Never Walk Alone

Chapter 1

     I sat down on the bedrocks by the damp, muddy ground overlooking the small pond. A few radiant green plants sprung up around the edge of the water and tickled my ankles as I watched tiny droplets of sprinkling rain fall around me. No storm yet, I reminded myself. I had about an hour's tops. But that was all I needed. The overcast sky was gloomy and gray, but dark gray clouds sprung from the surface of it like rolling waves. It was beautiful, and I wasn't going to pass this chance up. I wore my bright red rain boots that I had gotten for my previous birthday and fallen in love with them. They obviously hadn't been cheap, and they worked like a charm. The rain droplets that fell about every thirty seconds would slide right off. But mud clotted the toes of my boots and would stain them if I didn't eventually clean them off. Getting bored, I sat up and slid down to the very edge of the pond. I slipped my first boot in, then my second; and soon after my whole body was covered in mud and pond water. I splashed it into my hair and onto my face. The gentle cool gave me a perfect sense of hot and cold. Becoming a little more careless about how I looked, I flopped down into the bottom of the pond. The cold rushed to meet me, but after a few minutes, I had settled in. The pine trees surrounding me dropped needles in my hair. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. There couldn't be a more perfect scenario. How could you ever get bored doing this every day? You see, my house has this big forest in the back where every beautiful thing on Earth has come down to be in. I've found many different tree bridges with just the right amount of moss, humongous rocks to climb up, a medium sized waterfall, and this pond. And at night, the thousands of stars in this area would gleam brightly under a dark purple sky. It was breathtaking, and it was mine. I jumped out of my daydreams when I heard the thunder rumbling. Grabbing my stuff, I began to take the long jog back up to my house. Rain began to pour overhead and soak through my skin impossibly more than it already was. With goosebumps covering my body, I ran through the back door and slipped inside. Water droplets in my hair dripped onto the floor as my mom and dad came in to view me.
"You're a complete mess," joked my dad.
"Why don't you go clean yourself up? You missed supper, by the way,"
I gave an apologetic grin and ran to the shower. Mud tracks were left in my place and Mom gave a huge sigh.
"I'll clean it up!" I assured her from behind the bathroom door. As I washed, I thought about the forest and how it would smell rain-laden and fresh when I got to it tomorrow.