This Is The Start

By Devika Hardikar

The smell of damp earth and moss surrounded me. Russells and white noise make for a disturbing and eerie mood. Everything seemed to slow down around me. I crept by the harrowing foliage and ruddy stones, the sound of faint cries in the distance sending shocks of fear through my body. My vision tunnelled and started to deteriorate as I walked into the fog. I stopped to assess my surroundings further. An influx of frigid wind smacked me in the face. The bones on the forest floor rankled me from my thoughts. The old forest seemed to have changed the once so mystical forest into a graveyard. The singed treed seemed to be reaching out and the knot in my stomach tightened. A cold blue light emerged from behind me. A sense of contrite washed over me. This wasn’t the way I had left the forest. Obsidian rose to speak.

“Here, put your hand in the water.” said Obsidian

“There's no way I'm touching that.” I gasped looking at the dark green mossy lake.

“You can't honestly be afraid of some dirty water.

“I'm not touching that.” I raged only to find that he had grabbed my wrist and plunged my hand into the water. I was too shocked to say anything as I watched the lake slowly clean itself and heal all the life. The muddy water slowly started to return to its once glorious state of crystally clear water. Life had returned.

“What h- how?’ I questioned

“The lake, it remembers you. I tried to fix it but it only wants you.” explained Obsidian. I turned my attention back to him and watched as his hard expression softened and slowly turned to a grin. It seemed as though slowly my presence was bringing down his walls. He turned his head only to find me staring at him.

“What?” he asked, seeing me smiling.

“Nothing, it’s just I haven’t seen you genuinely smile till now.” I explained.

“Well, until now I haven’t had a reason to.”

By Devika Hardikar