Karen tripped over what she hoped was the last piece of tree branches and rocks for the two-hundred and ninety-seventh time. She was about to kick another one out of the way until she remembered that she had no shoes on. She kept on traversing the terrain diligently, determined to win her stepdaughter back.
She finally reached what she thought was a clearing, and was horrified at what she saw. Trash and piles of rubbish, as far as the eye could see. But it didn't smell like usual waste. There was a glimmer of hope, though. Just past the trash was a large gate, and beyond it was a city, and then the castle.
Karen carefully made her way downwards to the wastes. Some parts looked like they moved, but she tried to ignore them and continue onto her designated path. The amount of trash astounded her, particularly because exactly zero percent of it was food trash or disposable waste. All of it was things like toys and furniture and clothing.
Just as she was about to make it to the next section, she stopped. She saw something out of the corner of her eye that she recognized. She looked at it closely. It was a small, well-played with stuffed rabbit. It looked exactly like the one she had when she was a little girl, about Sarah's age. A small tear dropped from her eye as she remembered promising herself that she would never part with it for the rest of her life. Oh, how devastated she was when one day she came home from school and the rabbit was missing.
And then in her peripheral vision again, there was another item she remembered. A small compact for makeup, probably from when she first started using it. She stared at the swirls of gold patterns that adorned the brown case, and remembered hiding it from her parents, who didn't want her to use makeup until she was in high school. She managed to get away with the foundation in the compact as an excuse to cover acne.
Suddenly everything began to remind her of her childhood. Karen wanted to jump into the pile and relish in the memories forever, never letting go again. But something tugged at the back of her mind. Something, no, someone needed her desperately. It hit her like a brick.
Sarah.
Karen dropped the memories she had, knowing that she didn't need physical reminders to keep them dear, and rushed to the gates to get Sarah back.
