Dreams Flames Destroy
Forest
CH.2
Forest
Two siblings; a boy and a girl, the boy about fourteen and the girl a couple of years older, skip around in a forest. They shout and hop about, seemingly happy about how they got away without telling their parents. Inside the rows of trees it's dim, but in some parts are bright trails of light shining down from the sky, like water dripping out from tiny holes in a plastic container. The trees sway in the wind, sending chills down the boy's spine.
Obviously, the girl was the one who had the courage to venture into the forest in the first place, which the boy doesn't seem too happy about.
The red fire burns behind thorn-lavished bushes and beneath the shadows of the trees, but they don't notice.
"Look, Mark," the girl says, pointing to a tall tree up ahead, "It's a woodpecker. Or at least I think it's one."
Mark squints at the bird, its wings painted with color. "No. It looks more like a regular parrot to me."
The older sister's copper hair gets caught around a twig somewhere in her path. Frustrated, she yanks her hair out and yelps in pain.
"Nice one," Mark comments.
Embarrassed, she pulls Mark forward and continues on their journey toward an unknown destiny.
"I'm getting thirsty."
The girl scowls at her brother's complaint but soon realizes that she also longs for the icy freshness of a drink.
"Maybe we should find a lake or something," the girl suggests. She folds her arms across her chest, uncertain about where they are heading when they reach an even darker corner and turn into a circular area surrounded by tall sequoias.
"How would we ever find one of those in this place?" Mark asks, his voice slightly quivering.
"I don't know. But there has to be water here somewhere."
Mark isn't too sure about that.
"Wait!"
The girl stops cold in her tracks, her long, copper hair flowing like curtains in the wind. "I think I see something...it looks like a small body of water." She points straight ahead; Mark notices it, too.
The girl is right-there is a fine sized puddle of murky water, hidden beneath the shade of over-grown plants that stick out far enough to block their path.
"Ew..." Mark begins, but gets cut off by his sister who starts scooping up handfuls of liquid and splashing it in his face. She grins mischievously.
"What are you doing?!" Mark demands, but is soon having too much fun getting back at his sister to care.
They keep this up for a while-splashing water at the other's face. Though soon they become bored and drop to the ground laughing.
"Look into the water, Mark," the girl says suddenly.
Mark looks into the water, pokes it playfully with his finger, distorting the shape of his face.
"Why?" he asks.
Mark's sister also puts her face up to the giant puddle and groans. "Too bad the water's so green. I can't see my face," she mumbles. "I'm staring at some dark figure."
"This is stupid," Mark comments and tries to stand up but the girl grasps his shoulder, holding him down.
"Wait...can I tell you a secret?" she asks and looks at her brother with a spark shimmering in her emerald eyes.
Mark nods, confused.
The girl gazes wide-eyed in admiration at their surroundings and whispers, "I've always wanted to live in a forest. Like this."
There's a pause. The ear-piercing sound of an angry caw of a bird echoes from somewhere up high in a tree branch. The smell of wood pines gets stronger as tiny bits of rain start to fall down from the grey sky, hidden from hundreds of trees.
Mark coughs out a laugh so loud, it makes little birds fly out from under the bushes.
His sister glares, waiting.
"Sorry..."
She sighs. "It's okay. I know it's stupid, but I can't control my wild imagination; one that sees myself flying around as a tiny, sparkling fairy in a vast, magical forest-similar to this one." she chuckles. "I know that's impossible...and that some dreams can't come true. But it would just be...insanely cool if mine could."
"I think I understand," Mark says, fiddling with his dirty fingernails. "Maybe...you can pretend to be a fairy?"
"Maybe." She shrugs. "I do sometimes, actually...when I'm alone in my room and I start rummaging around in my closets until I find something remotely similar to what she wears in my dreams. And occasionally I like to draw her, too, with the green forest in the background."
She glances at Mark, who's off in another land.
"Don't you ever wish you were someone else in some other place besides what you've seen?" His sisters asks, laughing a little at her brother's hazy expression. "Even if it's not anywhere on this planet?"
Mark still wistfully stares at nothing in particular. "Yeah. In fact, all the time. I'm actually pretty sure that everyone does." He shifts uneasily. "Mine is embarrassing."
"I don't care."
"'Kay."
"Well?" she insists.
"Sometimes...I wish that I were a warrior. In medieval times. I would have a long, shiny sword with me at all times and when evil would approach I would defend myself and the people. I would be looked up to by everyone-except the ones that got destroyed by me-for a good reason. I would be a hero who would have a long-fullfilled journey behind him and who could pleasurably tell about it to others who were interested." He hesitates, then smiles.
"That's my dream. Beat that!" he shouts, standing up and pointing at his sister.
For a few minutes she is unable to stop her laughing, it comes out in hysterical giggles that echo through the forest. When she finally controls it she says, "I think I just got an idea!"
"What's that?" Mark asks.
"I know our dreams can't come true, at least these ones, but what if we tried really hard to make them?"
Mark looks skeptical. "What do you mean?"
The girl raises her voice in sudden excitement. "We can put on plays! Or...write books about them! I mean, the real world is limited on what we can do, but in our imaginations..."
"Anything can happen," Mark continues, gradually beginning to smile with understanding.
"Yes!" she exclaims, "It may sound far fetched, but why not?"
Mark nods, now smiling more than ever. "I think that's a really good idea. We should start telling people...tonight!"
A strong breeze rattles the trees. Their leaves dance in what is now turning into moonlight.
"Um..." Mark mumbles, noticing the change in light.
"Yeah..."
Mark and his sister hop up instantly.
The red, blazing fire leaves a trail with no mark as it sneakily follows after the siblings who would make for perfect victims as they walk off into the night, with only one thing in mind: how to get past their furious parents.
