The Girl With the Icy Hair

1

Noises. All around her, the forest was creaking and groaning with the sounds of birds. There was a distant sound of thunder, and a sudden bolting flash of lightning. The small whispers of rushing winds blew past the girl with the icy blue hair as she stood on the edge of oblivion. The forest was drenched in light, and there was another crack of lightning. The girl’s hair rushed past her face in the whirlwind. Leaves began to blow off of the trees that were a few feet behind where she stood at the edge of the cliff. The storm blocked out the sun over the girl with the shimmering icy hair, and with a sudden crack the edge of the cliff crumbled. The girl did nothing except stare with her piercing blue eyes into the surrounding blackness.

***

         Jolted awake by the shocking end to the dream, Aura sat up in the booster seat and dreamily looked around. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes she noticed that her mother had turned around in her seat to check on her. Emma’s piercing blue eyes focused intently on the little girl, and her golden blond hair swished in the wind from the air conditioner.

         “How’s my little angel,” Emma cooed. “You were so tired weren’t you?” Aura could do nothing but look blankly at her.

         “I wonder when she’ll say her first words,” Drew, her stepfather who concentrated carefully on the road, said. “Aren’t kids her age supposed to be talking by now?”

         “Supposedly. She is almost 4 and a half already,” Emma replied, turning her head to look at Drew. “I figure she’ll talk when she’s ready. Who knows, maybe she just doesn’t have anything to say.” Emma turned back around in her chair. Aura liked watching the golden strands quiver with the wind. The little girl turned her head to face the car window. Looking out, Aura could see blobs of green and brown rushing by. The tall grasses waved in the breeze. Highway 87 stretched out forever in front of the light blue minivan.

         “So where am I supposed to exit,” asked Drew, who was driving.

         “I’ll check the map,” Emma answered. “We’re looking for exit 93 from highway 85 to 90, I believe. We need to go west in order to get to the campsite.”

         “Okay,” Drew said. Aura stopped listening to their mindless chattering as they continued to drive. Instead she laid her head on the back of the chair, smashing her fire red curls.

***

Although she was happily dozing, Aura could feel a light jab into her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she could see that Emma had gotten out of the car, and the family had arrived at Monte Vista campgrounds. The light outside the car was blinding. The surrounding site was green as far as the eye could see. The air was thick with the smell of damp grass and wet dirt. There were light sounds of birdcall, and sunlight shone through the leaves and dappled the patchy grass-covered ground.

“It’s time to wake up,” Emma said. “Don’t you want to explore?” Aura sat up, waiting for her mother to undo the buckle in her booster seat. Drew had popped out of the car and opened the hatch in the back of the van. Carefully, he removed the blue and grey suitcases and set them on the ground.

“Honey, do you have the key to the cabin,” asked Drew. “I thought you had it last, but I wasn’t sure.”

“No, not that I’m aware,” Emma answered automatically as she was unbuckling Aura from the booster seat. “You had the key the last time I checked. Have you checked your pockets? That’s probably where it is.”

“One second…” Drew trailed off as he lifted another heavy suitcase from the back of the vehicle and grunted with effort. Aura looked around, dazed from the long trip, as Emma lifted her out of the car and onto her shoulder. Aura clung to her mother’s side as she was being carried across the damp ground to the porch of an older looking cabin. The porch had boards that were bent in places and looked as if they were in need of replacement. The paint had begun to peel off of the front door. Small strings of red color littered the floor. Emma set Aura down on the porch and went to help Drew carry the bags.

“I found the key,” Drew said. “It was in my pocket.”

“See,” Emma replied. “I told you.” Aura looked around. She gazed at the large oak tree in the center of the clearing that Drew had parked the van next to. She studied the lines on the trunk, and gaped when a passing bird perched itself on the lowest hanging branch. A light breeze ruffled the large, green oak leaves, and the bird was scared away.  Gazing around, Aura watched the waist high grass just to the left of the car wave in the breeze. Suddenly, a small blue butterfly appeared. Perching on one of the blades of grass, Aura watched it intently, intrigued by it’s color and movements.

Carefully, so not to fall, Aura stood up slowly. After gaining her balance, she wobbled over the uneven ground towards the butterfly. Just as she began to reach it, the butterfly took off, and soared highly above the grasses. Too intrigued to notice, Aura wandered into the grass, which sailed highly above her head. Still following the tiny winged insect, Aura headed deeper and deeper into the forest. Soon enough, the grass disappeared entirely, and it was just the mossy ground. No longer within sight of the butterfly, Aura sat down. A breeze blew, stronger this time, causing her to shiver. Weakening orange sunlight shone through the gaps between the treetops. Birdcalls were quieter now; drowned out by the stronger calls from nearby crickets and cicadas.  As the sun sunk lower and lower in the sky, the frogs joined the mix, creating a symphony of clashing sounds.

“Flutterfly,” Aura said, scrunching her face as she concentrated on the word. “Flutterfly, Flutterfly.” She called stronger now. “Flutterfly!” Aura yelled as loud as she could, as if she could call it back to her. When nothing happened, the girl with the fire hair began to sob, her small features full of dismay. With the setting sun, Aura finally collapsed and fell asleep near the base of a small birch tree.