Ren stared at the old, wooden bridge that crossed over the river, the connection between his village and the world beyond. Raz had always told them not to go over it without him. He had said that they were too young, and that the main road broke off into multiple paths that could be difficult to navigate with unknown dangers in the forests that surrounded them.

But Sakura was over there.

He just knew it.

She had never run off before.

But of course, when she did, she ran to where they weren’t supposed to go.

Ren wasn’t even quite sure why she was mad. That morning had been like any other in which the two children were expected to execute their chores in a timely manner. It wasn’t unlike the girl to try to get out of her responsibilities, attempting to appeal to Raz’s mercy through either sweet-talking or sulking. But, for whatever reason, she refused to back down with her negotiations this time, only growing more incensed until she was screaming about how unfair it was, and how much she hated the older angel before tucking tail and rushing to the trees and out of sight.

“She’ll come back,” Raz had grumbled while rubbing wearily at his face, agitated at the girl’s most recent grab for attention. “She’s throwing a fit. She’ll get over it. Don’t worry about her.”

But even after Ren had finished both of their chores, she still hadn’t returned.

And he was worried.

Because the last time she ran was from the den two years before.

Raz had laid a map on the table one night after the small fox had been with them for some time. With the girl nestled against him, he pointed to the den and Northern Mountains, tracing the possible paths she had taken and describing the villages and towns and cities she would have gone through, asking what sounded familiar.

She had been of little help, shrugging her shoulders and giving vague answers about farmlands and rivers and buildings. None of it seemed to interest her.

But Ren was awestruck watching his uncle’s finger weave all over the paper, explaining the mountains and fields and never-ending miles of road that it took for her to get from one home to the next. It seemed impossible to the boy for anyone to travel so far and make it through so many landscapes.

And yet, the girl had.

Alone.

What if she did it again?

What if she took those same roads?

Went through those same fields?

Crossed those same mountains?

What if she never came back?

He had to get her back.

With one last look over his shoulder at the path towards the village, the boy stepped onto the bridge and made his way across. His heart sank further and further into his stomach with each and every step, the end of the bridge getting closer until he was finally on land again.

And then he ran to the trees.

He called out to her over and over. He checked every nook and cranny. He looked up into the branches. Peeked into every hollow log.

But he couldn’t find her.

The woods on this side of the bridge were a lot bigger than what they normally walked through to get to the village. They were unfamiliar. Never had the two dug holes, or made forts, or played in these trees. Never had they become accustomed to the noises or layout of this land. It might as well have been another planet for as much as Ren knew about the area.

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And what if she wasn’t here?

What if she didn’t want to be found?

He kept searching as the sun crept across the sky.

He knew she was here.

She had to be.

He needed her to be.

He needed her.

He was desperate. Out of control.

She had left him.

Even though he had promised never to leave her.

Ren was tired. His feet had never stopped their frantic movement, and they were starting to hurt. He could feel blisters starting to form on his heels and the sides of his toes. He didn’t think he had ever run so much in his life.

But this little bit would be nothing to her.

She had run so much further.

So much longer.

Even when her body hurt and her feet bled, she continued on.

She never stopped.

How could he ever keep up?

His body slowed until his knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the ground.

He yelled until he couldn’t anymore, his throat raw and voice weak.

And for the first time since he met her.

He cried.

She was gone.

And he was so alone.

But he wasn’t.

He never truly was.

Those incoherent mutterings that had been hushed in her presence began making their way out from hiding, slipping around his conscious and seeping in.

Calling.

Nibbling away at his sanity.

Dragging him closer towards what he feared.

What he never wanted to be.

What he truly was.

A monster.

An abomination not meant for this world.

A world that shunned him.

Despised him.

Wished him gone.

And if the world felt that way about him, then why shouldn’t he feel that way about the world?

The crunching of leaves and twigs behind him stalled the darkness creeping. Her small body leaned against his back, clearing and calming his mind, allowing him to breathe again. Reminding him that there was someone who felt differently.

Someone who, while lost in their own darkness, still cared and reached out for him.

“Why did you come for me, Ren?” her voice so quiet.

He didn’t move, afraid of scaring her into running again. “Because I don’t want you to go.”

“But I was bad. I always make everything worse. It would be better if I were gone.”

“Don’t say that!” he snapped, whipping around and grabbing her shoulders, forcing distraught emeralds on darkening sapphires. “Don’t ever say that!” His voice broke. “I need you. Please. You don’t understand.”

But looking into her eyes and the way they softened against his, he knew she did.

Knew that she was the only one who did.

And that he was the same for her.

Two sides of the same damaged coin.

Just put together enough to help mend the other.

“When I brought you home after you left the den, I promised I’d stay with you.” His hands fell to his sides, pushing his fears away as he forced a smile. “I meant it. So, if you want to go, then I’m gonna go with you. Okay?”

Sakura glanced at her hands knotted in her lap, nodding in agreement. “Okay.”

“Where do you want to go?”

She chewed her cheek as she thought about it, terrified of the repercussions that may follow once they got there. “I wanna go home.”

The boy hesitated, aware that the girl had had more than one home in her life. “Do you mean the den, or…”

“Home!” she interrupted forcefully, leaving no room for further question. “Our home.”

“Alright. Let’s go home.” Ren twisted around as the girl latched onto his back, and he got to his feet and carried her out of the trees and towards the bridge.

He looked down at the ground.

So that he didn’t have to look at Raz.

“I told you two not to cross this bridge without me.” He glared down at the children sternly. “You two could have gotten lost, or worse, coming out here on your own.”

“I’m sorry,” they spoke at the same time with the same quiet voices.

The man sighed, convinced that a lecture would be a waste of his breath, and grabbed the girl from the boy’s back, holding her curled body against his chest. “Let’s go.”

They walked back across the bridge and towards the village, heading for home.

“I can’t stop you from running away,” Raz told Sakura as he smoothed her hair, and she soaked his shirt with her silent tears. “But if you’re gonna do it, at least stick close to home. It’s not fair to Ren. This isn’t the den, girl. You actually have someone here who’ll chase you down and bring you back. So don’t make it so hard for him to do that.”

The girl would run time and time again.

But never so far that the boy couldn’t catch her.

And if he couldn’t.

Then she’d return to him.