Emboss

Chapter One

Today felt like a normal day.

Well, it wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, it started out as normal than most days. I woke up, made me and my sister breakfast, and sat down on the ledge by my window. The great mystery of our society was still rumbling off somewhere, yet to stop its prowl for the day for anyone breaking the rules. This was normal now, the rumbling of the thing every night, and has been since before I was born, when my parents

"Genevieve, they're almost he-ere!" a shrill voice called, which could only be my sister. She is the only morning person I've ever known, and she wakes up with nearly perfect black bouncing curls, and a big smile. Her looks made up for her acts.

I simply make a little nod. I had to act now, or it was probably going to be never. Cal and his brother were on their way here, like any other day. My plans for today were a bit different though, but I wasn't going to let them know that. While thinking about my plan for today, the rumbles of the mystery had died down to nothing, which meant I was somewhat safe if I went outside. I stand from my perch on the window, taking off my night clothes and putting on pants and a light sweater, plus a pair of good walking shoes, and grabbing my backpack of various things I might need. I head to the front door, turning the knob, while I heard Nevaeh clinking her fork and knife on her plate while eating. She pauses when the door opens.

"Where are you going?" she asks, but she doesn't look to see. I relax a bit of the tension that had gathered.

"I'm going to go around back for a little, Neveah," I call out, slipping out of the front door, and walking around to the back. After a few minutes, I start my walk away from the house, and towards the edge of the forest.

Our society has changed a lot in the last 25 years. It went from a normal, safe place to live, where everyone lived happily until our oversights thought otherwise. They wanted to make our society a safer, more rule-driven place to live. So, they invented this thing that would do something to those who didn't follow the rules. To this day I still don't know what exactly this thing is, or exactly what it does, but I do know it's dangerous. It has taken a lot from the people around us, and me, too. It took my parents and Cal's parents. I think about all of this as I walk- away from my house, my simplistic life, and turn this into a not so normal day. It's rare for me to get outside because everything can be done easily from homeschool, shopping, and most of our communication. The only thing we went out for was to go buy food, and new clothing when we needed it. That was opposite of the forest though, so I never had a chance to explore near there. 

That's why I made the choice to be risky today, and walk to the edge of the woods. I needed this fun adventure to do, to distract me from the boring days we conjured with school and movies. The woods were so close to my home, maybe only 20 yards or so, and yet in the 16 years I lived in this home I never went to explore them. They were considered dangerous, since the mystery lived there, lurking when night came, and resting when day rose over the horizon.

Even from the edge of the forest, I could see all the beauty is hidden inside, and how it rose up into the sky, nearly disappearing from sight. I carefully edge in, trying not to destroy the perfect green and brown below my feet, while admiring the height of the trees, and the beautiful song coming from all around me. This is something I haven't experienced in so long, making it feel so new. I begin to walk carefully into the forest, until I'm a safe distance from the edge but not too far into the forest. Ready to discover this new adventure, I sat in the green and brown- the grass and dirt- and crossed my legs. The rumbles were still far away, so I took time to admire the complexity of the forest. I noticed things flying through the sky, only small specks to me. I try to figure out what they could be, following them around with my eyes and listening to their songs. Soon, I lost track of time and place, and felt like part of the forest, my eyes closing and my fingers running through the soft blades of grass.