Miss Cloudwalker (COMPLETED BUT MAJOR EDITING)

Chapter 6

Hikikomori: someone who suffers from social anxiety

I was looking for Alora. I peered around the snowball bush. Where was she? I had been searching for twenty minutes to no prevail. Discouraged, I slumped down into the long grass. I sighed and stretched out my legs. The sky was gray today with multiple clouds filling it. The sun was a white beam hidden behind the white fluffs as it slowly set behind the hills.

I sat quietly, listening and looking at everything around me. I could rush water somewhere nearby and the slow rustling of leaves from a strong breeze. The grass cast long shadows as the sun cut horizontally across it. Birds cried into the sky and hibiscus flowers closed as evening arrived. Mirabilis and tuber roses bloomed as the half moon rose.

There was a weird sensation of cold in my veins, but I didn't feel cold. I felt warm and at home. The gray sky darkened slowly to a black, the lack of polychromatic colors flooding the sky was daunting.

The night sky eventually quieted down as birds and animals settled down. The chirping of crickets was barely noticeable in my slight daze. I fell back into the grass, loving the fact that it was longer than me. It stretched up over my head and tickled the sides of my face. They swayed side to side.

My shirt rode up my body and the chilly air tickled my stomach. I breathed in and out deeply. I felt only tranquility around me, moving through my anatomy at a steady pace. I knew I belonged in this world, where everything was a beautiful movement.

My eyes darted to the sky as a black cloud swarmed into the sky. Bats filled the starry canvas, their crooked flight a magnificent dance. They disappeared from view and I was face to face with the countless stars in the sky. I sighed, it was luminous.

Something crashed in the distance. I sat up quickly and glanced over my shoulder where the sound had come from. At first, there was nothing and then a bright white flare shot into the sky. I watched, mesmerized, wondering what was going on.

I scampered to my feet and moved through the grass. I continued to walk, staring at the white line that arced across the sky. It was quickly faded and I burst into a run. My bare feet moved with ease through the soft grass.

I paused when I came to a creek bed. I stared at the black water that reflected the moon for a second, then I decided to cross. It was frigid as I pressed my feet into it and moved across. I trudged across the muddy bank on the other side and to the top of the hill.

I stared down, shocked to see a mess of rubble and wood. Smoke was curling up into the sky and everything was creaking and groaning. I could to the white streak dipping right behind it. Something in my mind told me not to, that it was better to back away, but my curiosity took the reins.

I walked forward and pressed my hand up against a cement pillar. It was blazing hot, steam rose up off it. I flinched away and looked around. I didn't see a sign of life, just this mess. I maneuvered through the smoking pieces.

Thud! I paused when I heard the sound of something, heavy and meaty, falling. I walked around a pile of wood and sat a weird shape outlined by the white stuff floating in the air. It was a tall man from the sights of it. He was wearing red and was crouched over something.

I opened my mouth, about to say something, when something crashed into me.

I fell to the ground and found that it was someone. Alora stared down at me, her blue eyes wide and breaths coming in short gasps. I tried to sit, but she pushed she tightly into the ground. She rolled down beside me and kept an arm on my chest to stop me from moving.

She kept looking at the pile of cement that we were behind, staring at the man that was there. We heard the sound of footsteps moving away and Alora let out a long-held breath. She sat up and turned to me.