Alex looked up from the book she had her nose buried in at the sound of her name being called. She peered through through her glasses, scanning through the thick crowd of high school students jostling their way through the narrow halls around her. After several minutes of searching, she spotted a figure looking at her, waving.
Alex broke into a smile and looked down, carefully marking he spot in the book and shutting it. She stood, walking over to her best friend Jason. It took a few minutes before she could make her way over to him due to the extravagant amount of people swarming around her. The bell to signal the end of the school day had rung just a few minutes before, and it was of no surprise to Alex that the entire student body of John Williams High School was locked in an epic battle to get through the large double doors that led to the student parking lot as soon as possible.
Eventually, she was able to reach Jason and was pulled into a warm, comfortable hug. He grabbed hold of her hand and kept it held tightly, not wanting to lose her to the violent flow of students all around them. She was tugged out a small back door none of the students used, because of its lack of usefulness. It led to a small grassy fenced in field, and was about as far from the student parking lots as possible.
"So," Jason looked at her with a grin on his face, "ready for the weekend?"
Alex laughed, relishing in the fresh spring breeze. "Oh, yes!" she cried, throwing her hands up and letting her dark brown hair get lifted up in the wind. "You have no idea. With all my AP tests coming up, and the deadline for all those scholarships to Yale are almost here, I could seriously use a break from life. Please tell me you have something unbearably fun lined up for me."
"Yeah," Jason promised, "tonight. But there's a few things I need to check up on first. Are you up for a party?"
Alex smiled widely. "Am I up for a party? Of course! But it's gonna be safe, right?" She looked at Jason warily. She loved her best friend, but his fun loving and free spirit had gotten them into trouble on more than one occasion.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Of course. It's at Hannah's house. You know Hannah, right?"
Alex sighed in relief. Hannah was one of her good friends. They had drifted apart lately, upon entering their senior year, but at least it was someone Alex knew. That made her feel safer.
"Good," Alex smiled at Jason. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but his phone rang at that moment.
He had it opened and held up to his ear in one swift moment. "Hello?"
There was silence for a few seconds, and then a bright smile spread across his handsome face. "Oh, hey babe!" He turned to Alex and mouthed the word 'Ben,' and Alex understood.
She left Jason to talk to his boyfriend, and she turned and began to take the four block walk home. She enjoyed the walk, it gave her time to think. And what with her busy life, thinking was something she didn't often get to do.
She let her mind drift, feeling the cool breeze drift through her, as if she wasn't even there. She thought of her mom, who was struggling with an alcohol addiction and had just gotten through her third week dry. She thought of her dad, who had died when Alex was just a baby, too young to remember, but she had built a castle of memories about him from the stories her mom has told her when she was sober. She thought of Jason, who seemed to always be there for her when she needed someone the most, but she could never be the most important thing in his life. She thought of her graduation coming up soon, and how college was just around the corner. She thought of her own true love who had yet to show up, but who she felt at night when she laid in bed, right before she fell asleep.
Sighing, she forced herself out of her reverie and looked up at her one story house. She had lived here all her life, from the day she was born. Nothing about it had changed from the way she remembered it as a little girl. All the rooms were the same, the yard was still the same brownish yellow color, unkempt and weed ridden. It wasn't much, but it was home, and it was the only place that Alex ever felt really truly safe. She climbed the three steps up the concrete block porch and opened the screen door, stepping through. She listened to it bang shut behind her and smiled in its familiarity.
"Alex, is that you?"
She heard a shuffling sound coming from the kitchen and Alex walked around the corner to see her mom straightening back up from the below the sink cabinet. She hastily shut it with her foot and put on a smile.
Alex looked at her mother suspiciously. She knew that smile all too well, it was the same look she wore when the neighbors would nosily come over for something to gossip about to each other, as it was common knowledge that when it came to dysfunctional families, the Branson residence was at the top of the list.
"Hi honey," her mother chirped, keeping that fake smile plastered tauntingly on her face. "How was school?"
"It was... fine," Alex responded. "Mom, what's under the sink?"
"The sink?" Johanne Branson questioned innocently, but Alex saw her smile falter slightly, and her eyes darted quickly to the cabinet, then back to Alex again. "Oh," she said laughing a little too loudly. "Right, well, um, there was a leak, and --"
But before she could finish her sentence, she swayed to the side and had to grip the sink firmly to keep herself from falling over. She let out a small, child like giggle, and instantly her free hand shot up to her mouth, unable to cover the sharp peals of laughter that were now escaping from her lips.
Alex strode determinedly to the cabinet and whipped it open before her mother could even react. Furious, she yanked out a large bottle. It wasn't clear, but by shaking it, Alex could hear that it was almost empty. There was very little sloshing around inside.
