Thorns

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖

     I ran and ran, letting the warm, summer, June air blow onto my pale (s/c) face. I ran away from my problems, hoping that they'd never show up again. I jumped over trickles of water, leaped over fallen branches, and soared over thick, ugly, black roots.

Well, at least I thought I soared; because I ended up tripping over a twisted, decaying limb of the tree. I landed straight on my face, small twigs piercing my face. "owwww." I said, wincing from the pain in my face. I got back up and looked at where I was. I had never been in the woods before. This was all so new to me. The crooked trees with bright green leaves, and the rain dripping from leaf to leaf. 

I wandered more into the forest, to feel a temperature drop. The trees began to get darker as I walked down the old path, and fewer leaves we're being seen. Instead of rain, it was snowing. "what in the- it can't be snowing, it's June!" I mumbled under my breath. I held my jacket closer to my body and aimlessly wandered down the path. I couldn't tell what time of day it was, with the dark clouds above that were producing snow. I found a tree with scattered limbs and climbed up it. 

I was cautious with my bare feet and used what little body strength I had to climb the tree.

Once I found a safe spot on the tree, I laid down and used my book bag as a pillow. I curled up, not realizing what dangers awaited me through the night and up the trail.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

I awoke with a blizzard of snow around me. I shivered and licked my frozen, chapped lips. I looked around and saw that the snowstorm had only gotten worse, almost looking angry. I climbed down the tree, noticing the numbness in my feet. I had hoped I stayed warm enough and wouldn't have to face the dangers of pneumonia.

I slowly walked further down the trail, hoping to find something to barricade myself in. I heard a low growl and turned my head in the direction I heard it. It was a fox. I sighed in relief and carefully walked around the fox. It wandered off after a minute of staring me down, possibly to find someplace warm. 

I had lost hope awhile ago, considering I had been out here for almost an entire day or night. I couldn't tell because IT WAS STILL SNOWING. 

I came upon a thorn bush, and carefully, I moved the thorn branches. I ended cutting up my dress and legs. My hands were pretty messed up too. I winced at the sight of my feet, legs, and hands. There was blood on the thorns and ground. If a hungry animal were to stumble upon my blood, they could easily pick up on my scent and chase me down. 

The winds suddenly grew stronger, and I was forcefully pushed over because of the harsh winds. I held my arms close to my chest and set forth on the trail, slowly but surely. I stumbled upon a fork in the road. I looked towards each path and decided to trust my instincts and go left, deeper into the forest. I rubbed my hands together, trying to regain some feeling in them. 

I saw something unusual in the distance above the trees. I looked almost like a spire of a castle or a church. I looked back towards the path that I came from and debated if it was a good decision or not. I continued stumbling down the path and saw the spire getting bigger, but the building was nowhere to be seen. 'how big is this place?' I asked myself, almost shocked by how big the spire itself was far away. It took me a while, but I came upon a gate. 

The gate looked rusted and almost untouched for years on end. Sickly green vines were growing up the sides and some were rotting away, a deathly, black color. I tried pushing the gate open with my shoulder, not wanting to get blood on it. To no avail, I ended up using my hands. I had to use all of my body strength, which was little because of how brittle I got with the snow and wind. I fell to the floor, completely taken over by fatigue. I had to get somewhere warm, or I would end up dying. 

I was able to make myself stand, and once I was through the gate, I felt different. I just pushed my thoughts toward that the snow let up, but I knew there was something strange here. 

Something different.

I walked towards the big doors of the castle -which I had just noticed where the spires came from- and tiredly knocked. It wasn't a big or powerful knock, but just enough to give me hope that someone heard me. 

I heard a rustling on the inside and my head perked up with hope. I stepped back as I heard a loud creeeeak coming from the medieval doors.  The door sluggishly opened, and I walked into the warmth.

I ended up falling to my stomach/face from how cold I was. I heard hushed whispers as I pushed myself up on my forearms. I opened my chapped lips, my throat hoarse from the cold. "I'm sorry for intruding. I just need to get warm, and I'll leave you be. Just please, 

Help me."

I saw a dim color of yellow light on the floor in front of me, and I looked up to see a fire going. I got up, desperate for heat. I ran towards the fire, tripping on my own feet on the way there. I collapsed in front of the fire, warming up my hands and feet. 

"T-thank you. I'll be leaving soon. Just, please, allow me to sit here for a moment." I said, not sure if I was talking to anyone. I held my body close to the fire, almost sad to be leaving it so soon. I stood up and with newfound strength, pulled myself to the door. I felt hazy, and with one last glance to the open doors, I fell.

And I was asleep, destined to never wake up again.