She was staring into the sun.
One so large, one so red and bright that she felt like she could touch; that if she fell, she would've been enveloped by the scale of it all. But she wasn't afraid.
She leaned in, and then back. Swayed, almost, at the radiating heat of it all, like a beat to a rhythm. The warmth enveloped her like a hug; the rays that shone in her eyes were a shade of yellow-orange—not blinding, but... calm. Blissful.
All around her, there were sounds, but they were only echoes, echoes of memories, of a past she couldn't care less of. It was only her, and the bliss, and so she closed her eyes and felt.
A sound echoed in front of her. Direct, clearer than most, and Madi's eyes opened. But it was garbled; like they were speaking from under water. And so, with one long last look into the serene sun, Madi turned her eyes away from the dusk; and listened.
''Madi...'' there was a voice in the haze. ''Madi, wake up...'''
She opened her eyes, and saw the face of a concerned Carl staring back at her. Panic, panic, sheer panic filled her mind, but she forced herself to calm down. Get away from me! was on the tip of her tongue, until she saw Carl's face.
Carl seemed visibly relieved. ''Thank god, Madi,'' he breathed out, as he poured out something into a bottle cap. Then, he held it out to her, and Madi's brow furrowed. ''Here, drink.''
She felt confused, but nevertheless took the bottle cap gratefully and drank. What had happened? One moment she was in the forests, and the next moment she was... here, being taken care of in Carl's cave. She didn't remember anything. ''W-what happened?''
And now this time, it was Carl's brow that was furrowed. ''You don't remember?'' he said, and when Madi looked even more confused than before: ''I found you in the forests, Madi. Sprawled out on the ground like you were some sleepin' angel. Saw you while I was walkin' out 'fer...'' he trailed off, then cleared his throat. ''Y-you don't remember?'' he repeated again, confusion written on his face.
With that, Madi bolted from the makeshift bed. Felt for her surroundings; she was in a cave, felt for her weapons, supplies, felt for the bow she had with her. And it was with a frown she glanced at Carl and asked: ''W-where's my... bow?''
If Carl couldn't look even more confused, he did. ''What bow?''
Madi's voice became apprehensive. ''I-I had a bow with me when I...'' she trailed off. Wondered if fainted or collapsed was the right word or would've worried him more.
But Carl shook his head, gazed at Madi again almost sadly. Did he think she'd gone crazy? ''There was no bow when I found you, Madi.'' he stated slowly like he thought she was crazy but decided to go slow in a hope for her to regain her senses.
Madi's head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. There was nothing, and yet there was something. She knew it, she saw it in the forests, a shadow, a slender figure, a flash of brown...
Carl caught her distress, and his concern seemed to elevate. ''Hey...'' he began, soothingly. ''... you might've been seeing things before, but you're okay now. You're safe. Alright?'' he said, but Madi didn't seem to hear him.
Shadows, shadows, dancing in the woods. A flash of brown, a slender figure... but was it all in her head? Was she just hallucinating, was Carl right, was she just seeing things? The thought knotted her stomach, and she suddenly felt very queasy.
And then, as her stomach tightened and the subject rested heavily in her mind, her eyes travelled across the cave, as she tried to forget about it. But then, her brow furrowed, because she vaguely remembered it being a LOT less bare.
