through the leaves of the tree, and Amu could just make out the path ahead. Amu looked around, scared. Her mother used to tell her stories about what could come out at night. Everything was scary now, every twig snap made Amu jump, every rustle of leaf made Amu shiver. "hoo hoo!" Amu jumped, and whirled around. There she saw a big, winged thing, with sharp golden eyes, glaring at her. Amu ran on ahead. "Keep going Amu, just keep going. Everything will be alright, just keep going." She had never seen such a scary place in her life. That's when she remembered, the children she left behind. "The horrors they face or are facing, this is nothing." That's when Amu's eyes narrowed to slits, "I will take revenge for you. I will not let your cruelly early death escape punishment." Amu, now rid of her fear, marched forward. Only occasionally jumping at an unknown noise. All the while, keeping the fate of the poor children clear in her mind.

The next morning

Rays from the morning sun streamed through the leaves, making spotlights on Amu's face. Slowly, she opened her eyes and sat up on her knees, looking around her. "I must have fallen asleep." The area was beautiful, it was a whole different look then yesterday and last night. The area around her was filled with a different type of tree than before. Before the trees were covered in what looked like green needles, now the leaves held large green fans. Amu looked at the ground and gasped. Beautiful patches of colorful plants spotted the ground. A vast variety of reds, pinks, yellows, oranges, whites, purples, and blues covered the forest floor. Bushes of green were covered in round balls of blue or red. It was tempting to Amu, she had never seen such things before. The color marveled and enchanted her. As if in a trance, she stepped one foot off the path, then another. She started to wander through the forest, not realizing she was off the path.

She was walking along, staring at everything she could, craning her neck this way and that, as she heard an odd rushing sound. Amu started to walk through the forest, trying to locate the source of the noise when she found it. A clear, blue rushing stream. "Wow, I never knew water could be so clear!" She knelt down and cupped her hands into the cool water, she took a drink from it. "Wow! So fresh, and…wow!" Her eyes sparkled with happiness, and her smile was wide and bright. She reached into the stream and took out a smooth, wet dark chocolatey-brown stone. She held it up, "it's so smooth and rich in color!"

That's when she heard something. Whatever it was, it was rushing through the forest at great speed. Clip, clop, clip, clop! Amu sat there, unsure of what was coming near her. That's when a big reddish-brown, four-legged animal appeared. Upon the creatures back sat a person, wearing metal clothing and a big clunky metal hat. As the horse went by, it suddenly stopped. The man whipped his head around and rushed at Amu. Amu, shocked, stood up, almost falling into the stream while doing so. The horse stopped right in front of her, and the rider swung himself off and put his visor up.

"What are you doing here?! It is forbidden to be in this area of the forest!" The man yelled. Amu cocked her head and gave the man a blank look.

"What did you call this place?" The man looked at Amu like she was crazy.

"I called this place a forest, a forest in which you are trespassing."

Amu didn't seem to hear this as she was looking about her, "so this is what a forest is like. Mama was right, it's amazing. And to think, it was right outside those walls all this time, and I missed out on it."

"Are you even listening?!" The man was getting impatient.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't. What do you need again?" The man growled and swung her over his shoulder and marched towards his creature and put her on, then swung himself up. Amu looked down at the creature she was on and petted the silky fur.

"What is this creature called?" Amu asked, wonder filled her voice.

"A horse, haven't you ever seen one?" The man was bewildered at this strange girl, he had never seen a girl like her before. Amu looked back at the man with wide, childlike eyes.

"No, I haven't," then letting the word sink in, "horse. So that is what this creature is called, a horse." Then without saying another word, she took in the rest of the surrounding as it blurred past her. Rushes of color flew by her, surprising Amu. She was in ecstasy, but that is no comparison to how she felt when she reached the town outside of the forest. Amu's eyes widened.

"Wow! This is incredible!"