The Hammock

Chapter 1

The sun is beginning to get lower in the sky, the light deeper, The pinks and oranges and reds and blues mix together into beauty that is far beyond words. I creep out of my house and into the forest next to it. I finally come to the grassy clearing with the big old tree in the middle. The tree is old and has seen a lot.

I see on the tree, between two big, sturdy branches, is my hammock, the one I made a year ago out of an old blanket. It is about five feet in the air and can be accessed by climbing a nearby branch.

I walk up to the tree, hop on the accessing branch, and jump in the hammock. I kick off my sandals and hear them hit the ground with a thump.

I relax in my blue hammock and look up at the sky. I begin to quietly sing a small tune that I made up while rocking in the hammock.

My, my, my hammock rocks,

All day long,

Through the boughs of the forest

I see the setting sun. 

I sing this short verse a few times and them simply hum its tune. I push on a nearby branch and my hammock rocks in time to the tune of the verse. I hum the verse a few more times before singing it once more, ever so quietly as I grow more and more sleepy.

Just as the last word escapes my mouth, barely audible, I slip smoothly out of consciousness. blackness descended from the sky gently upon me and slowly all sign of light disappears.

My name is Charlotte Galilee. I am 12 years old and I was alone, wandering around the infinite blackness.

No one could save me, only my own will.