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A Manhunt And A Half

"It's been so long since I've been out here just to be out here." I gazed at the trees stretching into the sky, the sunlight peeking through the leaves, the delicate breeze shifting the grass on the ground. It's like the woods had no idea there was a war going on.

"It's nice out here." Carl agreed, his fingers linked in mine as we trampled through the forest floor.

I pulled my jacket around my stomach subconsciously, my eyes scanning the trees. There wasn't a walker or another person in sight, just me and Carl. It was so peaceful and calming, like the world was finally giving me a break from fighting. I hoped I could feel like this forever, that this could be my future.

"So," I grinned at Carl, "What's for dinner?"

Carl laughed, but it wasn't just a normal laugh. To me, it was the most joyful, beautiful sound I had heard in months. It was so carefree and relaxed that I was put at ease the moment it hit my ears.

"What's so funny?" I giggled with him, my shoulder bumping his as we walked so closely.

"You tell me." He sighed, his face lit up. "Do you want tomato soup or tomato soup?"

I rolled my eyes with an amused smile, realising what he was getting at. Food would be at the top of the checklist for the next supply run.

I knew I could've been hunting right now, but with the amount of noise we were making, any sane animal within a mile would've run in the other direction. I didn't care, though. All I felt was content.

"I wish it could be like this all the time." Carl mumbled thoughtfully, his stare on his feet as we kicked through the tangle of twigs and vines.

"It will be." I promised him, not sure if I was talking to him or myself. "It's always been here, even since before the world ended. We just needed to find it."

"What do you think you would be doing right now, if the world didn't end?" Carl inquired, his tone curious.

I bit my lip as my mind wandered into the past. "Probably something super boring like sleeping or making lunch...I guess Tilly would still be around."

My heart sank at the mention of my little sister but I didn't show it. I remembered a time when I thought about her every day, but now her memory was so fleeting it almost didn't exist.

"I think she would be eleven now." I worked out. How old was I when she was born? How old was she when she died? "I don't know anymore. It's weird to think of her at any age other than a baby. That's how I remember her."

"Do you miss her?" Carl asked in a low voice, the mood suddenly becoming sad. But it wasn't a depressing kind of sad, more like a melancholy wistfulness.

"No." I stated, but there was hesitation in my tone. "I mean, she used to piss me off so much, always asking me for things and never being able to do anything herself. I used to think she was the reason why I didn't have any friends, or why I was so shitty at school. Now I just think I used that as an excuse."

"I wonder what would've happened if she never died. If she was still here, right now. I probably would've made it to Florida like I planned, I never would've met Glenn, or you or Daryl or Maggie. And I'm closer to you than I ever was to her, so no. I don't miss her. Not in the same way I would miss you."

I could see the way his eyebrows pulled down, the way his cheek dipped inwards as he bit it, but he didn't say anything. I wasn't quite sure how you would go about replying to that. 'Thank you for loving me more than your dead sister' just didn't sound right.