I Don't Believe in Myths

PROLOGUE

I ran.

I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me into the depths of the woodland area. There had to be a place to hide among the constant stream of spindly, lifeless trees. My seeker would be coming after me shortly and I still would be out in plain sight; a show of how naive I was at playing such a primitive game of hide-and-seek.

As he shouted the usual words "Ready or not, here I come," I made a beeline for the nearest tree I set my eyes upon. Making my best attempt of being hidden, I stood flush against the shedding bark, peering around until I caught a glimpse of his beige parka.

His quick steps decreased in frequency as he came near my location and uttered, "Now where would my lucky star be?"

Mostly, he'd already know the general area of where I was hiding as I'd step out of sight at the last second and attempt to lure me out through one-way talking. It would work, since I would giggle in the sense that it would only help him find me a little easier, but instead I would get caught in my methods. And so, I used the everlasting silence to hold my breath between the periods of his speaking.

He continued walking, an opportunity I took to peek around the thin trunk I was behind. A little voice in my head told me to get further away from my guardian and I obliged, taking slow steps backwards with leaves crunching underfoot, also keeping my view in the direction I saw him last. I held my arms outstretched behind my form to feel if I was unconsciously walking into any one of the tall trees that populated the forest.

The palms of my hands made contact with the familiar sensation of rough bark and without a second thought, I positioned myself so that I was behind the slightly wider tree trunk, waiting for any signs of my guardian's whereabouts. I stayed in the same place, sitting dismissively against the trunk, until I realised some time had definitely passed. And though I couldn't identify what time it was, I knew dusk was ensuing quickly when looking up towards the sky.

All the stars were dispersed across the darkened horizon in a natural light show that I admired unconditionally. Seeing all of the beauty balanced amongst each individual ball of gas caused an accurate reflection in my own eyes. The joy it gave then quickly dissolved, reminding me that my game of hide-and-seek was still going and I wondered aloud if my guardian were still out in the woods looking for me.

Standing up, I brushed myself down from the dirt that had covered my back and bottom, and begun my trek back to where I came from. If I recalled correctly, there was a small clearing of trees when I hid the first time around with a slight, very shallow form of path to navigate on.

But even having that knowledge in mind didn't do me any good as I kept observing throughout my walk, doubts beginning to cloud my mind that I was now a small, little girl lost all by herself in the woods. I should have listened to his orders - to never go too deep into the woods when playing games or walking unsupervised for a short period.

The thing was - I knew I didn't go far at all.

Completely aware that I should've been at my first hiding area by now, I was absurdly confused. Nothing looked familiar in the slightest, each and every dying tree only a few feet from the next. Had I walked in a direction different to which I desired? Impossible; I'd made a hundred percent certain I went in the correct path. Had I not walked far enough? Possibly, but not too likely. Had I walked too far past my destination? It was deemed the most plausible circumstance in this very moment.

My breathing grew laboured, gait severely affected by it and my doubts created by deception as I turned around to go back.

"Dad!" I shouted into a distance, unsure of what to do other than panic and cry. "Dad, where are you?"