Submission (#1812) Approved

Getting lost, trees, night, self doubt

hope the sharing access is right this time!! (if not, copied and pasted below)

Trees. An endless sea of trees surrounded him. The wind stirred, making the long tall figures peering down around him creak and limbs sway. Sylph inhaled deeply, the cool air sharp in his throat as he lifted the lantern higher. The narrow beam of orange light cut a warm swathe through his snowy surrounds.

How had he gotten here? One moment he had been following the well marked trail he had made for himself and the next he was alone and…

Lost.

He was lost.

Nothing was familiar but nothing was distinctive. The pine trees all looked the same. The snowy ground, uniform.

Terror emerged, an ambush predator, from deep within his gut.

You’re lost and all alone. No one even knows you’re out here. You’re too stupid to figure out how to get back. How many times have you gotten yourself lost now? You’re just a hassle to everyone else. No wonder you don’t have any friends.

Kneeling down in the snow, Sylph wrapped an arm around himself. The shadows seemed deeper and darker. In the distance a night bird cried out, the sound mournful.

All he wanted was to get home and curl up by the fire with a cup of tea and a book. Why had he decided to take a walk so late at night?

Sniffing, he wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes. No, no he couldn’t give in. He had to get home, he had to find his way out of the forest. Yes, he had been lost before but he had always managed to find his way back home.

Picking himself up, Sylph turned in a circle.

Think. Think. You got yourself here and you can get yourself out.

Looking up, Sylph watched as a cloud slid overhead to reveal a fragment of the night sky. Bright specks of light, arrayed in dazzling patterns, shone in his eyes. Constellations, cold and distant but…familiar.

Something familiar.

A slow tentative smile managed to break out across Sylph’s face. The stars would be his guide home.

“That one there…yes, yes that star, that makes…” Sylph muttered to himself as he waded through the thick snow, flecks of it sticking to his fur.

Not daring to look away from the stars, Slyph slowly wound his way through the labyrinth of trees until finally, a distant speak of orange set the flame of hope in his breast alight.

Firelight! Warm and inviting, it pushed away the last vagaries of fear that had infected his blood. Picking up speed, Sylph ran, his lantern clanging loudly at his side. A pile of snow caught him but with a flick of his long tail he managed to stay upright.

Increasingly, his surroundings became familiar. That tree with the carving of a butterfly on it. The lantern he had hung at the start of the forest path. Then, finally, his cottage.

The relief was the final push of energy he needed to run across his little cottage path and to the door. Opening the door, Sylph stepped inside, his breath rising and falling rapidly.

“I-I did it…I found my way home…”

Reward	Amount
Pouch of Shells	1
Gold	1