——[ ⌬ ]——
Sing the worry away.
In the vast labyrinth of trees and stones, predators and prey alike lurk and hide. One such animal that was on their routine prowling finds an interesting thing.
…
*sniff sniff* (Hmm?)
(Smell-Smell the blood smell. The fish smell too. Food?)
(Follow! Search!)
(Food? Hunt!)
…
It stops at a tree, looking around, it does not find the source of the strong, strange smell.
*sniff sniff* (Smell here. But no food.)
*sniff sniff* (Smell also here, and there. Smell go that way.)
(Food not here?... Food alive? Hunt! Follow smell!)
(Running, Fun!)
(Food, Play!)
…
The predator stalks their prey from far away, following its footsteps and its smells, watching, measuring.
“...~♪”
(WHAT.) It ponders, stupefied. It has never seen anything like it before.
(It Make weird bird sound but not bird??)
(WHAT IS THAT?) It questions, scared. It does not know.
(Walk weird on two paws like bird but not bird but make bird noise. But not bird??)
(WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?) It thinks, terrified. The beast fears the monster.
(Horn?? Why fur only in head?? Weird tail?? Smell like fish but out water?? Pink??)
“...Sing with me♪, sing for a year♪. Sing for the laughter♪, and sing for the tear♪~”
(OH HELL NAW IT MAKE MORE WEIRD SOUNDS.) The predator is genuinely horrified by the unknown creature, it knows that in this forest, even some of the smaller monsters can punch a hole through a rock, if this small monstrosity can swagger loudly like that in plain daylight it must be a fearsome predator, it probably noticed him, but a giant cares not for ants.
(Weird. Weird thing! No hunt! No follow! Run, run far! Away from here!)
Meanwhile, the “monster” in question is completely oblivious as it pauses to eat a fruit.
“Hmm…” *munch* “I wonder what I should sing next? I don’t know many lyrics though…”
——[ ⌬ ]——
In the great expanse of the largest forest in the world, the titan tree sways gently in the wind.
*VUOOOOOOOSH*
…There are very few things that can sway a titan tree gently, one of which is incredibly high wind speeds that would send anyone flying.
From very far away, you should be able to spot a small blob that also swayed in the wind, although violently instead. Holding on for their dear life on the vines.
“AAAAAAAAAH!!!–” *breathe* ”aaAAAAAAAH!!!
A great chunk of the vine-roots had gotten dislodged, the strips of tendrils and ropes falling off and flying away, carried by the strong winds. The dark dot almost falls along with them, at the tip of one strand of the vines that haven’t completely gotten ripped off, both swaying back and forth, up and down, gripping tightly so they do not fall to their demise…
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“IT’S FUCKEN WIMDY OUT HEEEEREEEEee!”
I’m holding on for my dear life as it flashes before my eyes, *sob* it was a very short life– *ssSSHHPSH* *CRACK* *THUD* *CRASH* *SNAP* *THUMP*
I get catapulted away towards the mass of vines as the wind causes my last hope to whiplash. Throwing me with force against the trunk of the tree, causing me to lose my grip and the rest of the vines I was holding on to tear apart.
*Shhhh* *snap* *tumble*
The dust settles with some debris still falling off the cliff.
“...hhhhh~” *whimper…*
I stayed down for a while. Sporting a blank stare as I contemplated my pain…
…
After a while. I recovered a little bit, enough for me to stand up and get my bearings back. I start to stand up but.
*crack* *squash*
“What?–”
I turned over and– I was laying down on a mess of rope, branches and a strange sweet smelling colorful mass. It dawns on me. OH NOoooo… *sob* not my backpack!
I tremulously scoop up the remains of my companion, the gross goop slipping past my hands, only the fruit-smeared ropes survived… I get up with the ropes in hand.
“May you rest in peace, here lies the uncomfortable backpack iteration 1” I pay my respects in silence and do a mock prayer with 1 hand…
Well then, Anyways! I instantly shift moods.
I recover the usable rope from the pile and I tie and coil them around me, around my waist, armpits and neck– maybe not the neck, that’s dangerous… I place them around my hips instead. Waste not want not, making these is a pain in the ass and I won’t be able to replace them all the way up here.
With that out of the way, I walk over to the opening of my crash landing, careful to not fall, grabbing the roots for support as I make my way over.
