Ruling the Impossible

2. Hospital

It has been a week since I ran in the forest. I woke with a start this morning after bad dreams of surgery and brain implants and other horrible things. I am in the main hospital in a private room. Usually only leaders and council members are put in here. Which means they mustn't think I am a traitor or I wouldn't be in a cell with medical help or what ever I needed. A doctor walks past in the corridor and I wave, pain flushing though my arms as I move them. He sees me, and a look of shear sorrow, sadness and sympathy covers his face. My arm stops in mid air. What was that look for? Then he looks away and keeps walking. I am ok, aren't I? And if I am not then he should come in here and tell me! ARHH confusion and annoyance rises up sleepy and heavy. Could I be dying and he doesn't feel like he can tell me or doesn't want to? Angry, like I have never been before, I jump out of the bed and slam my fists against the wall. I am surprised to see that I have cracked the wall! Usually when I am angry I would control it and let it writhe inside me. But this, this is weird. Unnatural. Am I the same person?! I find a mirror across the room and scowl into it. Wow that really doesn't look good. So I stop and just look normally into the mirror. My face is pale but normal. My hair which is black and always curly, is flat on one side of my head from sleeping. How long did I sleep for? My eyes which are usually a really light brown, are dark especially around the edges of my eye. It startles me. I find a hand mirror and look at the back of my head. My hair is flat and I see that there is a little bald patch on the right side, I lift my hair to have a look and I stare at a line of thick black stitches about an inch long. What happened! Did they have to save me! Am I about to die? Don't they have to ask permission to operate or stitch or whatever? Why has no one told me anything!? Suddenly there is a pain in my head, right in the middle of my head. Sense fills it and I assure myself that whatever they have done to me, I am sure they will tell me. I am obviously unwell so let's sit down and calm down. It is like an order from someone, some where, but... I am thinking it. I sigh and lie down, taking the mirror with me.

My hair strings across my face, the wind keeping it in place. The branch I sit on is warm like the sun has heated it throughout the day. The inside wood alive with warmth and dance. The outside a lovely temperature for a comfy seat. The big branch I am sitting on is huge it's strength holding up my slouched and comfy body with ease. My feet dangle and swing underneath me. Every now and then a magpie chirps calling to others, the noise filling my heart with calm graceful notions as I imagine it gliding, soaring in the open, free air. I myself, am chained, chained to a place i don't want to be. My Parents, the leaders of the country, are having a meeting, again. Because I am their daughter and rightful heir I am extremely restricted and looked after. Wherever they go I go. But even that sometimes doesn't happen. Either way I am always restricted to where I can be. As I sit on a branch, the wind whistles and rustles in my ears. Every now and then leaves collide with the branches making a clicking sound. When I turn my head the wind flies past my ears with soft but full sound. The sound of enjoyment , the sound of freedom. When it finds a piece of bare skin it chills it and airs it. Making me shiver and pull my coat together at the front of my body. I see the silhouettes and the leaves clinging to their branches as the sway side to side and jump around with excitement as the wind combs their surfaces, sliding past them, giving them a soft feeling. I feel the bark under my hands is rough, but kind. I slide my finger over the wood and fell each little section belonging naturally to this beautiful tree. Being a part of its feel and look. Being who we are, we are always moving, but this, this place, is my real home. A simple homestead with the biggest tree weaving its way through the sky. The wind brushes up my legs, making each hair prickle with the excitement of freedom. The feel is fresh and soft. This is a beautiful place, probably my favourite in the world. Soon I will have to leave it, have to leave its calm air alone as I journey further into the untouched. I want to come back again one day. Feel the safety of its branches and the warmth of its trunk. Hopefully, one day, I will find this peaceful place again. Not only here, but in my heart as well.