☕️ Paper and Joy 🕯️

Chapter 3: Wonders of the World

Bump

"Ow..." I groaned opening my eyes slowly from hitting my head. Bright green nature shot me in face as I slowly lifted myself, bits of grass falling from my hair. My body was slightly sore from the fall.

Before me was a forest. But not just any forest, the trees... we're massive!

...

The bushes were obnoxiously large and the flowers blocked many paths. Some could even cover my head!

I stared up at the sky as I walked around the sight, watching carefully where I went.

Where in the world am I?

No, but really. Where am I?

I decided to keep walking forward, despite my both physical and mental state. The size of the forest was surprisingly eerie, different and scary. Large leaves and loud cricket noises that echoed in my head, flooded the place. Almost like a rainforest, it was but a place of native creatures most likely. I shivered at the thought. The only other thought in my mind was the one telling me to continue walking.

I don't really think that will help me but what else is there to do?

...

The sun was falling low as I continued walking, now I was getting hungry and horribly tired. My eyelids felt horribly heavy and closed every now and then.

Am I going to die here?

I thought for a moment. I was so excited by the new discovery that I completely forgot about the fact that I had a life and I needed rest. It's as if this morning, I had waken up in a new body. I slowed down, catching my breath and rebuilding what little strength I had.

I need to sit down...

I noticed a tall shady leaf in the distance and a storm approaching.

Are you kidding me?

As I darted over to take cover from the rain I thought about my position. It felt odd to be here in this world almost like an outcast of some sort, like a wandering traveler.

The rain began to fall as I sat underneath the shaded area. The grass was soft and vividly green almost like a warm bed, beads of water made it heavy. My feet were still bare and dirty though, that wasn't much of an issue before anyway. Though the rain was loud, it held a kind of silence you would only find in the forest. Like the sound of ethereal voices, it echoes in the valleys. I stopped and waited for the rain to pass, watching closely as the sky cleared. Minutes, hours, too many hours seemed to pass before the shower was over and only then was I fully rested, energized.

The air was damp and moist as I got on my feet again, holding the memories of spring. A feeling of restlessness swam through my mind as I stepped out into the wet forest grounds. I was still alone. Sigh.

"Hey! Watch out!" A voice above me shouted, seemingly coming my way quickly. A girl was in the air, flying my direction with no control.

"Huh?!" I looked at her and then quickly moved out of the way, fear pumping to my brain. She landed harshly on the floor making a big oomf! as she fell, her limbs sprawled across the forest floor. I stood back waiting for her to get up.

Is she ok? Who is she?

She got up slowly, pieces of leaf sticking to her face. She spit out a chunk of hair and floor as she gently sat up.

"Ow..." she groaned, lightly touching her blonde head. The girl was young, similar to my age it seemed and very small. She wore something of a newspaper boy cap and a messenger bag over a grey uniform. It was slightly dirty and ragged.

"I'm really sorry!" She looked up at me desperately, her hair messy.

"Hey it's ok, are you alright?" I asked trying to sympathize with her.

"Haha, yeah... I'm ok." She said getting up quickly and rubbing the dust and water droplets off of her uniform. She stopped, only to look back at me, her bright green eyes shone.

"Hey wait a minute, who are you?" She looked at me puzzled, almost staring me down. I stepped back, a little nervous, "I mean sorry, but I do know everyone around these parts."

"Uh... I-I'm a little lost, haha..." I said, startled at her question. She looked at me in surprise almost like they sun cleared up her cloudy face.

"Oh, well where were you going to go?" She looked up at me smiling, "Maybe I can help you!"

"Oh uh, I don't really know..."

"What... do you mean you don't really know?"

"A second ago I was in the forest near my home and now I'm here." I tripped over my words trying to explain, "I just wanna go back home..."

"Oh... I've never heard of something like that before huh..." she paused for a moment and looked as if she was thinking, "Hey come over here for a moment and let's talk."

She pointed at a cluster of rocks signaling that we sit on them and discuss. Despite her falter a few seconds ago, she was hyper and happy.

Well I really have no other option and I do need directions...

...

"So, you said you found a book in a ditch in a forest near your house, and now you're here?" She said retracing the things I told her.

"Ha, yeah..." I mumbled awkwardly. She looked a little stunned still, "So what should I do?"

"We'll uh..." she looked at me hopefully, fidgeting with her hands, "I can take you with me..?"

I looked at her surprised, "Take me with you? Where?"

"I mean I have a little work to do." She tripped over her words as she spoke quickly, "but you can come along since you have no where to go."

I peered at her quickly accepting her gracious offer, "Well alright."

She smiled happily with my hands in hers, her smile from ear to ear. I trampled my thoughts over this gracious moment and was thankful for my situation. I felt safe, at least with her by my side. She was like a really good friend, you could always rely on.

...

As we walked through the forest, I spoke to her, "where are we going exactly?"

"We'll my job is to be a Messenger," she told me, her fluffy blonde hair bouncing as she walked beside me, "kind of like a mailman but in my village they call it something else."

"So you just deliver things?"

"Yup, lots of letters and sometimes packages." She said nodding, "here in Cupa village there's Messenger Academy. I'm only a trainee haha..."

"Oh, we'll that's really cool."

"We'll um, anyway, we're almost there!"

"Where?"

She continued to look forward silently despite my comment. As I noticed her satisfied expression, I looked forward as well. In front of me was a gated village large and civilized, a sight in the trees I thought was only from a fairytale.