A Long Way from Home

Nathali was awoken by something soft poking her thigh. Her eyes flutter open to reveal the bright blue eyes of a young boy, about her age, she assumed, mere inches from her face. She is startled, but is unable to tear her gaze away from his mesmerizing eyes.

His eyebrows crinkle, and she realizes that she must have been staring at him for too long. Blushing, she looks away blushing, and brings her knees up to her chest. He laughs, his voice high like the music box her mother plays to put her to sleep. She is unable to hold back her smile.

Chancing a look back at him, she lets out a low gasp as realizes that he is still staring at her. Before she is able to duck her head, however, he begins to speak. "Hi, I'm Xavier," he says, then he pauses like he's trying to figure something out. "Are you hungry?"

She shakes her head, her matted hair stuck to her neck, and fingers the hem of her shorts. A single tear trails down her face, and her raises a hand to wipe it away, but her efforts are fugattive, because more tears soon follow. A weight is suddenly upon her head, slowly making its way down, through her hair. Looking up, she sees that it is the blue eyed boy stroking her hair. She cries some more because that's what her mom used to do when she was scared. And now she didn't even know where she was, or if she was ok.

Nathali wonders if she will ever stop crying. She had to be tough for when daddy came to find her. Part of her wished he didn't, but she couldn't live without mommy. She had to find her before daddy did. Her crying had faded to quiet whimpers, and the blue eyed boy was still on his knees beside her, slowly stroking her hair. "What is your name?" He asks, but when she doesn't answer he stands up, extending his hand towards her to help her up, too. Hesistantly, she takes hold, and when her skin finally makes contact with his, she is shocked my how cold his hands are. She idly wonders if he was sick. He felt like mommy did when she had gotten the flu that winter.

Nathali shuddered at the memory of how much worse than ususal daddy had acted towards her while mommy was sick. Blue eyes probably thought that she was shivering from the coldness of his hand, which was still in hers though she was now standing upright, because he removed his hand from hers and let it fall limply to his side. She looked at him, secretly missing the coolness of his hand, but he was looking a fallen tree a few meters away.

"We can go to my house if you want," he says. "My parents can help you get home. Or you can probably stay with us if they say that it will be okay."

"Why would I want to stay with you?" Nathali asks, sligtly ofended. "I have a house," she continues angrily. She was angry becasue she found th idea for staying with this strange blue eyed boy and his family more appealing that returing to her own home with mommy, and daddy, too.

His lips press into a thin line. She could tell that she had made him sad, and she felt bad. He had been nothing but nice to her. "I'm so-"

"Fine," he says coldly, cutting her off. "Just stay here by yourself, then." He started walking off. She watches as he turns from a boy to a silhouette to a blob to a dot in the distance. It was only when he disappeared completely that she realized that he was her only hope of getting out of the woods.

Nathali was lost once again.