The Fox and The Forest (EDITING)

Hiraeth (0.8)

❦❧ ❦ ❧❦

They wandered on, towards the horizon of green.

Kate's struggle to walk in her newly aged body only grew worse. The hunger madding her stomach ache in a pain that surpassed the creaking of her unused bones.

Silently, she cursed herself for attempting to comfort Tom. Why should she even care? He obviously wasn't bothered about her.

She could tell this from manner in which he walked ahead of her, gaze faced far away. So that all Kate could see was his hair that fell in short dark waves against the nape of his neck.

They were headed to Windermere- once the biggest natural lake in England and the now hub of their constricted community.

To the past-dwellers, the state of the region would've repulsed them. But it was the past-dwellers who had caused this. Triggering the butterfly effect to beat the wings of destruction across the world.

No longer were there hills of rolling green and soil soaked with nutrients. Now there was only parched dirt and clumps of a moss like substance that oozed something yellow. Like an infection, the yellow clumps became more common the closer Tom and Kate came to Windermere.

"How old will Jack be now?" Kate asked, voice like mist. She hadn't had proper social interaction in years and although Tom irritated her she had missed the contact.

"He'd be 20," he replied immediately.

"You'll have a lot to catch up on then," she tried.

"Hmm."

Tom revealed little about his brother to Kate - for he valued his privacy.

"People always want something or another," Kate began, slyly.

"Not me. I don't need anything," he answered.

"But want is a whole different thing. What about your brother? You want to see him, don't you?"

"Stop prying."

"Why would I need to pry, when you've already told me the answer?" A satisfied smirk appeared on Kate's face. She could feel the anticipation evaporating off Tom, like it would form a cloud of worry and rain down on him. "You'll see your brother soon enough."

Tom looked to the sky in the hope of finding something that would distract him.

Maybe he'd see one of those sea birds which, according to his books, used to fly inland on colder months in the hope of warmth.

But the sun was setting now and only one seabird had ever been spotted in The Lake District after it had become The District of Lakes. People had ran out of their houses, either in awe of such a rarity or screaming that mother nature had sent the horrid thing to punish them. The guards soon shot the abnormality down and people went back to their lives. Not normal. Barely living.

The Darshanas lived in the large house on the hill, with beautiful balconies that Tom would spend days and nights looking out from, observing the dead lakes.

The house had been passed down through generations. So when it was announced that the population in England would be divided into four groups and relocated- the family were nonchalant. They had enough money to ensure that they didn't need to move at all.

*

About five houses passed by them before they reached yet another sign. This one divided the two areas of Windermere. Upper and Lower.

Kate and Tom exchanged glances.

"See you later?" Tom said, clearly distracted.

Yeah right, thought Kate. As if I'm going to see him again after he's gone back to his life of luxury. "So," she spoke. "If anything bad happens, let's meet in the boathouse?"