As they ran through the forest, they could feel their lungs protesting at the rate they were going, but they couldn’t stop now. They couldn’t be caught, and they were so close now. They laughed, breathless, wind in their hair and rough ground beneath their feet.
They had stumbled a few times, bruises and scratches covering their small body, dirt all over their hands and bloody knees. It made them feel alive, now more than ever, ironically enough.
When they reached it, they gazed up at the tall mountain, and more importantly the cave at the base of it. It looked like a delightful place for a child to explore, but they knew better than that, they knew the legend. This was no place for a child, they thought giddily, and tumbled in anyways. They hummed a tune even they didn’t recognize, now skipping at a leisurely pace through the dampness and darkness that almost seemed to swallow them up. No one would be following them into a place like this.
They came across a gaping hole in the rocky floor that extended for several feet. The light barely touched it, giving them no way to tell what was down there as they kneeled in front of it, staring down into it curiously.
They tried to think of all the horrible things that could be down there, and swiped their hand at it as if they could touch it, and finally decided that knowing was better than daydreaming about it. They stood up, one leg at a time, and smiled as they breathed calmly before their demise, letting themselves fall into the abyss.
It wasn’t as painful as they thought it would be. In fact, it was rather like jumping onto a rather cushy bed. They also noted that they didn’t fall for as long as they thought they would. They slowly lifted themselves up, looking at the soft golden flowers that had broken their fall. How did they survive with so little light? Their thoughts were interrupted by a small gasp. They looked up to see…
