The Woods (unfinished)

Chapter 5

An emerald green eye stared at me so hard it seared a hole through my head and stared into my brain, as if reading my thoughts. A white, bony hand with elegant fingers clutched the tree. I gulped and gripped on to my own tree.

Slowly a head appeared around the tree and a pale face peered at me, with ragged, deep red curls tumbling down her back. She then stepped forward. She was small, and very pale, with bright, penetrating green eyes and wild hair. She had on a loose, white cotton dress that swirled elegantly around her like a mini whirlwind, and in her hand she clutched some of the pink flowers I loved.

I blinked; was this real? Some stranger in the woods, pale skin almost transparent, ghost-like, coming towards me? I blinked again. Yup, real. I swallowed, throat drying up.

"Hello", the girl whispered, smiling slightly, showing rows of straight, pearly teeth

.

"Erk!" I managed to croak out. (Good one, Gemma!) I tried again, clearing my throat. "Who are you?" I found myself enquiring, more succesfully (hurray!)

"I am... Amber." The girl smiled. "You?"

"G-Gemma. Gemma Jones."

"Cool!" She grinned, settling her self down in front of me, avoiding the little pink flowers.

"I love these flowers. Aren't they cute? They're called True Baby Stars. The name suits them perfectly."

"I love them too!" I beamed.

Wow. It looked like I had made my first ever friend. 

*********

 "Daniel. Be careful. Don't fall." Amber instructed her brother as she padded soflty through the woods, dress swirling.

The little boy just grinned mischeviously, eyes sparkling, the same dazzling green as his sisters. He gripped on the the tree, scrambling up like a monkey. He had dark, long hair and mud smeared skin, young and fresh under all the grubbiness.

We'd been wandering around the woods for around an hour, Amber treading softly barefoot on the moss, Daniel leaping athletically from tree to tree, and me, tiptoeing about, dodging the little pink flowers - True Baby Stars. I grinned. 

"So... where did you say you two lived?" I queried. Amber looked away. "Oh, um, not far... from here... other side of the woods."

I frowned. I'd never explored the other side of the woods. To me, the green haven seemed to stretch on forever, moss  carpet stretching on endlessly.

"You?" Amber asked, snapping me out of my wandering mind.

"Oh! Um, yeah. I live a couple of streets away from the entr- one of - the entrances to the woods."

She nodded. We continued our conversation, wandering around the obstacles of trees, rambling. I learned from our rambling, that her and her brother went to a school out of town, they had a cat, lived in a terraced house, had a Mum and Dad, and their ages. Amber was 14, Daniel 8.

I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the suns' rays bore onto my eyelids. Suddenly the rays were blocked by a shadow, and I had a sudden sense of deja vu.

"Was it you? Yesterday, in the woods, near me?" I suddenly blurted.

Amber looked startled. "Um, yeah? I saw you yesterday,  but... I didn't think you saw me- sorry, I ... you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you."

I smiled brightly. "It's fine", I chirped. At least I knew it wasn't a stalker, or something... 

I looked up, through the trees and leaves to the sky, a deep, rich peach, with streaks of orange and mauve smeared across the sky. With a gasp, I realised how late it was. 

"Ah, I erm, I've got to go now." 

Amber just nodded.

"See you... soon? Do you come here a lot?"

"We - yes. Yes. Tomorrow?"

I grinned, and kept that grin plastered on my my face as I bounded my way out of the forest, dodging the True Baby Stars.

*****

Okay, end of Chapter 5, sorry it's short, will try to make them longer as it gets further into the plot... if you are actually reading this, thank youuuu, please vote - if you want to ;) - and comment your thoughts :) thank you kind people :-)  please  stick with this story... I know it's not too good, but hopefully it will get better, this is just the beginning ;-)