A/N: Thank you BelleEve and SamoaPhoenix9! Boo…no review from Trudi yet…ah well, maybe she's just too busy being amazing…cough, review, cough, please?
Chapter II: Rain, Rain
The rain went on for a week. Children whined to go out and play, mothers screeched at them to come inside before they caught their death, and fathers grumbled about the thick, pasty mud. So it went on until one spring morning, when a bird chirped outside her window, and Eve was greeted with a ray of gold.
The garden sparkled and for once, the trees beyond did not seem as forbearing. The haze had been chased away, and for the first time, the oppressive vibe she received when near the woods was not present.
Eve looked long at the trees' edge. A slight breeze seemed to exhale from within them. Come…it said. But not a leaf did stir from this supposed breeze. She blinked back several times before returning to her picking of mushrooms, made large and ripe from the rain.
However, her weighted basket did not stop her from cautiously inching towards the forest edge. She remained on her guard lest anything spring out at her from the leaves. A carpet of ivy greeted her just beyond the line of trunks. She mustered her courage and set foot within its swallowing mass.
One step, two, three, four. Her feet made no sound. Why? No branches had fallen, no twigs crunched beneath her foot. Each leaf poised itself perfectly amongst the others, without rot or blemishes. The trees draped a curtain of vines for which, after hesitation, Eve parted.
The golden rays poured jubilantly through the canopy and dappled the forest floor in their splendor. Birds of song flitted overhead and wildflowers treaded along the weaving path.
Eve breathed deep the smell of honeysuckle and morning glory, laced within the warm, sweet air. Eve was named a daughter of the night, but oh, how she marveled at the glory of day.
Cursed? These woods are only cursed with beauty.
Her skirts folded beneath her as she nestled in the crook of a tree. She settled the basket lay in her lap and went about picking the stubs off the pebble sized mushrooms within.
A butterfly landed upon her nose giving her such a start that she shrieked merrily up to the canopy.
Silence. Her laughs had not rendered one whisper of an echo. Not a thing stirred, save for the butterfly retreating back amongst the flowers. Even pools of sunshine, which usually danced upon the earth, seemed frozen onto each petal.
Eve was suddenly afraid to breath. Moving would be fatal, for the eyes watching her had captured her in their gaze. There were eyes all around now. They were bidding to her, silently from beyond the sunlight.
She slowly stood and clutched her bundle to her chest. She took a step toward her path and anxiously darted back whence she came. Not moments later did she break through, like coming up for air, back into familiarity.
The oak door swung shut and she pressed her back to its support. She looked to her basket and noticed half its contents missing.
They probably fell while you ran for your…for my what? My life? Or was it… my sanity?
She emptied the mushrooms into a pot, glancing out the window to the strange stillness.
Birds in flight are calling there
where the heart moves the stones
it's there that my heart is longing
all for the love of you
