Mrs Sophie Foster-Sencen (Sokeefe Tale of Two Times) - KOTLC

Beware of the Path

~ Present Sophie's POV ~

The path we trudged was as ominous and smoky as it appeared before, with fog blinding our vision heavily and restricting our vision.
It didn't help that the brush was so thick that I was constantly tripping over roots or hurting trees.
Keefe had to hold me steady some of the times, however, most of the times, he, too, was unstable.
Stumbling through an all too misty forest with limited view was not the most fun thing and was definitely not what I would rather be doing in this current moment.
The heavy smog seemed to never clear through our what-felt-like endless plod, but despite that, we persevered forward.
Occasionally the mist would irritate my throat, causing me to splutter out small hacks and coughs to clear my throat.
When it reached my nose, I would have to sniffle repeatedly to clear my nasal cavity.
I could tell Keefe was fighting the same struggles.
His face was pulled into a grim expression of pursuit and persistence, which had me entirely in admiration.
The path we had taken so far was pretty normal, with the misleading marked path not merging yet, but then again, we had only begun walking about five to eight minutes ago, so there wasn't much to expect.
The forest seemed to stretch on perpetually, an infinite fog gulping and swallowing us while the further we ventured.
I was the first to break the brittle note devoid of sound.
"Do you think we'll arrive to...well wherever we're supposed to be...soon?"
I asked Keefe, my eyes trained on the ground to watch for jutting out roots bound to cause me to trip.
For a moment it was back to silence, but not ignorant silence, thoughtful silence.
Keefe considered the question.
"I'm not sure."
He finally admitted.
So far nothing out of the ordinary has appeared besides trees, fog, and...hey! More fog!
Still ominous, utterly boring.
We had only been walking for around 10 minutes now, but it still felt like something should've happened.
"At this rate we're going to go nowhere. We should've just picked the other path-"
I began to grumble complacently.
But before I could finished, Keefe lurched forward and paused in alarm, extending his hand out to block me from moving farther.
"What-"
I began, but immediately cut myself off.
At first all I had seen was thick mist. But when it cleared, I had clamped my mouth shut.
Because in front of us, in the endless smoky smog, was a wide entrance. The mouth of a cavern.
"Good eye."
I whispered to Keefe.
"Thanks."
He returned back in the same quiet voice.
The two of us just stared
"Should we...should we go in?"
I murmured.
Keefe smiled, his eyes practically glistening.
"What a risky idea, you're becoming just like me Foster!"
I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved him.
He laughed heartily.
I continued to scowl.
The fleeting moment was brief, but oh the love that filled it.
Even with the glower that had spread to the corners of my face, it was only skin deep.
Beyond the thin layers of my skin lay the flesh and the streams of red that ran emotion far more vast than the physical person could begin to fathom.
The red that coursed my veins, pumped from the arteries that enlarged and swelled with a single movement from him, was filled plentiful of tender love, far more than enough for the amygdala to carry or understand.
But, the moments like these don't last. The memories and the emotions do.
That being said, Keefe's laughing slowed down after what was ten seconds and dimmed down to a mere smile and my frown quickly became an equally smile.
Our fingers became entwined once more and we fell silent, reverting back to the task at hand.
Entering the cavern.
I breathed in deeply and and then exhaled just as far in depth.
We can do this. Fear does not exist unless you let it.
I repeated the words in my head until they became a chant.
We can do this. Fear does not exist unless you let it. We can do this. Fear does not exist unless you let it. We can do this. Fear does not exist unless you let it.
Because it was true. Because fear is the limitation to our natural capacity. But fear is not real. It is only real in the mind. And I refuse to believe in the thing holding me back.
Keefe and I walked at different paces at first, but slowly we fell into perfect unison, the synchronization of our footfalls, shaky, and stuttering, but they followed the beating rhythm of the drums of our chest.
Pounding, the drums became more and more intense, but receded ever so slightly when each of us grasped the other's fingers with a little squeeze of assurance to note that the other was present and that we weren't in this alone. We were safe with each other
The cavern was pitch black from the outside, and we were around 10, 15, feet away from it. However,we moved with caution and slightly unease.
When we finally reached the gaping mouth of the cavern, both Keefe and I took a deep breath, hoping it to not be our final.
We held on to each others hands as we slowly made our way into the cave.