Nothing important to impart this time. Enjoy.
Weeks of fruitless search caused his misery to increase to the point where he swore he didn't remember what happiness felt like. Despair made his heart ache. Hopelessness made his feet heavy. No longer able to bear it, Sonic collapsed out of sheer exhaustion. Feeling completely and utterly alone, more so then he had ever felt before, he allowed his eyes to drift shut as tears slid down his face against his will.
A soft but insistent tapping roused him from his slumber. Sonic frowned and forced his tired eyes open, immediately finding himself face-to-face with a small purple bird. And it was... pecking him. Growling softly, he shooed it angrily away with a few waves of his hand. He nearly swatted it before it chirped and retreated into a tree not far away. As he sat up, several other chirps reached his ears. He moved into a sitting position and looked up. The tree was mostly bare, but a few sparse clumps of dry, brown leaves decorated some of its branches. Amidst the dying clusters, a few green leaves grew hesitantly toward the sun, which was finally becoming visible now that the thick haze in the sky was clearing. A quick glance around him revealed that the other trees in this small area, all of which had once been dead or dying, were beginning to grow again. Young bushes and ferns did their best to fill up the large spaces between each tree. Another soft chirp drew his attention back to the tree before him. Looking carefully, he soon spotted a nest carefully built within the leaves. Nestled safely in its depths were three baby birds. He shifted slightly and looked down. Equally tiny blades of lush green grass, each blade like a baby itself, poked up out of the ground at irregular intervals. Not far away, a soft white rabbit nibbled on a root. A brown squirrel scampered up a tree trunk, its cheeks full. Life was returning here. Or, perhaps, coming for the first time. Sonic didn't think that anything had ever lived down here in the Land of Darkness before, save for the few forests that had somehow bent the rules and grown without the aid of the sun.
Looking around, it occurred to him that, despite everything that had happened, despite everything he was feeling right now, this was a reminder that there was always something worth fighting for, worth hoping for. This was a reminder that not all was lost. This was a reminder not to give up. This was a reminder that, no matter what, the sun would always shine, even if he couldn't always see it. All he had to do was look for a brighter tomorrow.
Posted 02-18-15.