Silent Symphony

Chapter One: Run From Life

"Catch me Eli! Catch me!"

    I whirled around unexpectedly and threw my arms out on instinct. The next thing I knew, a squealing, wriggling mass fell hard against my chest, sending us both crashing to the ground in a bout of laughter. Aldyth tried to wrestle me to the dirt, but her laughter stole away her focus as well as her strength, allowing me to grasp the upper hand once again. I pinned her shoulders to the grass with an easy grin and hovered to catch my breath.

    We both panted like dogs under the shade of the golden Dythr tree. It was an unusually warm midday in the late autumn of my fifteenth year, and all was well. Though I should have been out hunting for my family, and Aldyth tending the Ferndale horses, we both got a little enchanted by the fair weather and decided to take a leave from responsibility, just for the day.

     Aldyth's eyes sparkled as she rested a hand on my chest before giving a mighty shove that forced me to the ground. The smile never left her lips as she leaned over me in turn. "Eli! I have to get back to the horses," she laughed.

     "I thought we said that we weren't going to work today," I pouted, leaning my head back against the soft grass. A noiseless breeze floated through the leaves of the Dythr tree, carrying the sweet smell of rain in from the north. My lungs expanded with the fresh air and I directed my outward breath to blow a lock of Aldyth's dark hair out of my face. I was unsure what I would not have given to lay like that forever: just the wind through the trees, the grass, the forest, the company.

    "Your family can live without for a day; you have bread, you'll survive. There's a rather long list of people who'll not approve if I don't make it to the stables soon," she laughed lightly and pulled me to my feet by the wrists. I groaned but eventually allowed myself be dragged from my comfortable bed. Her dark curls fluttered against my face as she tossed her head around to find the path back to the village. "Come now, we can still be out."

    "How?" I laughed as we ran in and out of the trees. Though it was warm for a day this late in the autumn, one could still feel the chill on the air as we kicked our feet through the colorful leaves.

    She only grinned over her shoulder and proceeded to run faster. My hand fell back to side as she lifted her skirts up from the ground and ran so hard through the woods that every few minutes, I became certain  that she had disappeared. I would pause in wonder with each disappearance, only to continue at the sound of a mysterious laughter that openly mocked my lack of hustle, or the flash of a sparkling eye that seemed to vanish mischievously whenever I shifted my gaze.

    I chased her for a time; trees sped past in a blur until she finally came to a stop at the edge of the forest. I was so tired that I didn't say anything and simply slumped down onto the roots of a tree. Aldyth waited a moment or two for me to catch my breath before saying, "Go get your fishing things, then come meet me at the Ferndale's stable. We'll both get our work done today."

    "I'm sorry?" I panted. My throat was sore from running and it was a bit difficult to breathe.

    She kicked my leg lightly with her shoe and rolled her eyes. "Go on. No need to waste the day with hopeless dawdling."

   We were at the edge of forest overlooking a pasture of deep green. On the other side was the village-town of Gris, our home, a quiet place resting in a hollow amongst the most southern of the Káscad mountains. The place was virtually unknown to the world and the town's people preferred it that way. Most of us have never been more than fifty leagues from the village and we got most of our news from the occasional trip to Alyvanter -- the pride of all human cities. My family lived in a small hutch that was part of a cluster of small hutches at the edge of the town.