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As Elizabeth walks outside and looks around for some inspiration, she runs into a little family of rabbits.
“What are you doing so far from home?” one of the rabbits looked up at her and cocked its head to the side in a curious manner. Elizabeth looked at the crayon she still had in her hand. “Maybe I can draw you,” said Elizabeth. The bunnies hopped a little closer to Elizabeth, as if granting permission. Elizabeth smiled and placed a piece of paper on a rock and started drawing. Time after time the rabbits would move around a little as Elizabeth looked at them.
A few minutes later Elizabeth finished her drawing and showed the rabbits the finished product. “See, this is what you look like on paper.” The rabbits hopped a little closer and looked at the paper, as if they were actually inspecting it. “Do you like it?” Elizabeth said, waiting for a response. One of the rabbits looked up at Elizabeth and hopped around. I guess they liked it. Elizabeth smiled with joy. “I should go around and ask some other animals if I could draw them too”
A few hours have passed and Elizabeth is still looking for another animal or plant to draw.
“It's getting late,” said Elizabeth as she wandered through the forest.
Elizabeth looked up just to be greeted by a velvet sky that's already sprinkled with stars. Elizabeth smiled at the sight above her. She sat down on the damp grass, and enjoyed the stars above her. “They are so pretty.” a star glimmered in response. Elizabeth's smile widens as she thinks about what it could be like to be a star, To look down upon the world below them. To live in an open space with all the other stars. Elizabeth sighs and continues to search the sky for something else besides the stars and the cheshire moon. Then she sees it, The cancer constellation. “My zodiac sign!” she said in delight. She remembers her mom talking about the twelve zodiac signs and their jobs as the goddesses and gods of the stars. They went in order like this: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. She liked all the zodiac signs. She only remembered some of their jobs, the libra’s job is balance. They keep everything balanced so nothing bad happens. Aries is the god/goddess of war. They start wars with the other zodiacs. Those were the only ones she knew. Her mother once told her that Aries and Cancer are good friends. She liked that thought since her mother was an Aries.
Elizabeth stared at the stars for a while before she realized that she was supposed to be home hours ago. “Oh no! Mom is gonna be really mad.” Elizabeth said as she stood up and started to head home. Or, at least tried to. All around her was forest, plants, and animals. Dangerous animals. Elizabeth looked around, trying to find a pathway. No luck.
Elizabeth started to get worried. “W-where's the pathway?” she stuttered nervously as she continued to look around and wander. It seemed like the forest went on forever. There seemed to be no end to this nightmare that she was suddenly pulled into. She looked up, only to be greeted by a drowsy gray sky. ‘Is it going to rain?’ she thought. She was right. It started to get cold a mere few seconds later. Then it started to rain.
The rain came soft at first, like soft kisses. But after a while it started to pour, like a waterfall. “Oh dear…” Elizabeth said, already soaked to the brim. She kept wandering and wandering, looking for shelter.
It started to get colder and colder. The wind started to blow roughly against her. Elizabeth shivered and spotted a big rock that looked like a cozy cave. Elizabeth walked towards the rock and crawled under it. Already becoming a little warmer. Elizabeth curls up and eventually falls asleep.
After a few hours Elizabeth wakes up to a deer laying on the ground next to her, looking at her. almost as if he always knew her. “Hello Mr.deer'' Elizabeth says tiredly. The deer bows his head a little. “Hello” Elizabeth jumps a little in surprise. “Did...did you just talk?” The deer looks at the wilderness. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn't,” Elizabeth looks at the deer, confused. “Am i...going crazy?'' The deer starts to talk in a soft voice that seems to echo. “In a sane world that would happen, but we don't live in a sane world. Every man has a sane spot somewhere. The only difference between the sane and the insane is that the sane have the power to lock up the insane. When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane.” Elizabeth thinks about what the deer just said. “So, i’m not insane?” The deer shifts its weight a little. “That's for you to decide.”
Elizabeth sits up. “For me to decide…” she said as she looked at the roof of the little cave. Elizabeth stared at the ceiling for a second. “You're very wise, for a deer.”
The deer bowed its head again. “Thank you, I know a lot of inspirational and wise things” Elizabeth thinks for a second. “Do you have any inspirational thoughts about...life?” Elizabeth asks. The wind blows a little and the deer speaks in that soft voice that echoes. “Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness, and bad days give you experience.” Elizabeth looks at the deer in astonishment. “You really are wise” the deer laughs a little. “I have a lot to say about life and its wonders.” Elizabeth starts to question. “Like what?” the deer smiles. “You're a curious one aren’t you?” The deer looks at the morning sky. “What would you like to know?” Elizabeth thinks for a moment. “The weather?” the deer laughs. “Well, i have something similar” the deer relaxes and says “the way i see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”
Elizabeth thinks about that. “So what you're saying is...to be able to find happiness, you would have to go through sadness first?” The deer looks at Elizabeth, impressed. “Something like that.”
Elizabeth smiles. “I guess I'm wise too!” the deer laughs with content. “Yes, I guess you are.” The deer lays his head down a little. “But of course with wisdom, It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it. The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.” Elizabeth lays down again too. “You really do have something to say about everything.” Elizabeth added. The deer layed there for a second before getting up. “How about we go outside? It did stop raining after all.” Elizabeth gets up as well. “Ok!”