Alex just looked at her mother, and waited patiently for her to get over her fit of drunken hysterics. When the last sounds of laughter were done echoing around the linoleum cage, Alex opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She changed her mind and shut her mouth, deciding to take a different tactic.
She set the near to empty bottle gently on the counter and looked away from her mother.
"Baby, look, I --," Johanne began, but was cut off by the look Alex shot at her. It was a look of pure venom, with underlying disappointment. A look Johanne knew all too well. She hung her head.
Alex just shook her head. She hated how the roles in her home were reversed, the child looking over the parent. It pained her more than anything else in the world to see her mother behaving like this. With no idea of what else to do, Alex turned and walked slowly out of the kitchen, leaving her mother alone. She walked out the front door and purposefully slammed it shut behind her, making an echoing snap that resounded throughout the neighborhood. She sat on the middle step of her porch and sunk her head into her hands, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. She heaved a great sigh and finally looked up and around, not knowing what she was supposed to do. She could call Jason, but she sort of just wanted to be alone at the moment. Begrudgingly, she stood and began running. She had no idea where she was supposed to go, but it had to be better than where she was now. She could hear the slapping of her shoes on the pavement beneath her, no other sound could reach her ears.
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap.
She refused to hear anything else, listening only to the sounds she was making, as if she was the only one in the entire universe.
She turned down another road, and then after several minutes traveling in a straight line, she leapt over the curb and began running on the grass. She could feel the tall weeds whipping at her ankles and making shallow, itchy cuts, but she couldn't care less. She just continued running. She saw a forest ahead of her, and she angled herself towards it. She had been in the forest hundreds of times before, and it was a small thing, only about 50 yards long, and even shorter than that across. Even calling it a forest was a bit of a stretch as it was really more of a small cluster of trees, huddled together against a larger world, always closing in on them.
When she finally stepped into the shade of the trees, she allowed herself to slow and stop. She was completely and totally beyond catching her breath, and she had to lean against a tree for several minutes before she was able to stand back up straight again. Her legs felt like jelly, and she was surprised they could hold her up. For the first time since she left her home, she realized there were tears running down her face, and she didn't know if it was from the sharp wind biting her eyes as she ran, or from the recent events with her mother. Either way, she wiped them away and took a deep breath. She was feeling a little better already, but the shelter of the overhanging trees gave her comfort, and she was in no hurry to leave.
She walked slowly through the familiar trees, feeling the rough bark under her finger tips. It was like another world in here. As long as you didn't peer to hard through the trunks, you had no idea that the rest of the world was just a stones throw away.
In the tranquility of the small woods, Alex thought back to her mother. She had been so proud of her for staying sober for three weeks... but had she even been sober for that long? It's possible that her mom and hidden it from her for that entire time, and she had only just discovered it today. No... Alex refused to think that. She didn't think that her mom could keep that a secret for so long. One thing Alex didn't inherit from her mother was her ability to be deceitful. Alex could lie about anything and have almost anyone believing her. She could keep up a facade for months, smile brightly in her worst depression spells, and fool even Jason into believing her life was satisfactory. Her mother on the other hand couldn't get a blind man to believe what color shirt she was wearing. She was terrible at hiding things, and was never able to keep a secret for long.
Alex must have gotten her sneakiness from her father, though if it was true or not, she had no idea. Just the very thought of her late husband brought Johanne to tears, and Alex hated seeing her mother like that, so they often avoided the subject at all costs. Sometimes, when she allowed herself such fantasies, she would imagine her father was a spy for the American government, the best one they'd ever had. That must have been where she got her ability to lie, from her father. She allowed herself a small smile at entertaining the thought, then tossed it aside.
The fact of the matter was, no matter how long her mom had been able to stay sober this time, now it was over, and she would have to start over from square one. If she even decided to start over. After so many failed attempts, how many more times could her mother afford to fail? It was hard on her. Going on fifty, her resolve was already weak. Alex remembered from her childhood when her mother used to be strong and brave, always smiling and laughing about something. But over time, a mix of age and depression overcame her, and she stopped trying. She was once very beautiful, and you could tell by looking at her. She still had a thin frame, but the soft curves that once inhabited were gone, replaced by harsh angles. Age had not been kind to Johanne Branson.
