Elaina

In the trees. In the trees, Elaina hid. She was hiding from her ever so loving mother who wanted her to come inside. It was cold out, December, and Elaina had wanted to play outside. She loved the snow, and the biting chill of the wind. It made her feel alive, she said. Her mother always rolled her eyes at her, and so did her friends. But Elaina didn’t care. She loved it. Behind a giant deciduous tree, she sat, her eyes closed. Thinking about the world. Just thinking. Elaina suddenly jumped; she’d heard something. Something out of the ordinary. Her bright eyes shifted right, then left, as her hand jumped to her hair. What was that? She stood up, brushing the sparkling snow off her jeans, and ventured further into the forest. The further she went, the darker it got. It was like a horror movie, she thought. She’d never ventured this far before. She heard a leave crackle here, and a stick snap there, and the odd owl hooting. Every single time she heard that owl, a chill went down her spine, and the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. There it was; she’d heard it again. Elaina jumped, and turned around, seeing nothing but darkness, and tree branches. She frowned, her black bangs clinging to her forehead. She brushed them away with a simple swipe, and carried on forward. She was looking for something, she decided, but she didn’t know what.