Elizabeth walks out of the cave and onto the soft, damp grass. Elizabeth relaxes for a second, and lets everything around her hit her all at once. The crisp morning air to the sweet songs of bluebirds. The deer looks at elizabeth. “I don't think I caught your name.” Elizabeth wakes up from her little trance and looks back at the deer. “Oh! Uh, my name is elizabeth. And I'm fourteen years old!” The deer smiles a little. “Well, nice to meet you elizabeth. My name is Cernunnos. I am three thousand nine hundred and sixty three years old.” Elizabeth looks at Cernunnos with surprise. “Three thousand nine hundred and sixty three years old!?” Cernunnos nods. “I am the oldest deer in the mystic realm of where I came from.”
“Then, why are you here?” Elizabeth asked. Cernunnos walks up to Elizabeth a little. “I am what people call a spirit animal. It is my job to guid and help those who are in need of my assistance. For example, you.” Elizabeth looks at Cernunnos with confusion. “Me?” Cernunnos nods. “Yes elizabeth. I am here because you need me. Even though you don’t know it.” Elizabeth becomes more confused. “What are you trying to help me with?”
Cernunnos starts to walk through the forest. “Walk with me Elizabeth, and I will tell you.” Elizabeth follows Cernunnos. “I am here to help you with your mental state. I can tell that you are struggling right now, and the only way you cope with this is through art.” Elizabeth slows down a little. “So, you know about my past trauma?” Elizabeth says nervously. “Yes I do,” says Cernunnos. “I know what happened to you and your dear friend.”
Elizabeth completely stops in her tracks. Remembering that tragic day when she lost her dear friend. The only friend that really knew her and loved her for who she was. She still remembers the sounds of distress her friend was making. And Elizabeth couldn’t do anything about it. If only they hadn’t walked out the door that morning and walked on that bridge. That bridge. Elizabeth couldn’t move. She could feel that terrible feeling of dread of fear she had that day. That’s when it happened. Elizabeth started to have a mental breakdown. She started shaking, her breathing became uneven. Cernunnos walks up to elizabeth. “Do you feel that elizabeth? Do you feel like you're reliving that moment?” Elizabeth nods slowly. Cernunnos lays down next to elizabeth. “Good, now sit down.” Elizabeth sits down shakily. Cernunnos lays his head in Elizabeth's lap. “This may be difficult for you but try to imagine me as your lost friend.”
Elizabeth immediately shakes her head. “N-no, I don't think i c-can do that.” Cernunnos looks up at elizabeth. “It’s ok elizabeth. This will help you cope.” Elizabeth calms down a little. “ok”
Elizabeth closes her eyes, and tries to imagine her friend when she wasn’t drowning in a lake. When Elizabeth opened her eyes again, There she was. Her dear friend Faith. Every detail that she remembered of her was there. From her long dark brown hair with her blue dyed tips to her pretty baby blue silk dress she wore every summer. Elizabeth smiled as she looked down upon her dear friend that she knew since kindergarten. “Hi Elizabeth,” said faith. This hurt Elizabeth a little. Seeing her again was hard enough. But hearing her soft voice again was too much to bear. “I've missed you so much.” faith says, with a soft smile on her face. Elizabeth felt so happy. She started to stroke Faith's hair softly. It felt so real, but she knew she wasn’t actually here with her.
Faith stood up and reached her hand toward elizabeth. “Let's take a walk elizabeth. Like we used to.” Elizabeth reaches her hand out and lets faith pull her up. Faith smiles and holds Elizabeth's hand as they start walking through the forest. Elizabeth relaxes and smiles as they start to walk towards a bench. “I remember sitting on a bench with you every morning and feeding the birds that would land near us.” faith said as she sat down. Elizabeth smiles as she remembers feeding a particular flock of birds. There was one bird that would actually land next to Elizabeth and faith and would eat there instead of with the rest of the birds. Faith pats the spot next to her. Signaling Elizabeth to sit there. Elizabeth walks over to faith and sits down next to her. Faith looks at elizabeth. “Do you remember when we would feed the birds every morning?” Elizabeth looks at faith. “I was just thinking about that!” Elizabeth said happily. “You know what they say, two minds think alike” Faith said, with a smile on her face. Faith then looked around a little. “I hope this helps your mental stability…” Elizabeth's smile fades a little. “Yeah, but, if it does then...you’ll disappear. Won’t you?” The breeze blows softly. “Yes, I will.” Elizabeth looks at the ground sadly, and sighs. They sit there for a while. The wind starts to blow softly, moving the water in the pond in different directions and the grass starts to dance with the breeze. Same as the trees. Elizabeth eventually gets up. “Well, just so you know, I’ll miss you Faith. And I will always think of you.” Faith smiles softly and stands up as well. “Then this is goodbye elizabeth. I will miss you as well. And I'll think of you too.” Elizabeth smiles as tears start to run down her face, then hugs faith. “Goodbye faith….” faith smiles and hugs back. “Goodbye...elizabeth.”
When Elizabeth opens her eyes, Faith is gone.
Elizabeth sighs and sits back down sadly. Cernunnos walks up to Elizabeth and lays his head on her lap. “You did well elizabeth. Do you feel better now?” Elizabeth pets cernunnos’s head. “Yeah, i feel a little better. And I've learned an important lesson today.” Cernunnos looks up at elizabeth. “What did you learn?” Elizabeth stays quiet for a moment. “I've learned that the only way to move forward is to let go of the past and move on, no matter how hard it is to do so.” Cernunnos smiles. “I am glad that you have learned such a valuable lesson today. And that you were able to handle the difficulty of moving forward so well.” Elizabeth relaxes and yawns. “Well, all this moving forward has made me tired.” Cernunnos gets up. “Let's get back to the cave and get some rest.”
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