Under The Earth

Goodbye Home: Part 1

"The forest is a dark place, and you will never know what lies there unless you enter yourself."

The memory of her parents' warning flashed through her mind, not now! She thought, disregarding the one rule her parents had set for her: "Stay safe, no matter what."

But for Alexander, she didn't care about that rule, because as long as she had her friend: Oscar, there was nothing she couldn't bear. Well, apart from having less to eat and drink. That would take some getting used to, since her three parents had always made more than enough to support themselves, Alex, and her nan.

Oscar knows how to cope with that though, Alex reflected, he doesn't like having more anyway. I mean, dropping out of school at the age of fourteen to help your mother earn an income that could cover the cost of living was a massive commitment. She paused, and smiled, me and Oscar will make a great team together, combatting the terrain and wilderness of Norway.

Alex was busy packing for the tramp, fruit, vegetables, clothes and thermals, shoes, tents, camping beds, socks... what else do we need?

"Hey, Oscar!"

A voice down the hallway replied, "Yeah, what is it? Did you leave the tap running again? Oooh, please don't tell me you left the tap running too long again! That cleaning was not anything fun, got absolutely soaked! And- oh gosh, now thinking about it... hope your kitten hasn't torn apart your curtains again-"

"-OS. CAR! Listen. I have been packing, and think I've forgotten something." She said, cutting Oscar off upon sensing one of his long rants coming.

"Ok, I will be coming in just a second." The sound of hands rummaging around in now-empty boxes sounded up the hallway.

"No! I need help now!" She didn't really, but she was impatient, so...

"Ugghh! Fine." And not long afterward, footsteps stomped loudly on the tiles. "So, you're missing what again? Your shoes, some food, the water, our sleeping bags-"

"-I don't know!" She cut him off again, preventing yet another one of Oscar's long-winded ramblings.

Oscar tilted his head in curiosity, "Don't think I can help you with that then. I mean, unless the thing you forgot was me. Then I, by simply existing, have already done the job pretty well." He said.

"No, not you. I'm just looking for something else, though I can't seem to remember what..." She said, staring desperately at her packed bags, hoping that by staring at them hard enough she would suddenly remember the thing missing-

"Oohhh, let me see, let me see!" Oscar, noticing her staring, took hold of the nearest bag and investigated it under one of her microscopes, "Matches!" He suddenly said, pulling out a box of matches. "This is what you've forgotten."

"Oh, ok." She breathed a sigh of relief, watching Oscar whisk out of the room to continue with whatever he had been doing.

***

She was placing her bags together in a pile when she got an unexpected visitor who came in and sat down on the end of her bed, wheezing heavily. Asthma, Alex thought, glad she hadn't inherited the condition.

"Nan, are you ok?" Alex had always had a soft spot for her nan, who struggled to cope all on her own with a multitude of health problems.

Alex wished she could've sat on the bed beside her, but she had a job to do: explore that forest. She felt bad when she had to leave her nan at home all by herself with no one to watch over her to make sure she is ok.

"Yes, my dear. You have fun on your trip, and try to stay out of harm's way." Nan said, readjusting a golden bracelet around her wrists as she spoke.

Nan was always an inspiration to Alex, with the way she held herself together despite her ongoing health problems. My mum said that she was ok and that she is strong and can take anything life throws her way, but when Alex looked into her eyes, she could only see the hurt and pain- the meaningless inherent in life. Someone who needs to get things off her chest and talk to someone about her problems.

And now, the inspiration Alex was given from her nan's persistence to carry on, was more important than ever. Alex desperately needed that inspiration now that she was travelling through the forest and over mountains with only one other person: Oscar.

Oscar knew how much Alexander loved her nan, but he also knew that she wanted to get outside already, to see what lay beyond the inescapable fields of her own home.

Watching her nana leave the room, she goes over her list, quadruple-checking that everything was crossed off. Breathing a sigh of relief she had indeed packed everything properly.

And now that she was more than sure everything they needed was packed, she set toward her bedroom door, down the stairs, and into the kitchen where Oscar was preparing all the food necessary for their journey.

Her eyes scanned the storage for their food and noticed a lot of nicely arranged cardboard boxes already holding things like eggs, cans of food, and more. So that's what he was doing with those cardboard boxes. Guess they have just done nothing the whole year.

"Hey Oscar," She said, grabbing the attention of her busy-bee friend, "Are you ready for this?" She asked, knowing that once the question was out, there was no turning back.

Oscar turned to face Alex - who, despite her determination, seemed a bit on the edge. After all, it was her first time surviving without sugary sweets to munch on, or an infinite supply of entertainment.

Oscar looked her dead in the eyes, conjuring up his reply,

"Alex, are you sure you want to do this?" He said, only to earn a glare from Alex. "I mean, I myself have only ever lived in the forest without adults twice before, and neither time was particularly easy. Perhaps we could just sit and watch Netflix all week?"

"I'm sure," Alex said, gritting her teeth together and holding her head high. "There's no turning back now."

Oscar nodded and finalized the foods and their placements in their bags. Alex watched as Oscar shoved the cardboard boxes into his own camping bag, as her own already carried everything from clothing to a whole tent.

And with that, Oscar and Alex set off for the long journey ahead of them whilst the sky was still alight with life.