Alex stopped suddenly, looking around. She had been walking straight ahead for close to thirty minutes now. Surely she should have reached the other side of the trees by now. All around her, she noticed small things that made her skin tingle. Like, how the forest was completely silent before, but now it was busy, with the sound of bugs flying, and birds up ahead were chirping occasionally. Straining her ears, Alex even thought she could hear the bubbling of a small stream or brook. There was definitely no stream in this forest, not that she could remember. It even smelled differently now. She tried to smell the distant city, or the pollution from the nearby highway, or even a faint whiff of the landfill just a few miles from where she lived, but there wasn't a single trace of any of it in the air. Instead, she could smell stranger things. Having never been further from home than the city tenty minutes away, she couldn't be sure what the new smells were, but it did smell... fresher. More clean. As if the air was fresh from being blown off of a tall mountain peak capped with ice, or as if the wind was coming from endless green plains. Looking up, she could see the tree tops themselves looked differently as well. Where there was once pine trees and the occasional spruce, now it seemed as if the trees were much greener, and taller. She couldn't say exactly what kind of trees they were, but they grew so thick together that it was impossible even to see the sky above her.
What was going on, Alex had no idea. She looked back behind her and was shocked. She could clearly see familiarity behind her. The trees behind her were made of pine, and she thought she could even make out the neighborhood through the trees. Turning, she looked ahead, and was amazed at the difference. Ahead and behind her were two complete opposites. She glanced around her curiously. She should head back... this was clearly not natural. Yet, there was a part of her that wanted to go forward, to try to make sense of what was happening. Surely, as long as she could still see where the trees became normal again, she could find her way back. After all, it wasn't as if she had anywhere else to go, not yet anyway.
Still... her cautious nature told her to at least have a safety net. She looked down for something she could use, and bent to pick up a small rock with a pointed end. It was native and barbaric, but it gave Alex a thrill that here she was using nature, as they did so long ago, before electricity or machines.
She turned to the nearest tree and carved a large X into it. After she was done, she took a step back and admired her handiwork. She wasn't going to be winning any art contests, but at least she could tell it apart from the other trees now. She smiled inwardly and turned, facing the unknown ahead of her. She continued onward, pausing every few trees to make another mark, ensuring she wouldn't get too lost.
After several minutes of this, Alex began to really enjoy her surroundings. The air here just seemed so much clearer, as if there were no foreign pollutants or any toxic poisons made from cars or factories. The constant sound of nature made her grin; the humming of unseen insects doing their jobs, the chirping of birds soaring above the treetops. The wind whistling through the trees even made its own contribution to the sound of the apparently immense forest. The only unnatural sound she heard was her own scratching of the tree trunks to mark her way back.
And the color! Vibrant green bushes crowded in the small spaces, dark green moss growing on the deep russet brown of the tree trunks, glowing almost red in the green light that filtered down from the treetops. Even the grass that covered the forest floor was foreign to her. Instead of a weed ridden dead lawn, it was the color of spring, deeply green, but spattered here and there with wildflowers that blended in perfectly with the deep grass. It came up to her mid ankles, and it was soft, almost like walking through a cloud.
Then, there was a small rustling sound heard from near her feet. Alex jumped back, dropping her rock. She looked down at a small bush with strange looking berries growing on it. She was almost tempted to pick one of them before she remembered it had just moved. She watched it carefully, waiting for it to make some sort of sign of life again, but it remained stubbornly silent. Just when she was beginning to think she had imagined it, it rustled again, but instead of it moving as if there was something inside of it as Alex had originally thought, it moved as if it was on its own, as if the bush itself had life, and a purpose.
Alex blinked several times, not believing what she had just seen, but even as she tried to deny it, it moved again, this time towards her. The bush itself was unlike any bush Alex had seen before. It looked soft to the touch, as if instead of being made of leaves, it was made of the same kind of grass that covered the ground. Alex knelt down and held out her hand to it. The bush paused hesitantly and quivered, as if debating on whether or not it should continue to the stranger in its forest. It was about the size of both of Alex's fists, placed side by side. Its berried shook as it quivered, and Alex was once again tempted to reach out and pick one off, but she restrained herself out of politeness. She continued holding her hand out for it, and eventually, the small bush plucked up enough courage to scamper over to her outstretched hand. It stayed very still, only about two inches from Alex's hand, and Alex had the distinct feeling that it was sniffing her, seeing if she was a threat. Only curiosity and disbelief stopped her from reaching out and touching the strange creature. Finally, the bush must have decided that Alex meant it no harm, and it touched one quivering end to the tip of her index finger. It only stayed like that for a split second, before it dashed back to where it originally sat, but Alex would never forget how it felt as long as she lived. It was softer than anything she had ever felt where she came from, and it had a constant vibration to it, as if the bush were actually breathing very quickly.
Alex stood back up and looked down at the living bush and even though she could see no eyes in it, she could tell it was watching her.
"Hey there!" Alex smiled warmly at it. "You're just adorable, aren't you?"
For a second, she felt very foolish for talking to what appeared to be a bush, but then it jumped from the ground and landed again. It stood up then, on what appeared to be hind legs, and Alex could see that underneath the soft fuzzy green and berried exterior, it actually had legs. Six of them, and they were thick and stubbly. It stood on its two hind legs, with its four fore legs waving at her. No face was visible, but Alex had the impression that if there was, it would be smiling at her with its tongue hanging out.
