Kissed by Chaos

Kissed by Chaos (11) - Direction

The image on the right is not mine. I found it on DeviantArt. It's called 'In the Forest' by Hartmut-Lerch @ DeviantArt.com -- All credit to the artist.

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Kissed by Chaos

(11) – Direction

It was quite difficult to suppress the surprise of waking up to find ourselves alive.

I had fallen asleep as I was trying to wade through the sea of debris of painful memories that had built up over the past few days to find some good memory that I could carry into death. Preparing for my own probably grisly death had been surprisingly easy. All I had been waiting to find out was the way I would die. Would a deranged mad man suddenly come running through the woods, thirsting for our blood? Would a hungry wolf find our camp? Or worse, would Aaron finally find me and end everything, once and for all?

So, to wake up and see the sun smiling down upon my sleeping sister was, in my eyes, a miracle. To simply see the towering trees all around us, hear the cheerful chirping of distant birds, feel the light wind brushing against my skin, was delightful. It was as though each day we survived was a gift from God, because how else could it be that two hopeless peasant girls were surviving in these desolate woods?

I gingerly poked Elisabeth awake and scurried over to our mound of belongings to try and organize them into the bags. It was safer to not be around Elisabeth when she awoke.

“What time is it, Claire? Honestly, I swear it’s still dark out,” she groaned, burying her head in her hands. Her quiet, calm nature fooled everyone into thinking that she was a wonderful person day and night. However, I knew that in the mornings she was just as bad as the devilish witches people were hunting.

“Get up, Elisabeth. I can just see the sun coming up and we need to start moving before it does. We need to get as much travelling done in a day as possible. Besides, someone is more likely to see us if we hang around for too long.”

“It’s too early for your logic,” Elisabeth grumbled, and stretched her arms out behind her back. Pushing away the thin coat she had used as a blanket, she reluctantly stood up and fixed me with a formidable glare. “Which way are we going today?” Her voice was stern and reminded me of our childhood, when she would place her hands on her bony hips and intimidate me into following her orders.

“Do you still have your heart set on Mirzan?” I asked, half hoping that she would say ‘no’. It would be so much easier to get lost in the woods and die a quiet death, than to stand up, be strong and fight our way to the supposed sanctuary of Mirzan. No matter how hard I tried, I could not rid myself of the doubt that had built up in the corners of my heart and mind. I could not feel Elisabeth’s optimism, not yet.

Her glare was replaced by a look of kindness as she abruptly wrapped her arms around me in a bear hug. “We both know it’s going to be hard, but sometimes the right path is not the easiest one. Just think – we could find our mother! So yes, I still have my heart set on Mirzan.”

Deep inside, I recognized the truth in Elisabeth’s wise words. Yes, our chance of reaching Mirzan was close to impossible, but what if somehow, we were able to reach that golden land? The thought of the abundance of knowledge and joy that our lost mother had spoken of in her letter made my heart soar. However, hope was a dangerous, cruel thing. Hoping would only increase the sting of failure, intensify the pain of disappointment. I wordlessly heaved a couple of bags onto my back and helped Elisabeth load the others onto her arms.

“Do you know which way we’re going?” Elisabeth asked again.

“Well, Mother’s letter is quite useless until we actually cross into Arabian land.” Elisabeth’s hopeful expression fell and she looked down, attempting to mask her disappointment. I quickly added, “But ironically, Aaron is the one who will help us reach Arabia.”