Undying #Wattys2015

Chapter 10: Under the Trees

Memory of Aiden Kendlewood:

Finally, I was transported to yet another memory. Bane's shining face faded away into the next one, like watercolors on a canvas with the addition of a wet brush. The dark room was painted over with emerald greens and earthy browns - a forest.

Soundless sun rays peered through the canopy of the towering oak trees. The forest floor had patches of light and patches of darkness. After training the entire morning, I noticed Bane and I, my past self, had finally sat down to eat lunch. Bane was seated on a rotten log across from me, and I had made myself comfortable on a flat, gray boulder. My cheeks were flustered with exhaustion and sweat trickled down my neck. He, on the other hand, was unaffected by the strain of the physical activities, and chewed on his sandwich without any noticeable fatigue. Rotting leaves hanged around my shoes and acorns hid between the leaves. A small spider jumped away from my feet. In the trees, I could feel the animals watching the two boys cautiously.

As I watched myself, I realized I was trying to open my canteen, with tired and trembling fingers. My consciousness became blurred with my former self, and I discovered I had become one with my memory. I was living out my past. I felt my weariness and my weakness. I was worn-out. I struggled to turn the cap, but my fingers were becoming useless. Dehydrated, I could feel the dryness in my throat and in my mouth. I couldn't even swallow down my own saliva. I was thirsty. My chapped lips, my rough tongue, and my coarse throat begged for water, like a desert during a drought. With all my strength, I worked to uncap my bottle.

By the time I was able to twist the cap off, I could no longer hold the canteen in my hands. My muscles failed me, and my fingers let go. The canteen dropped from my palms and plummeted onto the forest floor. All the water spewed out and sunk into the earth. My throat ached and my dry eyes blinked in disbelief. I failed. Now I would pay for my inability, my mistake.

Then I felt a dark presence over me, and I lifted my head cautiously to see an extended arm. In the extended hand, I saw a black canteen. Bane's canteen. With disbelief, I stared at Bane, who continued to have his arm out. My weak fingers reached out for the canteen, and when I grabbed onto it, he let go and walked back to his log. In my hand, I had his canteen, and the cap was already removed. I lifted it to my mouth and chugged down the water. My throat moistened. After guzzling down the entire can, I looked at Bane, who was reading his book. With my thin lips, I managed to say, "Thank you."

He lifted his piercing, lightning blue eyes to look back at me and replied, "No problem."

His voice echoed in my thoughts as I separated from my former self. Onto the next memory.