Somewhere In The Forest

Leave

I had tossed and turned all night, drifting in and out of sleep until the sun peaked in through the window. A foolish mistake knowing that this might be my last night in a comfortable bed for who knows how long. I crept out of bed, slowly walking over to the window in hopes the storm had calmed. Luck had it the snow had stopped during the night, and the sun shone down on the town, coating everything in a shimmer. I sighed before turning back around to get dressed, putting on my casual clothes so as not to stress Miriam.

The smell wafting from the kitchen implied she had already started on breakfast, the apprehension weighed heavy in the air. Twig followed me downstairs to be let out in the small backyard, I closed the door behind him so he could explore for a while. My feet seemed to drag on their own as I sauntered back into the kitchen. Miriam had her back to me, dishing up something at the stove. I faked a small cough while walking in and she turned quickly to me,

"Oh, hey! Good morning, how did you sleep?" she asked, handing me a plate with oats and milk with some toast.

"Alright, you?" I lied, grabbing a fork before walking back to the table,

"Just fine" she responded while taking her place on the other side of the table. A small part of me wanted to forget the whole thing and continue on with our lives as we had done for the past few months. The dread in my stomach somehow seemed to worsen when I looked into her eyes, knowing that she knew what I was thinking.

"I know you are going to try to leave," she said, looking down at her plate,

"Try?" I narrowed my eyes at her statement, she frowned back at me,

"I won't let you just up and leave Fawn. You can't just go into the woods to look for some ghost!"

"Some ghost? And if it is dad you would still see it as I just went after a ghost?"

"It's foolish. It is the middle of winter, no one leaves the town during this time, and for good reason" she snapped.

"If the tables were turned they would go looking for us. I can't just stand here knowing he could still be out there trying to get home" I tried to reason with her.

She opened her mouth to respond but then closed it, poking around at her food as she contemplated my words before speaking again. I took a small bite, trying not to react to her in anger, instead focusing on the sweet taste of the warm oats.

"Well we're at least going together" she sighed, I looked up at her,

"We can't both go, you have to make sure the animals are taken care of and we can't ask Joseph to do all that while we are gone for who knows how long," I argued, she looked at me in angered shock before scoffing loudly,

"So you're just going to go out into the woods all by yourself then?" She asked sarcastically, flicking her wrist in the direction of the woods,

"I will take Twig and my horse, they will help keep me safe" I responded, taking another bite of food, she scoffed again angrily,

"Twig and River are not going to help you build a shelter or help you get back home"

"Twig is very helpful with hunting and keeping me motivated, River is a good horse who will come back home if anything happens to me" I responded matter of factly sending her a serious look.

She stared at me for a long moment before looking back down at her food and then continuing to eat. I wondered if that was it if she was just going to give me the silent treatment instead of helping me prepare to leave. We ate in silence for a while, and I tried to appreciate this moment with her, in this room eating a nice meal with my sister.