Pleaser To Meet You

Chapter 37

October 2nd, 4052
    Time seemed to fly by and soon enough we were only a mile away. You could hear the singing of wind through the trees and the leaves dancing with each other. The trees groaned and creaked as they swayed. Showing their age by every bend. There was a little meadow out in front of the grove of trees. It indeed had a roaring river the snaked and weaved between giant mounds of sand and rocks. The water was dark and nasty and had an odor to it. Our feet sunk into the sand like anchors and we trudged through till we made it to the seemingly strange solid ground. The grass was not very tall but was green as ever. It gently swayed and danced in the wind and every once in a while there was a patch of small flowers. They were pink.
    Sage turned around and looked at me, she had the biggest smile on her face. I knew that she was in as much awe as I was. How good it smelt and how the air was crisp and light. How the air was cool and nippy and it seemed like peace. Sage was walking in front of me a bit and got close to the trees. She looked up at them. The branches are way above her and they were perfectly scattered around the tree trunks. There were randomly patches of moss on each limp. The leaves spread out in a fan-like pattern. It smelt blissful and inviting.
    I looked out into the darkness and felt the same fears running back to me. My heart beat quickened and I seemed to have a hard time breathing. Sage turned around and noticed me blankly staring into the darkness. I was obviously scared. She walked beside me and looked into the darkness to see nothing. She gently put her hand on my shoulder and asked "what's wrong?" I seemed to have a hard time speaking because when I tried I only could stutter out. "I" Sage turned me around so I was not looking into the darkness because that was obviously a trigger on mine. I closed my eyes and Sage leaned her shoulder on mine for comfort.
    It seemed like hours I was standing there. Yet it seemed to shock Sage when I looked over at her. I could finally speak and I said "sorry when I started to leave the forest someone or something was chasing me out of there. I remember the panic and fear of only seeing the red eyes waiting for me at the end of the tree line and the large footsteps behind me forcing me out" Sage looked into the trees and then back at me. I said "when I found myself out there it was almost dark and honestly I had no clue what was going on but all I knew is that I needed to get back" She just stood there and listened not saying anything so I said "sorry I know you probably do-" she cut me off and she said "I do care" I smile and said "I need to show you something" I grabbed her hand and I lead her into the woods.
    It was still dark but I could see enough to weave us in and out of the trees. The leaves under our feet crunched and it was satisfying to listen to. The twigs snapped and echoed off the bark. It did not take us as long as I thought for us to reach the middle where the meadow was. It was so much more eccentric and enticing. The grass was thin and tall, still about my waist high. It had little pieces of grain on the ends.
    Sage was astonished and had her mouth open in awe. It was like we were in a bowl. The trees surrounded us in a circle and leaned inwards a little bit. Yet the grass was perfectly stopped about a foot before the line of trees. Almost like it secretly knew where to stay and where it was allowed to be. Yet also it could be because of the access to the sun. In the middle was a very majestic twisted apple tree. It looked a lot like a bonsai tree that was let free out in the wild. At the base it had a little door.
    I had flashbacks to the thing chasing me in the woods. I remembered how it started behind me and it could have not been the cyborgs yet it very much could have been someone from within here. I looked at Sage who had a little bug in her hand. It was one of the same bugs that I saw when it got dark out and they lit up like little fire lights. Then I looked around to see so many more. Some were lit up and others were not. The ones that were the ones that were closer to the tree like and in the grass and the ones that were not were the ones in the direct sunlight. I giggled as one flew up and landed on my nose. Sage started to laugh again too. We both could not help but laugh like children on a candy high.
    Sage looked at me and said "you know I am very happy that I brought you here, this is honestly the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. Since this is the last one it's kind of a once in a lifetime find. Honestly I would never have wanted to go out here with anyone else." I could not help but blush a bit. Since I truly have never had someone who enjoyed my company and it felt almost strange to have someone finally compassionate and interested in being friends with me.
    I smiled and said "I had to come see it again and I am glad you came with me because it is honestly a gold mine, all though I don't think we can come back for a while. I do think its something we will never forget" She nodded her head and said "I am honestly very glad you made it out of here alive because as I can see it is very far from home and very thick through here. I don't think I could have made it out of here" I smiled and said "you truly want me around?" she got serous and said "yeah, you saved my life and gave me a place to stay, you gave me food and clothes, you gave me a safe place, you allowed my family into your home, and when I told you what happened you never judged me"
    I thought back to everything that happened and what she said and it was very true. I did all of that and truly still questioned why she stuck around. I mean I guess in a sense she was using me in the beginning but now I guess she really wanted to repay me. As I was deep in thought she said "now you have shown me the most beautiful sight in the whole world that no one knows about. Like i'm not lying it's not even on the maps" I smiled and looked down and she noticed and said "sorry I guess I am being a bit too much" I looked up quickly and said "no, no you're perfect. I mean not perfect but in a way perfect. I just am not used to people actually liking me"  I looked up at the sky to see it getting dark and said "oh we should get going before it gets dark because trust me this is not the place to be when it is dark" She looked up too and stared at the sky and said "yeah I guess you are right" So we walked back out the trees. As we left I gently glided my hand over them. Feeling the bark against my hands and how soft the moss was. As we reached the edge of the tree line. I leaned my forehead against the tree and gave it a little pat before whispering "never give up, no matter what the humans do. Stay strong" Then walked with Sage.
    We reached the edge of the meadow before I heard a thump behind me. I turned around to see the shoe I lost laying on the ground behind me. I was astonished and looked up to see a figure staying behind one of the trees watching us. It was tall and large and had very white hair. It simmered in the darkness very elegantly. I walked over to my shoe. It was coated in the black goop and was very heavy because of it. I picked up the shoe and said "thank you" . I started to walk away when I heard a very faint and weak "no problem" I smiled and looked at Sage who was kindly waiting for me at the edge of the grass.

'My friend it seemed like this is where we say goodbye to one another. The time where we part ways and remember each other as distant memories. Yet I truly do not want you to go. There is no one in this world I would enjoy more to spend everyday with than you. You have stuck with me through it all and watched every step along the way. You have always given me a second chance and even when you doubted me, you never gave up on me. I would beg for pages on why you should stay and how we could remeet again in the beginning and start the journey all over again. Yet I know at some point things have to come to an end. That you can not stay forever and then soon enough you would get bored of me just like the rest but it truly was a pleasure to meet you and I hope that one day you will come back and visit me again. Remember what I've said and the things you have learned because you truly are my nightlight when I have nightmares and my shadow when I need one. Never forget that you are important to me and others around you. Even if I am just some character to you, you are so much more than that to me. I truly do love you. Till we meet again,

Ember rose'