Hope in Despair

The Other Side of the Coin

Forty-eight hours before Alistair took his final sleep; the midday Sun was hanging overhead. The landscape blanketed with powdery snow and thick pine trees that stood over 260 feet tall. The snow-covered limbs bent under pressure to the point that they were about to break. The only place that showed no signs of snow was beneath the coniferous army. The forest was so dense that if you stood underneath you couldn't see any sunlight.

In the air held a thick silence that looked to choke the sound from anything in its vicinity. Suddenly a noise came from the sky that sounded like that of a small bird. As if coming from the sun a blue image came swooping down toward the trees, getting closer to the mass of green the bird tilted its lower body forward and stretched out its talons. Flapping its wings the bird slowed itself down before landing on the tree limb.

Standing on the branch was a plump blue jay. The bird stood on the branch for a moment shifting its head and cawing. As if trying to call its mate the bird continued its call. After a couple of minutes, a blue blur coming from the right dived into the trees. The waiting blue jay started flapping his wings. The gust from his wings drove the snow to fly all around him. With the snow slightly covering him the bird flew over to where the other dove.

The two birds flew past a huge pine tree that was around 125 feet round and 274 feet tall. Inside the tree, we see a small living room about half the size of the tree and through a doorway to the right was a bedroom. Through the door, we see Ahala rise from her slumber. Her skin was a flat lavender purple while her eyes were a soft lilac with no visible pupil to them. The heavy-eyed girl had hair the color of a plum, and it moved around as if she was wading in a pool. Ahala's eyes were closed, while she contemplated about going back to sleep. Getting out of bed; all she wore was a white spaghetti strap top and blue and white striped panties. She stretched her arms up to the ceiling; this action caused her top to rise enough that her belly button had become exposed, and as she brought her arms down slowly the midriff vanished.

She opened the checkered curtains that separated her bedroom from the world. Outside the snow was lazily floating toward the ground, and at that point had accumulated to a foot. The once tired beauty gained a jolt of energy when she saw the frozen powder, that coated her home. Ahala opened the window and took in a deep breath of the crisp air. She lept out the window without a care about her skimpy attire, nor the thought of someone gaining a glimpse of her. She fell into the snow rolling around and enjoying the feeling of it against her skin. Ahala turned to lay on her back to gaze at the beauty of the sky.

The sky was a sight to behold and stole every thought that ran through the hyper girl's mind. Above was a soft mixer of dark to light grays with a bit white mixed into it. With every snowflake that touched Ahala's body, a slight shiver sent its way through. Suddenly a shadow engulfed the breathtaking view, that had enthralled Ahala.

What stood before her was a pale man with thick white quaffed hair. His face was narrow and covered with a wide black wool scarf. With a slender build, the man wore a white wool Penny jacket, light blue jeans, and tan boots, which were partially covered by snow. The gentleman's thin dark red eyes stared down at Ahala, waiting for her to get up. He pulled the scarf down, revealing his slender chin. Reaching out his right hand, that had a leather bracelet with a blue orb dangling from it. "Can we go inside Ahala. There are some things we need to discuss?" Ahala was still catching her breath, "Why don't you join me Shinto? The snow feels great." The man just looked at her with an annoyed look. She leaped forward with a handful of snow and planted it in Shinto's face. As the snow fell from his face Shinto's expression didn't change. With a deep annoyed tone, "Are you done?"

Ahala started skipping toward her unusual tree home. She placed two fingers on the trunk; a white light separated the tree and opened the unseen home of this wild girl. Shinto smelled the scent of ginger in the quaint dwelling. The main room was comprised of a small kitchen where you could clean dishes and perform prep work while the stove found itself in the middle of the room heating the vicinity. There were two rooms off of the main room one that led into the previous mention room, and the other to Ahala's bathroom. After they entered the tree, the entrance sealed itself. The main room had two redwood rocking chairs with patchwork quilts draped over them, and green velvet cushions rested on the seats.