Ever Fall [✔️ 2016]

Chapter 4

Timothy sighed and sat down on the ground in frustration. The odd sound had stopped.

He's been shuffling forwards, careful not to make any noise to scare off the "mew-mew-mew."

Why was it named that, anyway? It was such a ridiculous name. Timothy decided he would give it a new name when he saw it, something better than "mer-ma-mew." Steve was a nice name.

Maybe that was why it scared people. It didn't like it's name so it scared off people so they wouldn't laugh at it or give it an even stupider name. Would it like Steve? He didn't see anything wrong with it, but decided that he would ask it first.

But then, the sounds he was following had stopped and he was left without any direction as to where it'd come from after a bit more walking. Had he scared it off already? Pride swelled in his chest despite his saddness at finding something he could perhaps use to scare the doctor away with for good. He knew he was a big boy and here was proof! He'd scared off a grown-up monster. How much tougher could he get? If he could overcome adult fears, not much. They were so mighty already, especially his father.

"Who are you?"

Timothy was startled from his thinking by a small, delicate voice that came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It startled him so much, in fact, that he stumbled over a tree root behind him and fell back to land on his bottom, then back. He lay there, dazed.

And that's when, with his gaze cast upwards, he saw what looked to be a small, bare foot swinging back and forth. Attached to that foot was a leg and to that leg, a person.

A person?!

How could there be another person in his forest? Timothy jumped up- a process that took some time due to his weakened body and slow movements. Soon, though, he was standing again to look up at the girl that was sitting on a wide branch above him.

"Well?"

Her gaze was one of innocent curiosity, her face of porcelain youth like that of what Timothy would think to be the appeal of a young angel. She was very pretty with curly, red hair that reached down to her waist and a green dress on that reached to her mid thigh maybe.

How old was she? 9? 10?

"Are you just going to stand there, gawking at me, or are you going to speak? You aren't a mute, are you?"

Timothy shook his head, embarassed at someone other than his father catching him daydreaming about other things then the situation at hand.

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Then speak for heaven's sake."

Timothy didn't want to annoy the girl to where she went away. He didnt want to annoy her at all. That wasn't a good emotion to have, so he didnt want to be the cause of it.

"My name is Timothy," he said finally, though his voice sounded so frail and weak compared to hers.

"What are you doing here?"

"This is my forest," he said, perplexed by her questions.

She laughed at his reply.

"How? I've never seen you before!"

"I've never seen you, either," he shot back. Was she insinuating that the forest wasn't his? He'd lived here his whole life!

"Well then, how about we share the forest?" she suggested, giggling playfully from where she was looking down at him.

"Here." She dropped down from the branch, landing lightly on the ground, which surprised Timothy. She didn't even stir a leaf. "My name's Sophie."

She held out her hand and the boy just looked at it. The doctor would do that to his father when he arrived and left. After grabbing his hand, he'd always shake it. Timothy didn't want to be like the doctor, but he didn't want to seem rude, either, so he took her hand and gently held it. That wasn't like the doctor, but wasn't rude, either.

"Nice to meet you, Sophie," he said, feeling a little strange at it all. All this time, he'd thought he was the only one who'd enjoyed the forest, his father more concerned with organizing his papers. Who'd have thunk that he'd meet another person out here, so deep in the woods, and such a pretty person at that?

Then her voice snapped Timothy out of another of his rabbit trails.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Timothy."