Satiness

CHAPTER 2: The Endless World

CHAPTER 2: The Endless World

When I felt myself jerk to a landing, my vision was still black. The fuzziness took a while to clear. I looked around at my surroundings, and realised I was in a forest. It felt cold and dark, with trees reaching up to the sky and dozens of vines creeping along the ground. And the forest seemed to sparkle. I looked around for my backpack and spotted it behind a tree a little way in front of me. For the second time that day, my books had taken flight and scattered all over the place. I got up from where I had landed on the forest floor and walked over to my bag to gather them up.

"Would you like a hand?" A voice asked from behind me. I spun around and found myself facing someone. They wore a long cape with a hood. It was like the thing Little Red Riding Hood would wear, the cape her grandma made for her. Only the cape this person was wearing was a midnight dark blue instead of red. I couldn't see their face. The figure started towards me and I stepped back.

"You don't have to be afaird. I'm not going to hurt you," the figure said. The voice I heard sounded like a young girl's. But I couldn't find my own voice. I was scared. I didn't know whom I was facing, or where I was. So, I kept quiet and watched as the figure bent down to pick up my books and place them in my bag. After a moment of shock I did the same. Once all the books were inside my bag, I finally found my voice.

"Who are you?" I asked hesitantly.

"I was going to ask you the same," said the figure.

"Well, I asked first," I replied.

"My name is not your concern. To most I'm nobody and to nobody I'm somebody," came the cryptic response.

"That... that can't be your name. Please tell me," I said, confused by the riddle.

"I just did, my name is Nobody."

Okay, I thought, this person is crazy. That, or I am dreaming.

"So, what's your name?" Nobody asked.

"Why should I tell you?" I threw back.

"I told you mine. You should tell me yours because it's the polite thing to do."

"Um. I don't believe Nobody is a name." After an internal argument with myself over whether or not I should give her my name,I decided to go for it.

"My name... my name is," I faltered. I wanted to tell her the name I had always wanted people to call me.

"Lulu. My name is Lulu," I spoke in a rush.

I stared at the hooded figure, longing to see who was underneath. As though she had heard my thoughts, she lowered her midnight blue hood. Her straight jet black hair reached her waist, and her eyes were ice blue like the shimmering dress she wore underneath her cape.

"We need to get to the nearest village before nightfall," she said.

"I'm not going anywhere with 'Nobody'," I said, making quote marks in air. "I at least have to know your actual name."

"Right. We're just going in circles, so I'll tell you - my name is Breeze." Breeze hesitated, before adding, "But refrain from using my name too often; names can be dangerous."

Breeze turned and started walking towards my left. I looked up and saw the sun hanging low in that part of the sky. Clearly she had been here before. We started walking through the forest. As we walked, I couldn't help but look around me. The forest was strange but at the same time it somehow felt familiar, like I had been there before. Perhaps I had, in a dream, or perhaps it reminded me of something I had read. The forest never seemed to end, it looked like it went on forever.

"My feet hurt," I complained. It felt like we had been travelling for hours. "Can't we take a break?"

"No. There are things in this forest that would give you nightmares." Breeze looked at the descending sun. "It will be dark soon, we must get to the nearest town."

"You've already said that," I whined.

"You don't understand. These creatures stay clear of towns, and that's why we must hurry. We can't waste time resting. There will be time for rest later."

******

Having walked for hours, with my feet starting to feel like they were covered in blisters, I noticed the tops of buildings beginning to show. The walls of these structures were limestone white, and the roofs had crimson red tiles. Breeze had said this was the nearest village, but it looked more like a magnificent kingdom. It appeared to have been there for hundreds of years, going by how close it was to the forest cover. Breeze gazed thoughtfully at the city, and then turned to me. She sighed. "There's something you should know. This city, like the rest of this world, can be dangerous if you don't know the stories. I have one to tell you now."