YonderBlue's Artbook/Short Stories

Find Me (Short Story)

America opens his eyes and wasn't where he expected. A forest. Sun peaks through the vibrant leaves. The grass was short and decorated with tiny white flowers. Flowers America has never seen. He was surrounded by trees and colorful closed flowers.

The grey face sits up and blinks a few times. "Um... Hello?" His high voice calls. "Europe?" He stands up. "I'm ready to get my flag- I'm ready to be a man!"

Nothing replies. Not even birds reply, only the swish of trees.

"Do you take suggestions?" He takes a step forward and hears a twig snap behind him. He twists around like a deer looking for a wolf. His eyes widen.

He starts going towards the noise when a bush nearby by laughs at him. He looks over again and sees a figure run away.

"Hey!" America calls and runs to follow the figure. "Where are you going?" His response is more playful laughter. America growls and runs faster as he chases the figure who took the form of someone who was America's size. Another child was here with him? The gray face remembers everyone telling him Europe was a giant with many wings.

America almost trips but he catches himself. He gets a second wind and is able to speed up and tackle the figure. They both roll until the two boys run into trees.

"Phewie! You're fast! I swear I didn't make you that fast- but maybe you just really have a- yep! I gave you a very determined personality." The boy that America caught had a higher voice than him. He has a blue flag with a large white blob. "Good job, catching me!"

America looks up and saw a flagged boy who was upside down and leaning on a tree. "Who are you?"

"You wouldn't know." He laughs again and the boy gets himself to sit up. "Got any guesses?" He leans forward close to America's face, then backward, and starts to see-saw energetically.

"Europe? You must have taken a form to try and not scare-"

"Nope! I'm Nort." He holds out a hand.

"Nort?"

"Yep! I'm a- I'm a place that hasn't been discovered!" Nort smiles wide and leans in close to America again.

America moves his head away from Nort. "A land that hasn't been-"

"Discovered!"

"Right... Discovered." America stands up. "Well, I'm not here for you, Nort." America doesn't shake the boy's hand who seems sad about that but quickly copies America and stands up.

"Who are you- Oh! Right Big brother- Europe!" Nort laughs. "He's not here!"

America was shocked. "So- So what am I doing here?!" He looks around and realizes that he was right where he woke up. "How did-"

"You get here? We ran here, silly." Nort climbs up a tree and hangs by his legs on a branch. "And what's so bad about this place?"

"We never took any turns-"

"America, listen to yourself- you're in a dream, why would anything make sense- direction doesn't have to make sense- sometimes I don't make sense!"

America groans and covers his head. "Look, I'm not here to dream. I'm here to find Europe-"

"Who isn't here!" Nort falls and appears out of a bush behind America.

"...Who isn't here... But I need to get my flag-" America was speaking slowly as he watches Nort seemingly teleporting around every second.

"To be a man- right!" Nort appears in front of America. "But he's not here to do the job- I am!" He pulls back and goes back into the thick forest.

America gave a confused look. "But... Doesn't my continent... the one who made me... Europe... Doesn't he need to do it?"