I still remember the details of the first time I left the house on my own. Opening that door for the first time with bated breath and stepping out into an unknown light without anyone beside me. A strong sense of independence filled me up as I took a strong step out to a world outside of the small field I had lived in…
…and immediately tripped on the roots of a large tree.
Brushing off the leaves and dirt from my hands and jeans, I stood up and opened my eyes to an ever-expanding forest. Overgrown leafy foliage stretched out across the floor and covered the ground in a green hue. All around, large tree trunks erupted from the ground and exploded into the sky, creating a green canopy from which rays of light shot down to illuminate the outstretching land. Other than the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze, the only other thing I could hear was the soft chirping of far away birds. Each step I took let out a soft crunch as leaves and vines gave way to me when I began to move out into the forest.
Seeing a forest wasn’t anything special, I suppose. I had been out of the house before—father took me out sometimes when I got bored, and he always showed me pictures of the places he visited. That being said, standing all alone in a new place filled me with a feeling I couldn’t really describe. A mile long smile spread across my face as I skipped through the forest without a care in the world.
Then, I heard a crunch of leaves that didn’t come from me. My body froze in place. And that warm feeling of joy quickly skittered away to make room for a creeping fear that shackled me to the ground. I turned my head as quietly as possible, looking towards where I heard the noise and coming face to face with nothing. The silence that followed was accompanied only by the chirping of birds beneath the beating of my heart. After what felt like hours, another crunch resonated from behind the tree.
A young kid with ruffled brown hair peeked out from behind the tree trunk, peering at me with deep brown eyes. He hesitated as we locked eyes, slowly taking a crunching step out from behind the tree. He turned to me, holding his hands behind his back with a timid expression as he studied me. His brown jacket was worn down as if handed down from generations passed, and I could see clear rips in his jeans. Yet more years passed while we stood face to face, neither of us able to open our mouths. That was until a young voice rang out from behind the boy.
“Hey, why’d you run so far away?” A little girl a bit taller than the boy skipped over from behind, her matching brown hair braided in a much neater fashion than the other’s. The girl stopped as she stood next to the other, looking at him before turning to me. “Huh? Who’re you?”
Something about her forwardness took me aback. The moment for me felt monumental—I was meeting someone else other than my family for the first time in my life. I felt as though the time that stood still was a wonderful painting that would stick with me forever as a still frame, but instead this girl had approached me as if she was my neighbor. Despite it, however, her suddenly addressing me snapped me out of my trance as I stammered.
“Oh! Um…I’m Celeste.” My voice came out quieter than it did in my head, and I refused to make eye contact as I recited my name like it was the first day of school. “Uhh…who’re you?”
“I’m Lucy!” The girl stood tall with a proud voice, then gesturing to the boy next to her. “This is my brother, Danny!” Danny, respectively, gave one shy wave as he stayed silent during the pause her sister gave him. Not that this silence lasted long, as Lucy soon walked up to inspect me. “Why are you here? Why is your hair green?” She began firing off questions as she circled around me. “Where did you come from? You don’t look like any animals I’ve seen.”
“H-hey!” I stopped her train of thought abruptly “Look, I’m not from here, but that’s no way to treat a stranger.” At least, I think? I mean, when I thought about it, I realized I wasn’t exactly sure how people interacted with each other. Something about the casual little girl made me forget that this was my first time talking to someone outside of my family. Immediately, I shifted back to a defensive posture.
Lucy pushed towards me, bringing her face to mine with an intense stare. “What’s with your eyes too? They’re so bright and glowy.” I flinched, taking a step back and retreating from the girl’s stare. As soon as I did, however, I heard them gasp in wonder as I realized what had happened.
Opening my eyes, I looked behind to find my wings unfurling as I had released them out of instinct. Danny’s jaw dropped as Lucy watched with wonder. My face flustered, I turned away and started running, taking off swiftly into the sky as I heard Lucy call from behind me. Slowly, her voice faded out into the flowing wind as the forest behind me.
I soon made my way home. Father taught me how the doors worked and how to get home if I ever found myself outside the nest without a door. I scurried back into the house before anyone noticed me, retreating to my room to decompress. My heart was still racing, and part of me was sad I left so soon.
So, the next day, I went back.