A palette of green fills my vision, I can see the vast expanse of the forest once again as I stand on the edge. While I am at a considerably higher vantage point than before… I still can’t spot any signs of humanity on the horizon… *sigh* Maybe if I go higher?
I turn my cranky neck up to see the distance I'll have to climb and–
My hope falters as I fall down on my knees.
“In 4 hours!... After all of that… I still haven’t gotten even a fourth of the way there?!”
I am… shocked. I stare at the nauseating heights that stretch upwards…
“nngh!… uuugh…” I pull on my scalp and toss around “Nope. Not feeling like it. Don’t wanna!”
I look back down, taking a step back from the vertigo…
“But I'm already all the way up here…” *sigh* I sat down.
The mental and physical exhaustion from the past 15? 17? Days start to creep into me– *yawn* my eyelids start getting heavier, I start noticing the soreness my whole body is in, and a small headache says hello. “maybe… maybe I’ll take a little break. Yeah… that sounds good.”
I retreat further into the crevice and search for a spot with more firm and thick vines. *shiver* I don’t want to fall down. Those winds are no joke.
Tying myself to the roots around me with some extra slack, I lie down and rest, trying to think about nothing…
“Zzz…”
——— –– –– -- - -
“...”
A cold wind brushes my body, I stir and attempt to grab something to cover myself… Ah, I don’t have anything to cover myself, my sleepiness gets washed away as I hug myself for warmth.
I groggily open my eyes.
Woaah... *yawn* It’s been a while since I have slept for so long. How nice it is to finally have an uninterrupted sleep, maybe because I'm so high up there are less animals and insects to bite me.
I do some stretches after untying myself from the makeshift hammock and head out, and it’s… dark, I look up and notice it’s the middle of the night. I see the same old forest landscape, this time illuminated by the moons and… the stars…
It is… beautiful.
The sky’s firmament is entirely filled with bright stars, some smaller, sprinkling the canvas with streaks of white dots, some bigger, shining brightly amongst the colorful canopy, some of different colors, red, blue, yellow, green. The cosmos’ palette stains the background with nebulas and waves of colors, streaks of energy and dust painting the horizon. And on top of it all. The white moon and the smaller, green moon contrast everything else, hanging on low orbit and appearing much, much larger than the moon I was used to. I can clearly see their texture and the many craters of a variety of sizes that decorate their faces.
I sit back down on the ledge of my small crevice, taking a deep breath and settling down, admiring the fantastic otherworldly beauty…
“It–… I–... *deep sigh* …Living here might not be so bad after all…”
I remember the occurrences that led me to arrive at this place. One by one, I relive, recall, contemplate the experiences that have carried me so far.
And then, I feel, I laugh, I cry, I hate, I love. Taking time to slowly parse and process the memories, the weight of locked emotions and repressed stress falling down on me and falling off me.
The pain… of my death, the wounds that I carry.
The regret… of my choices, the things I’ve left behind.
The indignation… of my fate, was this what I deserved?
The confusion… as I breathed once again, after I’d thought I had breathed my last.
The defiance… when I found myself stranded and alone, determined to stay alive.
The anger… at the ones with hands on my destiny, what am I to them? A toy?
The despair… as I struggled to adapt to what I have become, to survive in this place.
The fear… when my life flashes through my eyes as I dodge death left and right.
The thrill… of becoming more, gaining more power, more tools, more hope.
The denial… of my feelings, of my new body, my anguish, my lost world and home.
The prevailing… when I struck back at the odds and improved, adapted, overcame.
The anguish… from all those sleepless nights, thinking about what I have lost, alone–
I pause amidst the drowning weight of emotions, in the distance, almost imperceptible, far, far away, I see a small aurora of light, but not from the morning sun, no… It is light coming from a city, the lucent brightness of civilization that drowns the stars.
And then… An overwhelming fire is lit within me, a fire of brilliant hope, of unstoppable defiance, of anger as pure and potent as sunshine, of the purification of anguish and deep gratitude, of the indomitable human spirit.
I stand up. Feeling taller, higher, and bigger than I’ve ever felt since arriving in this world.
Determination fills my words. “This… is only the beginning. My… adventure–” I lightly chuckle at the thought of fantasy adventure “–is only getting started.”
——— –– –– -- - -