Days passed quickly by the lake.
It was a place that felt like something out of a story book; a ground filled with vividly green trees dancing in the wind and birds singing their sweet songs of sorrow to the sun each morning like clockwork. The lake was a world of its own, untouched by the greedy hands of an ever-growing civilization.
Such untamed nature had little effect on those who were already grown, their minds tainted by concrete jungles and conformed to believe in close-minded ways of life. To children, however, the magic and rushing energy of the ever-breathing forest brought excitement and encouraged the spirit of exploration and creativity.
Two such children sat by the lake one rainy morning: a spirited girl who splashed in puddles filled with light rain, and a quiet boy who chose to spend his time pondering life and digging up worms for his next big catch, a fishing rod loyally by his side
A dot of mud traveled a bit too far after a particularly energized splash, causing the boy to flinch at its unwanted contact with his young face. He scowled at the girl and paused his digging before turning to mock her.
"--Very mature of you. A proper lady shouldn't get so filthy, you know. That's what father says." The boy spoke condescendingly towards his companion, eagerly awaiting a likely fruitless attempt at retaliation.
Instead, the girl simply laughed and offered him a blinding smile, continuing her energized hopping from one puddle to the next.
"You should really try having fun sometime, Eddie." She remarked, still fixated on the mud swallowing up her rubber boots.
"What you're partaking in isn't exactly what I'd consider fun. More so messy and childish." The boy, Eddie, rolled his eyes and went back to work, searching for worms.
"Oh please, you're just afraid you might enjoy it." The girl teased, giggling at her companion's dismissive scoff.
The two fell back into a comfortable silence, each working on their own preferred activity without bothering the other.
Suddenly, the girl perked her head up, the sound of an object hitting the ground near her feet startling her for a moment. She stopped her jumping and pulled her boots out of their muddy prison, carefully searching the ground for any inconsistencies.
Eddie watched her out of the corner of his eye, subtly scanning the area and preparing himself to intervene should anything threaten her safety. She gasped, causing him to flinch and rise with the intention of protecting her from the unseen threat, but her gasp quickly melded into a coo.
He watched as she bent down and picked something up off of the ground, cradling it in her hands. His body was still, relaxing some as she turned and bounded over to him in excitement.
"Look! Look!" The girl slowly opened the protective shell of her hands to reveal a small, feathered creature shivering against her skin.
