Amerie set off to the lake. She peered around at the forest as she went, and naturally, the forest peered back. Everywhere she walked, she swore she heard flowers gossiping and brambles sneering. She stopped dead in her tracks, took a deep breath, and called out as politely as she could.
“Hello there! I’m Amerie. I know you know me already, but I thought it would be good manners to introduce myself. I’m really very sorry if I did anything to hurt or offend you in the human realm. We can talk, if you like. I’d love to be friends!”
Dead silence.
Amerie sighed. She tread carefully forward, not really knowing what was alive alive or just alive anymore. Amerie didn’t know whether twigs were the latter or the former, so tread in small light steps forward to prevent herself from stepping on any and snapping it in half. It would have been helpful if they could call out to her and let her know whether they were alive or not, but it seemed that for whatever reason the wood (bar Grandmother Lyndzei) was giving her the silent treatment. It’s kind of odd, Amerie thought, Yesterday I wouldn’t have thought twice about stepping on a twig, but if I did that now I’d probably feel guilty for the rest of the day.
She had been overthinking so much that she had actually very nearly stepped on a twig but it rolled out of the way just in time. Well, that answers that question. Amerie huffed, Why won’t the forest speak to me? She had expected the other trees to be at least a little more welcoming, but they just watched her with their silent, grave eyes. Amerie felt just as self-conscious as when she would sometimes arrive late to lessons and the whole class just stared at her. She fidgeted with her hands but her sticky fingers just made her feel more awkward.
Even though the walk to the lake was short, it felt like it had taken forever. The lake in the human realm was pretty enough on sunny days, but this lake…
Grandmother Lyndzei had said that the water of this lake was cleaner, but it wasn’t just that. It was pristine. The whole forest sparkled and shimmered, but this lake stood out for the very fact that it didn’t. The water was so clear that Amerie could see the chinks of starlight that reached all the way to the bottom of the lake. It was so pure and somehow honest. Amerie blinked and considered that some of the stardust might have gotten to her brain as it now seemed she was attributing a moral character to a body of water.
Amerie knelt down by the lake and placed her hands in the water. It felt cool and fresh. She was about to rub and rinse off the berry juice but looked on in amazement as she realised she didn’t have to. The water soothingly drifted around her hands, drawing the sticky stains off her hands and peacefully purified itself. Not even ten seconds had passed, but Amerie felt a feeling of calm and content seep through her. The embarrassment she had been feeling moments ago seemed to ebb out of her.
She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling and listening to the stillness of the lake. Then a voice. But it was strange. Amerie didn’t feel like she had heard the voice. It felt like a voice had flowed into her. From her pulse, through her veins, to her heart.
“When you feel your tears
Cry them here.”
That was all that it said. But it was enough to make Amerie’s heart feel full.
She had been desperate for the forest to speak to her. She had felt so uncomfortable and out of place. Lost and unwanted. But now that voice made her feel that it didn’t matter. Everything would happen when it was supposed to. She was found.
Every time Amerie cried, she felt foolish and ashamed. She felt weak and cowardly. All of her tears were shed on her pillow because she hated the idea of anyone seeing her cry. But that voice had given her a place and permission to cry. Until this moment, Amerie hadn’t known how much that was something she craved.
So when Amerie walked proudly back to the clearing, she felt it in her pulse, her veins, her heart.
She felt brave.
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