The Ashen Forest

The spark of curiosity is Lit

The auburn chimneys leaked ashen smoke, smoke that twirled and danced higher and higher until it mingled with the clouds. I lived in the quiet and secluded village called Clementine, right next to the Ashen Forest. The forest was filled with such mystery, and the simple thrill of living next to it gave me bursts of energy. The forest was surrounded by mountains and the one part that was not surrounded was covered by a massive man made wall or gate. It was a heavy cement wall with thick metal barriers that stood tall and grand. The sight was not for the faint-hearted, nor was the sound for that matter. Strange unheard of noises, gargles, and shrieks were heard from beyond the thick walls of rubish. Me and my brother Javier dreamed about the place and read thrilling stories by Valentine Englenton. He had seemed grand and magnificant in our eyes, the only known explorer to get out of Ashen Forest alive. He was 20 years old and was very competitive and energetic. He was very skilled as an adventurer, and you could tell in his eager honey brown eyes that exploring was his one and only true love.

"Javier! Diana!" Mother called from the kitchen, "Supper's nearly ready, please come set the table Diana!"

Me and my brother lived in a two story cozy house made mainly out of bricks. In our shared room the burgandy walls were covered with books, it was a bit cluttered for we were running out of space to put our prized collected objects. I hopped down the carpeted staires and joined my family. Father worked late at night and to my dismay, he was not there.

"Diana, have you done your chores young lady?" I inwardly groaned as I had not washed the dishes.

"Not all of them Mother." I said copying her cold voice.

"Not surprizing." She huffed and gave me the cold shoulder for the rest of the day as usual. I with held my anger and ignored her, she had always perfered Javier, it's like she hated the female type. After I had cleaned the table and washed the dishes i went up to my room and plopped onto my top bunk.

My sibling was the same age as me, 16. He had brown hair that swept up and large green eyes,  he was taller than me and the girls seemed to like him and hate him at the same time. They did not like him as much as they liked Valentine Englenton though. Valentine (or Val) had this great energy and it was as if he emitted rays of sunlight from him. He was very passionate and extremely smart, he was also a poet.  I thought that was pretty cool since I have tried to write poetry as well.  Luckly, me and my brother were good friends with Mr. Englenton so we were the envy of many kids.