A little self-insertion before going to bed.
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"Don't go too far, Willow!"
"Kay!"
"Keep your walkie-talkie handy!"
"Kay!"
"And don't step into any spiderwebs!"
I could have rolled my eyes. But at this point, I was too excited to say anything else but, "Kay!" as I leaped through the forest.
Being even more of a man than my brother, my parents trusted me to stay safe in the forest all alone. The odds of getting attacked by either humans or animals was slim to none, and I am one of the most sure-footed people I know, even in galoshes. I could climb a cliff face with no shoes, but it didn't hurt to have protection from boiling rock every once in a while.
With my mountain pack full of goodies, I leaped over logs and sidled around ferns. More than once I spied a spiderweb and narrowly avoided it. Those were spider's homes. No way was I going to ruin their home.
After a couple minutes of hiking, I stopped and looked to the sky. Wow! The trees never ceased to amaze me. Reaching heights of three hundred feet, Redwood trees were the largest living plants on the planet. I took a deep breath and smiled. How amazing was this place! I could feel the magic of it all welling up inside me. I felt like I belonged here instead of that dismal city filled with smog and crime.
The next step I took sent me rolling down the mountainside. So much for sure-footed, but everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I crashed through a couple ferns and bushes before hitting a tree. Then I blacked out.
I woke and noticed the sky was orange. Wasn't the sky blue? Oh, right, it must be evening. Oh, SHIT! I fell and blacked out! Now mom and dad would never let me go into the forest alone! Groaning and moaning, I stood and wavered. A dizzy spell hit me like a ton of bricks--I had to sit back down. Falling seemed easier than just placing my butt on the floor, so I did that instead. Leaning back against the tree, I checked for blood. Right on my temple sat a little scratch. While it didn't hurt, it bled like the Mississippi river. Great. Just what I needed.
The radio crackled. "Willow, enough playing around. Come back and get ready for dinner."
I took a few moments to locate the walkie-talkie ad then spoke into it. "Yeah, coming." I looked back up the mountain. In no way was I in any mood to climb that at the moment.
"Shit..." I growled, then decided to crawl up. I couldn't stand, but I could sure conserve energy for the walk back. As I did, I sang a quiet song I heard long ago. I wasn't sure about the lyrics, because it wasn't in english (probably celtic or scottish or something), but I knew the tune well enough. It made the slow climb up the mountain easier. Finally, I reached the unofficial path wrought through the trees and ferns and took a quick rest. My arms and legs shook like young tree boughs in a stormy wind. It would be hours before I felt fit enough to stand and walk.
"Ugh, damn," I groaned, and attempted to stand. It worked, but not for long. In the end I found myself on my hands and knees in the bramble and dead leaves. I considered radioing my dad to come and get me. Well, I would never be able to walk outside the house again, but I would be alive.
"Need help?"
Startled, I looked up. It took a couple seconds before I realized that the person who spoke was right in front of me, just a couple of feet away.
I felt unworthy in the presence of this roman godlike creature. He was strikingly handsome with a strange beauty that shocked me to the core. Who was this person? He seemed like he could be a little older than I was, but at the same time had a childlike appearance that suggested he was younger than his near six-foot height proposed. He wore a total hippie outfit, which made me happy and nervous at the same time--pinto pants and a leather vest with tassels at the shoulder, in pure Michael Lang style. He wore no shoes, and I could tell that his skin looked similar to the inner wood of a redwood tree--probably why I hadn't spotted him earlier. His hair, long and unruly, bore three shades of brown; light, red and dark. It was a strange combination, but matched with his hippie-foresty look. Even from my point of view on the ground, I could tell that his eyes were blue as the sky and seemed to pop out of their sockets because the color was so bright. I could have been relieved, but I was more nervous about what he might do--like instead of helping me, kicking me back down the mountain and killing me for good. He could be high for all I knew.
"Help would be nice," I said, then asked, "But who are you?" At this point I realized I was gawking and tried to look more inquisitive.
"Call me Lanoo." He offered his hand. I went to take it, hesitated, but then let him help me to my feet. "And you are?"
"Willow," I said with a smile. I didn't want to seem like I was coming onto him strongly, but I had to lean onto his frame if I was going to stand at all.
"Nice name," he told me. He didn't seem to notice at all that I had used his body for support.
"Thanks. Could say the same about you. Don't meet too many Lanoos around here. You live around here?"
Lanoo nodded. "Yeah. Say, need help getting back to where you live? I know you can't walk with those legs. You look like a newborn fawn."
I laughed and nodded. He must be in the forest alot if he reffered to me as some sort of newbie forest animal. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I'm not sure how long I've been out here, but I know I took a bad step and cracked my skull on that tree a while ago and I've been bleeding ever since." I pointed up at the cut on my temple.
Lanoo inspected it and grimaced. "Ouch. I should get that patched up soon before it gets worse." He put his hand on the scratch and I began to protest.
"I can't spend too long out here, because my dad has dinner ready and if he finds out I'm late because I fell and knocked out on a tree, he'll--"
"Shh, he won't find out. See? All better." Lanoo took his hand off my head. I wrinkled my brows in confusion.
"All better? Wha--?" I touched the spot where the scratch once was. Now, all that was left was a raised line like a mini mountain range on my face. Now I was getting suspicious. "What did you do to it?"
"I fixed it. Now," he turned around and kneeled a little, beckoning me to climb on his back. "Let's go." I had no other choice. It was either this or die by way of parental fire. I climbed onto his back and directed him towards the cabin.
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Didn't finish. Maybe later.
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