3067. The year when the last forest was destroyed. The year when Kate Marsh died. Or should have. Little did she know that the government had plans that would ensure she was trapped in the land of the 'living' forever.
The mere mention of the fo...
It was for the 5th time that he'd been woken by this sound and it was barely even dawn.
He rubbed his head, trying to ease the throbbing and the disturbing memory of what he had seen the night before. The hard wooden flooring pressed splinters into his back like the jab of annoying friend- soon to become an acquaintance.
He turned away from the window, for he could barely see anything out of it anyway. He came face to face with Kate, with her eyes closed and sleeping peacefully. He could see the movement of her eyes beneath her lids and he wished that he could close his too. To sleep without the crippling fear that accompanied Tom's lack of mental control.
Tom tried to fall into a slumber like Kate had but he couldn't mirror the rise and fall of her chest like he used to do because it was non-existent. She was frozen, gripped by an icy breathlessness like he was.
Being in the boathouse with Kate reminded Tom of their times spent with Jasmine and Flynn. The children's plot to find the Last Forest was first derived within these slowly collapsing wooden walls.
In the beginning the idea that trees still existed felt like momentary static in the children's minds, colourless and without a clear form or truth.
But the more they researched from the book Tom had acquired, dubiously through his brother, the more the black and white dots of static in their mind morphed to form definite slender branches, flowing into oval shaped leaves. The water parched land they were used to grew carpets of luxurious grass in their brains, that Tom imagined would shine a silvery gold in the sun ( Law 4: No water that touches human hands must touch the ground in case of accidental growth.)
As children do, they had become blinded to the dangers of the world in their youth.
Jasmine Belewa had shared Tom's passion for what was prohibited in the Lake District. She felt particularly at one with the flowers they'd seen in those books of Tom's. Her favourites were the ones that looked like frozen fireworks- mid burst and brightly coloured. Lilies, they were once named.
When Tom imagined the nature they'd seen in the forest it calmed him.
Though Tom cursed when he realised what danger he was putting himself in by picturing that forest. He was becoming consumed by it all again - by the want to see nature.
Hauling himself into the present, he re-focused his eyes. His blurry vision un-fogged and pieced together Kate' face again- her eyes were now wide open. Tom flinched in surprise.
"Hey!" said Kate, a little too loudly for his liking.
"Ugh," Tom groaned. "Ephemeral."
"What are you on about?" said Kate, stretching under the blanket.
"The peace and quiet. It's ephemeral." Tom wondered why he was even trying to explain anymore. "It means short lasting." Kate rolled her eyes. "Here, why don't you go back to sleep!" Tom insisted, from the onset of drunken tiredness.
He shoved the blanket over her face and pretended to smother her. Kate fake screamed before kicking Tom away and pulling the blanket from around her head.
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