Then, suddenly, it dropped back onto all six of its legs, and began scampering away.
Curious and dreamlike, Alex followed the strange bush. Though it appeared to be running, its short legs made it easy for Alex to keep up with it, and together, they paused outside a small clearing, with a brook running through it. It was a beautiful sight to behold, with the break in the trees casting a warm looking light onto the sparkling blue water. The wildflowers grew more thickly here, and Alex thought she had never seen a more beautiful sight in her entire life.
She looked down at the bush and saw that it appeared to be watching something in the clearing intently. Alex followed where she assumed its gaze was, and looked for anything that it could be watching, but saw nothing. She knelt down next to her bush and placed a hand on its back, feeling its soft warmth beneath her skin. The berries grew sparsely, she noticed, and when she touched one, the bush seemed to breather quicker, as if agitated. Cautiously, Alex decided not to pick one. After all, she had no idea if it could hurt the little bush.
She let her eyes drift back over to the small clearing once more, and stopped in shock. There, right where the bush was staring, was the most impossible thing Alex had ever seen. More impossible even, then the living bush.
By the brook, bending down to get a drink, was the most tiny person she had ever seen in her life. It was a male, and he had pale skin, paler even than the most pale person Alex had ever seen. He had light golden hair, and it flowed down his back, in between a pair of thinner than paper, see through gossamer wings. He only looked to be about three inches tall, and was wearing what looked to be like a robe of some sort crafted from a leaf. Around its waist was a brown belt, and Alex thought she saw a tiny knife attached to it. Her mouth hung open, and Alex didn't notice it, but she had stopped breathing. With a deep gasp, air rushed into her lungs once more, and she came back to reality. There was no way this was possible, but there it was, right in front of her. A fairy.
Beneath her hand, she felt the bush quiver violently, and then it launched itself through the air. It landed on top of the fairy, pinning it to the ground with one of its stubbly legs. Alex could hear some sort of sounds coming from the fairy, and it sounded like a voice, but it was both too high pitched and too soft for her to understand, and it was speaking very quickly. To Alex's astonishment, a hole opened up in the front of the bush, and it lowered itself to the fairy. Alex tried to shut her eyes, but couldn't being herself to do it, and instead witnessed as the bush bit off the head of the tiny winged man. It stopped struggling and laid lifelessly on the ground beneath the bush, and Alex sat silently, waiting for the bush to finish its meal.
As the last of the fairy disappeared inside the hole, Alex rose up off the ground, about to enter the clearing and learn more about this bush, when a loud, low rumbling sound came from the forest on the other side of the clearing. The small bush looked up towards the sound, and Alex was surprised to see that it didn't run. She wanted to reach out and grab it and pull it into safety, but before she could react, whatever made the sound pushed through the trees and into the clearing as well.
Alex stared in amazement, just out of sight. A mirror image of the tiny bush that she had befriended stood next to it, but much, much larger. The bush that made the rumbling sound was huge, at least the size of a mini van, maybe larger. Alex could tell instantly that the larger bush was the parent, or at least the guardian of the small bush. The picture of the small bush devouring the helpless fairy remained fresh in her memory, and then she realized sickeningly that she would be about the size of the fairy to the new bush.
Slowly, Alex began backing up, taking it one silent step at a time, holding her breath, but then a new sound pierced the air.
From her pocket, her cell phone was blaring Jason's ringtone. For a split second, there was no movement all around, and the whole world seemed to stay still, save for her phone which continued ringing loudly. Then, just as she feared, the mammoth bush leapt forward, directly toward her.
Without thinking, relying only on instinct, Alex turned and ran, trying not to listen to the sound of the six heavy feet pounding the ground behind her. She ran blindly, not knowing where she was going, until she saw something that made her heart stop. A large X carved into a tree stood before her, and behind it, another.
Not knowing if the bush was still following her or if she was alone, Alex forced her exhausted legs forward and onward, desperately seeking safety, until finally, Alex felt something change. It was a tangible change in the air, and it made her stomach twist, but Alex welcomed it. She could smell familiar smells again, and the sound of nature was gone, replaced by a far off car alarm going off.
Still, Alex kept running, not stopping until she reached her house. She rushed in, not waiting to hear the screen door slam behind her. She finally stopped when she noticed the form of her mother, passed out on the sofa, an empty bottle held loosely in her hand. With disgust, Alex realized that the bottle was different from the one she had found earlier.
Completely and utterly exhausted, Alex made her way to her room and collapsed onto her bed, trying to catch her breath. Slowly, she pulled her cell phone out and looked at the one missed call message flashing at her. Rolling her eyes, she dropped the phone rolled over, welcoming sleep.