Forest
Two siblings; a boy and a girl, the boy about fourteen and the girl a couple of years older, skip around in a forest. They shout and hop about, seemingly happy about how they got away without telling their parents. Inside the rows of trees it's dim, but in some parts are bright trails of light shining down from the sky, like water dripping out from tiny holes in a plastic container. The trees sway in the wind, sending chills down the boy's spine.
Obviously, the girl was the one who had the courage to venture into the forest in the first place, which the boy doesn't seem too happy about.
The red fire burns behind thorn-lavished bushes and beneath the shadows of the trees, but they don't notice.
"Look, Mark," the girl says, pointing to a tall tree up ahead, "It's a woodpecker. Or at least I think it's one."
Mark squints at the bird, its wings painted with color. "No. It looks more like a regular parrot to me."
The older sister's copper hair gets caught around a twig somewhere in her path. Frustrated, she yanks her hair out and yelps in pain.
"Nice one," Mark comments.
Embarrassed, she pulls Mark forward and continues on their journey toward an unknown destiny.
"I'm getting thirsty."
The girl scowls at her brother's complaint but soon realizes that she also longs for the icy freshness of a drink.
"Maybe we should find a lake or something," the girl suggests. She folds her arms across her chest, uncertain about where they are heading when they reach an even darker corner and turn into a circular area surrounded by tall sequoias.
"How would we ever find one of those in this place?" Mark asks, his voice slightly quivering.
"I don't know. But there has to be water here somewhere."
Mark isn't too sure about that.
"Wait!"
The girl stops cold in her tracks, her long, copper hair flowing like curtains in the wind. "I think I see something...it looks like a small body of water." She points straight ahead; Mark notices it, too.
The girl is right-there is a fine sized puddle of murky water, hidden beneath the shade of over-grown plants that stick out far enough to block their path.
"Ew..." Mark begins, but gets cut off by his sister who starts scooping up handfuls of liquid and splashing it in his face. She grins mischievously.
"What are you doing?!" Mark demands, but is soon having too much fun getting back at his sister to care.
They keep this up for a while-splashing water at the other's face. Though soon they become bored and drop to the ground laughing.
"Look into the water, Mark," the girl says suddenly.
Mark looks into the water, pokes it playfully with his finger, distorting the shape of his face.
"Why?" he asks.
Mark's sister also puts her face up to the giant puddle and groans. "Too bad the water's so green. I can't see my face," she mumbles. "I'm staring at some dark figure."
"This is stupid," Mark comments and tries to stand up but the girl grasps his shoulder, holding him down.
"Wait...can I tell you a secret?" she asks and looks at her brother with a spark shimmering in her emerald eyes.
Mark nods, confused.
The girl gazes wide-eyed in admiration at their surroundings and whispers, "I've always wanted to live in a forest. Like this."
There's a pause. The ear-piercing sound of an angry caw of a bird echoes from somewhere up high in a tree branch. The smell of wood pines gets stronger as tiny bits of rain start to fall down from the grey sky, hidden from hundreds of trees.
Mark coughs out a laugh so loud, it makes little birds fly out from under the bushes.
His sister glares, waiting.
"Sorry..."
She sighs. "It's okay. I know it's stupid, but I can't control my wild imagination; one that sees myself flying around as a tiny, sparkling fairy in a vast, magical forest-similar to this one." she chuckles. "I know that's impossible...and that some dreams can't come true. But it would just be...insanely cool if mine could."
"I think I understand," Mark says, fiddling with his dirty fingernails. "Maybe...you can pretend to be a fairy?"
"Maybe." She shrugs. "I do sometimes, actually...when I'm alone in my room and I start rummaging around in my closets until I find something remotely similar to what she wears in my dreams. And occasionally I like to draw her, too, with the green forest in the background."
She glances at Mark, who's off in another land.
"Don't you ever wish you were someone else in some other place besides what you've seen?" His sisters asks, laughing a little at her brother's hazy expression. "Even if it's not anywhere on this planet?"
Mark still wistfully stares at nothing in particular. "Yeah. In fact, all the time. I'm actually pretty sure that everyone does." He shifts uneasily. "Mine is embarrassing."
"I don't care."
"'Kay."
"Well?" she insists.
"Sometimes...I wish that I were a warrior. In medieval times. I would have a long, shiny sword with me at all times and when evil would approach I would defend myself and the people. I would be looked up to by everyone-except the ones that got destroyed by me-for a good reason. I would be a hero who would have a long-fullfilled journey behind him and who could pleasurably tell about it to others who were interested." He hesitates, then smiles.
"That's my dream. Beat that!" he shouts, standing up and pointing at his sister.
For a few minutes she is unable to stop her laughing, it comes out in hysterical giggles that echo through the forest. When she finally controls it she says, "I think I just got an idea!"
"What's that?" Mark asks.
"I know our dreams can't come true, at least these ones, but what if we tried really hard to make them?"
Mark looks skeptical. "What do you mean?"
The girl raises her voice in sudden excitement. "We can put on plays! Or...write books about them! I mean, the real world is limited on what we can do, but in our imaginations..."
"Anything can happen," Mark continues, gradually beginning to smile with understanding.
"Yes!" she exclaims, "It may sound far fetched, but why not?"
Mark nods, now smiling more than ever. "I think that's a really good idea. We should start telling people...tonight!"
A strong breeze rattles the trees. Their leaves dance in what is now turning into moonlight.
"Um..." Mark mumbles, noticing the change in light.
"Yeah..."
Mark and his sister hop up instantly.
The red, blazing fire leaves a trail with no mark as it sneakily follows after the siblings who would make for perfect victims as they walk off into the night, with only one thing in mind: how to get past their furious parents.