Iron Rations

Lost

The wind blew against the thicket of leafless trees, harsh and cold. A slight nine-year-old girl stood in the middle of a ring of mushrooms, an oversized coat wrapped around her small form, her brown eyes scared.

She was lost. Lost in the woods, separated from her mother. She wondered if this forest would soon be her grave. Then it would be a peaceful grave. It was quiet, without the scuffle of a soldier’s boots or the loud explosions of bombs dropping from the sky. Not to mention it was cold, extremely different from the scorching pit where the soldiers would toss the dead bodies over.

The girl huddled beside a tree trunk, and closed her eyes quietly. Now would be the best time to die. Die in the middle of winter, far from war. War. That word wasn’t uncommon. For all she knew, war never ended, like the grief inside her. She may be a child, but she had feelings.

The girl heard a slight sound. She opened one eye and the other.

It can’t be real, it must be an illusion.

But she saw a falcon.

The falcon looked strong and powerful as it perched on a branch. With a sturdy, steady built, the falcon is adorned with brownish-gold feathers with white speckles on the chest. Its beak was gray, and it had feminine amber eyes.

There was a faint rustling sound, and a boy emerged from the thicket. Though he appeared to be a year older, he was as frail and thin as her. He had short brown hair and pale skin, bluish from the cold. He wore a coat meant for someone older than him and miner boots. But what caught the girl’s eye are his eyes. Stale gray. No, silver.

The falcon cried out, and fluttered over to the boy's shoulder. After patting the raptor, he indicated the girl and cocked his head, as though trying to say something. When the girl didn’t answer, he frowned and took her hand, raising her to her feet.

When they were both standing up, the boy silently let go of her hand and walked to a path he must know by heart. The girl followed.

Soon, she emerged at the entrance of the village, hugged by her worrying mother.

The boy was gone with his falcon.