A Pinch of Memories in my Bowl of Disaster

18 Plans

The crunching sound of leaves woke me up. I shot my eyes open. It was dark inside the tree, but the sun's peeked through the vines. I lifted a couple vines and shielded my eyes when the bright sun blinded me. I placed my hand on my forehead like a soldier saluting his general in order to block out the sun. I dropped the vines in place and was once again consumed in darkness. 

I heard a branch snap and the rustling of leaves. I froze in place and held my breath, trying to make myself unnoticeable. Beads of sweat rolled down my face. As much as I wanted to wipe them away, I didn't dare move. After a few seconds, there was a silence. Did the person leave? Or, what if it was just an animal? I figured it would be a good idea to check.

I craned my neck through the vines for a better view of outside. I saw a shadow moving swiftly along the ground. My heart told me to scream for help, cry, do something. My mind told me that doing any of those things made no sense. As if by animal instinct, my body became paralyzed.

The shadow moved closer and closer to me. I stayed huddled in the burrow. The shadow became smaller until I couldn't see it anymore. It was replaced by a figure. It stood in front of the burrow. I attempted to scoot deeper into the burrow. From my view, he looked superior. When the sun hit the figure's face, I drew in a sigh of relief.

Adam squatted down so we were at the same level. I pushed him and he fell on his butt. I positioned myself in the burrow so that I was squatting, my head and shoulders jutting out but the rest of me inside. I grabbed Adam's knees for balance.

"You scared me to death!" I whispered in a harsh tone. He sat up, his serious face scaring me a little.

"Now you know what it feels like," he mumbled.

"How did you get here?" I asked a little more calmly.

He grinned. "Charlie and I scoured your house for any remnants of the magic sand. I still can't believe that one grain of sand is enough to grant a wish."

I nodded in understanding. "Where is Charlie?"

"No matter how much she wanted to come, I forced her to stay. She needs to stay safe."

I let go of Adam's knees and fell into the hole. He returned to his squatting position and grabbed the tree trunk for balance. I stared at him positioning himself before apologizing.

"I'm sorry for everything Adam. I really appreciate you coming to help me."

He smiled as he shifted his weight to the other foot. "It may be hard to protect you, but I'm glad to do it." I gave him a small smile before he added, "so, did you make this?" he gestured at the vines and burrow.

"Well, I made the vines, but Manu was the one who made the hole," I replied. He nodded as his eyes scanned the tree. 

"Impressive," he said, his eyes landing on me. He stood up and started down the hill when I called out to him.

"Where are you going?" I asked in confusion. 

He turned around. One finger stuck out from his hand and he put it in front of his mouth, indicating that I should stay quiet. He then held the same hand out in front of it was all five fingers, telling me to stay where I was. I nodded, and again he started for the hill. 

I wasn't sure how long it had been, but my body was starting to cramp up. I desperately needed to stand up and move around, maybe crack some knuckles and stretch out my muscles. I knew I couldn't though. Adam told me to stay where I was. Finally, when I considered leaving the burrow to stretch, Adam returned, dangling a fish in each hand with a smile stretched from ear to ear. I got out of the burrow and took one of the fish from him.