She always felt as though she wasn't supposed to be where she was at the moment except for when her eyes were closed and the world around her dissolved from greys and blacks into greens and blues.
And once her hand met his, she knew that she was one...
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CLARISSE RAN through the jungle as she usually did, with the palm leaves brushing against her arms and the wind tossing her golden tendrils of hair all around her. The smell of dirt and humid air filled her with the usual comfort and excitement as she dodged a bush and looked up to the clear sky that was adorned with perfectly shaped clouds.
She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she was heading somewhere. Seeming to have an infinite amount of stamina, she tirelessly slowed down to a normal walk and trekked through the jungle, the sun setting and bringing colors of lavender and coral to the never-ending sky above. Clarisse then focused on the darkened tree bank around her, a certain glow making itself known in the far distance where the jungle turned into forest. The usual pull in her chest that she started to trust guided her forward, the glow slowly seeming closer.
As she made her way, Clarisse felt a strong gust of air pass her from above. She froze and quickly looked up to find the source, but nothing was there. She thought it must've been a bird and was about to shrug it off as usual, but then a laugh sounded from behind her, making her turn around to chase the source of the sound. But again, she couldn't find anyone around her. She turned away from the glow she initially followed, her curiosity setting her on a different path, but a distant voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Turn around, Clarie... keep going..."
The voice sounded so familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. No one called her Clarie, first of all, and the voice belonged to a boy. She didn't know any...
She did know one boy.
"Peter?" She shuddered out in question, hoping to hear his voice again, hoping to quench her curiosity.
"Keep going!"
His voice exclaimed distantly from behind her, seemingly coming from the glow in the forest that she initially was taken by.
With new vigor, she briskly made her way towards the glow, desperate to find out what laid behind it. But the closer she got, the brighter the glow had gotten. Twigs snapped under her bare feet as she sped up to a jog, her confusion turning to slight fear.
"Peter?" Clarisse exclaimed in question, wanting to see him, wanting his presence to calm her with its familiarity. His response still came from the glow but still seemed distant, as if Clarisse wasn't getting any closer.
"You're almost there, Clarie..."
Her breathe puffed out in pants, the jungle getting darker and the glow getting brighter, slowly blinding her.
"I can't find you, Peter!" She stumbled towards the glow in an anxious stupor, the familiar fear of abandonment creeping back into her heart.
"Come on, you're so close...!"
Clarisse tripped over herself, falling to the forest floor, grasping at the dirt below her, frustrated and terrified tears making their way down her eyes, "I can't see you!"
