I'm Sorry, Stefan

Chapter 1

A boy walks alone in a forest, the leaves on the trees falling to the ground, smothering the grass with a sea of yellow and orange. The boy’s young, his face still round and his stature short. His hands are folded smartly behind his back; his head is down, watching the ground. He walks silently; the crunching of dry leaves beneath his feet is the only sound in the quiet forest. He walks towards a river, more specifically, the old, twisted, knobbly tree by the bank of the river. It’s full of holes and low, sturdy branches; it’s the easier tree to climb. A girl waits for him there, her eyes impatient.

The girl has pigtails, high on her head, red curls spinning down from each one, bouncing as she moves. Her face is round, and pale, with green eyes that shine with excitement and laughter. The boy seems calmer, he smiles and laughs, but he seems more relaxed, more able to stand still that the girl that runs and skips and jumps and seems to never stop. He has blond hair, almost white in the sunlight, and pale blue eyes.

“There you are!”  The girl calls as he walks into view. He raises his hand in her direction, smiles at her, and then jogs over, to stand next to her and the tree. The two children stare up, into the highest branches, thinking.

The girl takes a daring leap, stretching her fingertips high to reach the lowest branch of the tree. She just grabs it, her small fist wrapped around the rough bark, and, muscles straining, she pulls herself up. The boy watches in awe, smiling, as she reaches for the next branch, using the trunk as a foothold, and pushes herself up higher.

“Come, on Stefan,” the girl says impatiently “what are you waiting for?” She waves the boy up, motioning for him to come join her. The boy shrugs, and pulls himself up after her. She makes it to the top first, nimbly scaling the tree like a squirrel, right to the thin, uppermost branches, where she looks out, awestruck, at the ground so far beneath her. The boy pulls himself up next to her panting from the climb. He looks around, and smiles.

“It’s so pretty,” he whispers. The girl is smiling to. From the top of that tree, it felt like they could see the world. The brightly colors trees stretched out below them, like a carpet of orange. Off to the right, their neighborhood stood, small and intimate, outside the boundaries of the trees.

“Look!” the girl cries, pointing towards the collection of houses, looking miniscule from far away.

“Home,” the boy adds, his voice quiet. The two children stare for a while, looking around in silence. Then, the girl says

“I like it up here.” Her eyes are wide, her hands tightly clenched around the tree branch as she stares down.

“You’re not scared?” Asks the boy nervously, looking down, to the ground that now so far away, biting his lip and furrowing his eyebrows. The girl laughs and shakes her head, grinning at the boy with affection.

“Of course not. There’s nothing to be afraid of, Stefan.” The girl comforts him, still smiling. The boy rolls his eyes, but seems less nervous, as he looks up, and smiles. They stand, high in the tree, the wind whistling in their ears, for several seconds. Then, without warning, the girl drops from the branch she was standing on, and begins to descend leaping and dropping dangerously from branch to branch on the way down.

The by, surprised by her sudden descent, follows more slowly, making his way down carefully, watching his footholds and handholds, always safe. Maya waits for him at the bottom of the tree, hands on her hips. He lands with a soft thump on the grass beside her.

“Why did you go down?” he asks her, curious. “I thought you liked it up there.” Maya thinks for a second, and then shrugs. She turns away from him, and begins to walk away, back towards their small neighborhood. The boy follows her, a couple paces behind her, and the two children walk home together, quiet. When they reach the neighborhood, the girl turns on the boy.

“Will I see you tomorrow? By the tree?” she asks her eyes hopeful. Stefan is taken aback, but pleased. He nods and smiles happily.

“Sure.” At his word Maya turns and races down the street before entering one of the houses, abandoning Stefan in the street without another word. He walks home slowly, contemplating.

They were almost never seen apart. They were as close as siblings, the best of all friends. They were close throughout their childhood years, but when high school came, it was the first time they were separated. Maya ended up in a premier school for girls, the high achiever kind of school, the preppy one, with uniforms. Stefan ended up is a specialized sports program, for the jocks.

But still, their friendship strived. They would meet after school, by the little tree they played in as kids. Sot they stayed close.

But Maya had secrets. The kind that would give people chills, send shivers up your spine. The kind that you couldn’t even tell your best friend. The kind that would send someone over the edge

Okay, I know this chapter is lame, but I needed something to warm up to the next chapter. That’s when things get exciting, I promise :D.

If you like it so far, vote, comment, or fan! It makes me happy when you do.

-purplecat