In the Meadow

45 years ago

My mom's story begins in a meadow. A beautiful meadow, with a clear, trickling stream and wildflowers of ever colour. Where the sky was so big and blue that you would think that it was the ocean, and it seemed that you could fall into it just by looking at it. It was completely isolated, and you had to hike for about a mile just to get there, through a secluded path that only my mom knew.

It was safe, and beautiful...... and lonely. At least, that's how it was for my mom.

                                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wiped the sweat off of my forehead as I struggled to ride my bike up the mountany trail. As much as I loved my meadow, it sure took a heck of a trip to get there. I grumbled as I got repeatadly smacked in the head with dust, leaves and bugs alike. Finally, I saw the end of the back and practically killed my legs as I put in the last, crazy effort to get there. Hurridly,  I jumped off my bike and stretched my legs. Ahhhhh, it felt so good to finally stretch my legs! I felt energized again just by the thought that I was done biking.... until I looked up at what was the 1 mile long path that I would have to take to get to the meadow.

Once again, I mumbled and grumbled my way up the mountain, though I suspect that this was more of an account of my lonliness than anything else. It wasn't something I really liked to admit, but sometimes, when I got lonely (which was most of the time, since I lived in a tiny town) I would talk to myself, or conjour up a character that I imagined to be a perfect companion. When I was 8, it was a best friend. A girl for me to play with and laugh with, someone who would understand me perfectly. When I was 12, it was my mom. Someone who could explain things to me, and love me. Unconditionaly.

Then when I was 15, I started dreaming about a boy. He was never the same, all I knew was that he had no flaws, to make up for mine. I think in reality he more embodied the idea of freedom than nessicarily any romantic interest.

I had lived in a small town for my entire life, and I suppose at some point it just stopped being interesting. When I was a kid, there were so many mysteries and adventures to unfold. Now... it all seemed so washed out and dry. Luckily, I never lost my interest and wonder in nature. One of the great things about living in The Middle of Nowhere, Colorado is that tiny, isolated mountain-top towns are beautiful. The view is enough to make your heart break. And yet... I have never stopped wondering what is beyound those distant mountain tops.

What new mysteries are there for me to discover? What kind of new adventures does the world hold? These were questions I always had. I can remember pouring over maps in the library on every rainy day, marveling on how small I was. How insignificant.

To most people in my small town, this scared them. So they ignored it. But me, I loved it. It came as a relief to me that me and flaws and my tiny town weren't the only thing in the world.

"Finally!" I sighed as a pushed through a particularily poky patch of scrub, and stepped into my meadow. The golden evening sun set the sky on fire and made the meadow look like the grass was made of gold. I felt my breathing slow as I rustled through the tall gras. This meadow was magic for me. I felt at peice here, and like anything was possible. I knew this meadow like the back of my own hand, and traversed it with ease right to my spot. It was a stump from an old tree that must have been a gigantic tree, because it was large enough for me to lie across in fetal postion. This stump held almost all of my important memories from my enitre 18 year long life. I remembered my mother taking me her with her, when I was a really little girl. After she died, I could remember coming here on my own, and having tea parties on this stump with my stuffed animals, and drinking "tea" out of the caps of any water bottles I could find from raiding my pantry.

I sighed, and made myself comfortable on the stump in my usual position. I had a small frame, so it wasn't hard for me to fit on it. I looked up at the setting sun from my position and reclined on to the stump, closing my eyes. I'll just close my eyes for a little bit.

I'm so tired...                                                --------------------------------------------------

I opened my eyes, and blinked a few times to clear up my sight, blurry from vision. I looked up, at the sky, with the stars sparkling in it. The air was so clear here, you could see the entire milky way. It was beautiful.

Wait, stars?! Shit!!!!

I jumped of the stump, and made a wild sprint for the forest path that would lead me back to my bike, tripping twice. I swore once more. Though there wasn't anyone home to scold me, I still had school tomorrow, and riding the mountain trail so late could be dangerous. How could I have let myself sleep so long? I peered at the moon through the branches as I ran through the mountain path, and it was high in the middle of the sky That means its really late, probably past midnight! I picked up my pace. Finally, I reached the opening onto the path where my bike was, and I pushed through it, then hopped on my bike, pedaling off into the inky darkness.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note-

Hi guys!! This is my second novel on wattpad, and for those of you who have read my first novel, The Lost People, you'll see that this one has kind of a different feel. Nevertheless, I'm giving it a try and I'm learning as I go. I appreciate comments, so if you have any advice or criticism, I'm happy to hear it. Oh, and don't forget to vote!!!