Page 48 - North Star Magazine 2022

of the burning flesh of her family, and began to run as fast as she could away from the carnage.
The moss at her feet swelled with every step she took and propelled her forward, tiny plants tickling her bare toes, desperate to help the girl escape. It felt like the forest floor had created a wave, one that she rode the crest of as she sped out of sight. The trees moved slightly out of her way and blocked the path behind her, graceful in their movements, and yet imposing as the ages they had stood for. The foliage moved quickly to conceal her footprints and muffle the sounds of her and muffle the sounds of her passage, and it was in this way that she was carried far away from the wreckage of everything she had ever known.
Keep going, the breeze whispered in her ears. Don’t stop, you’ll make it.
Her breath caught in her lungs, and her eyes stung from the smoke and sharp chill in the air. If she stopped at all, even for a second, she would be forced to remember what she was running from. She took a morbid kind of solace in the harsh burn in her legs and chest that could have so easily been licks of flame instead of branches.
With every step, she imagined that she could see hulking human shadows lurking between the tree trunks, hungrily chasing her to finish the job and haul her back to burn with what remained of her family. No matter how fast her legs moved, or how small she made herself, the shapes kept lunging with their shadowy claws and it was all she could do to keep from screaming in terror.
The semi-buried rock in her path took her by surprise as she found herself falling hard to the soft undergrowth. The air rushed from her lungs with a soft huff and she lay stunned for a moment in the sudden silence of the forest. There were no more shouts. No more shapes. No more crackling of hungry fire. No more smell of smoke, death, and sweat. Just her, the trees, and the ever-judging stars.