Sister of Time

2 Safe

Chapter Two

Safe

There are wonderful sounds outside. Most of the older elves are hard at work at this hour, building, teaching, growing, and trading. The distant calls of the market elves can be heard from the Outer City shops. Usually I would be mesmerized by the simplicity of daily life, but I can barely concentrate as I make my way down the garden path that passes south of the lake, jogging across the smooth dirt with ease. All of these noises fall away while my feet carry me almost automatically in the direction I want to go.

The road is familiar and safe, put in place during my childhood for easier travel to the Outer City. It stretches from the Housing District where my mother lives to the Academy where I currently reside. There is a path that leads to the markets and shops about halfway down.

As an elf, my stamina is pretty high, but I find that I am gasping for air as the housing district comes into view. My legs fall out from underneath me when I reach the tree that my mother frequented when I was young, my knees buckling under the weight of my fears, the bright, soft light of day and the lighthearted sounds of the afternoon lost to me. The cool shade from the branches hides me from the spring sunlight.

Curling into a ball, my chin meets my knee and rests there as my breathing slows. My eyes close as I wait for my head to stop spinning from lack of air. When I can finally breathe normally I stretch my legs out in front of me and lean back against the old tree behind me, laying one of my hands against the roots of the tree.

The trees in our city, like all trees, tell fantastic stories. If you listen carefully they’ll even tell you secrets that they know. The Tree wakes slowly at my touch, recognizing my thoughts. I used to come here when I was small and tell the tree stories in exchange for a history lesson which is the real reason I chose to study the history of elvenkind.

She waits patiently as I clear my mind of all fear and sorrow. I can feel her cringe mentally as she catches small pieces of my dream. Her branches droop as my thoughts darken, lingering on the creepy singing and the note I found. She begins to pull away and I panic, pushing these thoughts away and replacing them with the bright cherry red cardinal that I had seen earlier. This draws her back and suddenly her thoughts and the thoughts of the other elves she had spoken to today rush into my mind, clearing away any lingering fears.

There’s a smiling old man that left a pretty flower on one of her branches, a child sitting and singing a song of butterflies and doves, a girl in a satiny red cloak that doesn’t even pause on her way past. The tree pauses on the girl, probably because I had shown an interest in her, and I see her make her way towards the housing district, looking left and right as if she were being followed. But the tree must have seen this as not important because she moves on to Nayna who tells the tree an epic story of love and loss. She let’s Nayna’s story play out in my mind and I am surprised at the revelation that Nayna is the protagonist of her own story.

I have always seen my grandmother as a peaceful, old elf who sits around telling stories, not living out the stories she tells. My eyes open as the images fade, Nayna’s voice still fresh in my mind. I blink, finding it strange that she had been young once and I wonder what other stories my grandmother had been a part of. After the peaceful thoughts of the tree, the harsh, bitter memories of today feel unwelcome. A sour taste builds in my mouth as the words from the note run through my mind again.

My hand falls away from her roots as I adjust myself so I am sitting cross legged on the ground leaning against the tree and reach over for my book. Its hard to focus on the stories recorded there when thoughts of the note and the nightmare keep pushing to the front of my mind.

After a few sentences I put the book down in my lap and stare up through the leaves, trying to sort out my thoughts. The quiet in this part of town is peaceful and helps me to think more clearly. Finally I can relax against the tree, melting into the warm bark and the sweet smelling grass at it’s base. At last a sense of safety warms me, rising from my center and reaching to my fingertips. Here I am safe. I am alone. I am okay.