~Teiku~2
I heard distant noises, but all I saw was dark. I could feel my hand clench itself. So I could move… I forced my eyes open and starred upward, through the gaps in the trees leaves to the almost endless expanse of sky.
"What?" a voice said.
I jumped and gasped for my breath but realized…I had said it.
I was sitting upright now, looking around…wondering. "Why am I here? And, what is a here?" I wondered, confusing myself. I reached up and put my hand on my head, to hopefully ease the pain or escape from this nightmare. I found myself thinking about what a nightmare really was. Something scary…no actually scary things here. A haunting memory? Well, that was easy because I have no memory. Then I guess this isn't a nightmare.
I went down on my arms and knees and went into a crouch. Slowly but carefully, I found the strength to stand. I found that, getting to my full height made me a little dizzy. I stumbled forward with a gasp, planting my foot in front of me. I was relieved. I thought I was going to fall! I took a deep breath and lifted my other foot. I planted it, with renewed hope.
"So, I can actually do it…step I suppose." I thought to myself with glee.
It became more natural at every step. I looked around myself, without fear of diverting my attention from my feet. Wherever I looked I saw green or brown. The green was clear and almost see through, as the sun blared through the many levels of leaves that rose to the top of the tree. The sun that shone in-between the leaves painted patterns of light on my dress. I wanted to see absolutely everything! I walked for a long time, admiring everything my eyes set on, discovering new things at every step. I came to a lake. The sun bounced off it creating a road of light across the surface of the still water. I shielded my eyes to protect myself from the blinding light and stepped closer. I kneeled at the waterside and stared into the water. I fell back in surprise!
"Ahhh!" I screamed.
Who had I seen? I peered curiously over the edge again. I saw it again but I didn't flinch back. I word came to mind.
"oh…Its just a reflection…" I thought and peered down again. I saw a girl. She had brown hair with one large curl on each side of her head that unwound at about the shoulder and continued straight all the way down. Streaks of red and blue-green ran down each side of her bangs and one of each colour rounded her curls and continued down. Her eyes were a blue-green as well. I blinked and her eyes turned red. I drew myself up hurriedly with fear but I was still looking into the water. She repeated what I did! But she did it at the same time. I suddenly knew. What I saw was someone I had just met…what I saw, was me. When I saw my dress I noticed that it was covered in streaks of green and smudges of brown, and how they stood out on white! I got to my feet. I wanted to continue my walk. After seeing myself for the first time…it was a little overwhelming…I wanted to forget, how my mind had been slung into these questions, one rising above the rest.
"Just who am I?" I ask myself.
I try to shrug away this feeling for, in the meantime, I feel hungry. I had better find something to eat. I continued my journey, to nowhere in particular, trying to find something. I grab a random leaf off a tree. I chew on it a little.
Ew! It doesn't taste really good. For some reason, I'm starting to feel like a real dork. So I walk on. I am lost deep in thought and all these trees are starting to look exactly the same as the others. Well, finally, I think I've found it! There are little red dots dangling from this little tree…er…bush.
"And these..." I say as I grasp the dots off the bush, "are berries."
I pop each one into my mouth. Now! This is better! I walk on, with a handful of them. The sun is starting to sink beneath the mountains.
"Its- getting a little colder." I think to myself as I grasp my arms tight to stay warm. I start to run, but I don't know what I am hoping to do. I can't catch the sun after all. I watch it sink completely, and the sky darkens. Somehow, this feels different. I suddenly feel a pain in my back. I wince and try to rub the feeling away. It surfaces again, like a million needles stuck into my back. I cry out and drop to the ground, the grass muffles my fall but I'm still in pain.
"am I dying?" I wonder with horror. It feels like my back has been split open. Desperately, I shut my eyes tight.
"go away…go away…go away…" I mutter, as my breath thickens. Just then…It stopped. It had barely even had a chance to fade away. I am crouched on the ground. I move my hands away from my face. I look around. I look at my arms, I brush off my dress.
"What just happened?" I mutter and stand up. As I turn, I see something dart off to the side.
"Who's there?" I ask with worry in my voice. I turn again and watch it closely. I reach out and grab it. I really don't know what it is, it looks leathery or something, but kind of boney too. I pulled on it, out of curiosity and feel a small jab of pain in my back. Gasping, I let go and it disappears behind me. Something feels very wrong. But it also feels, like it's been there before. I turn my head around as far as it can go and peer down at my back. There are two of them, rising like sails. They are wings. And well, they are mine. Now, I really don't know who I am. Something slides down my cheek, a single tear.
"I just...don't know what to do" I say as I lie against a tree trunk, moving my wings out of the way. My mind feels like it will overload. I am breaking down. Sniffling, I look up. I see a strange creature, fluttering through the dark air. It has wings on its back, like I do but it is only as small as my hand. It flutters through a patch of moonlight and the light seems to bounce off it fragile body. I stand up slowly; my eyes are darting to follow it. It rises up; it dashes, and falls down slowly and flies up again. Somehow I am captivated by its every move.
"I know what you are called, you're a moth" I say smiling up at it as it glides over my head. I look at my wings once more. Were not really too different…in a way. I give my wings a flap, and feel myself get lighter. Quickly, I repeat, this time jumping up. I cry out with a mix of joy and fear as I rise. I flap again and go higher and higher. The ground seems so distant, I feel dizzy. I give a moan but I flap again, looking up. The moon greets my eyes as I rise over the trees, my heart feels as light a moth, a butterfly of the night. Flying higher and higher, up over the forest, seeing everything like a bird would. A laugh bubbled out of me and I simply shot forward, sailing across the sky, over the forest and over a cluster of lights. I gasped with pure awe as I glided over, seeing the lights flicker and shine. What could that place be? I wanted to see but part of me told me not to. It told me I should stay in the forest. It was just a gut feeling but I felt that it was important to trust it. I flew and glided for hours on end, twirling across the sky. I felt my fears and worries trail behind me and I began to sing. It rose out of me like an instinct, ringing out in the sky. It wasn't real words, it was a tune. But it was a tune singing from my soul.
Dawn came sooner than I expected. I knew it because I started to sink down, losing my ability fly, like a bird with a broken wing; I soared down as fast as I could as the sun peered over the mountains like a curious child. Soon, I was on the ground again, feeling dazed, like I was at a loss of energy. I stumbled forward and looked up at the sky. The first morning's clouds were turning from purple to white. They drifted carelessly through the sky. Everything that happened up in the air seemed like a dream. But it was a good, good dream.
~Authors Note~
Hello everyone!
Thanks very much for reading my second chapter of Teiku's story! I know I have a poetic way of writing and I am sorry if you think I overdosed it too much ^^' It's just my unique style. It's hard to write about someone seeing the world for the first time, believe me! But I love my characters a lot, and I try to make the best possible stories for them. It was also hard to describe Teiku's hair because it is really complicated. So, I hope you will read the next chapter because things are going to get a little more dramatic. If you think this is corny or anything, I don't really mind, but I like advice. (Most of the time!) (Note: This is also my first author's note as well.)
Bye!