Chapter Three.

Green, that's the first thing I saw, this shade of green was so enchanting even captivating. I sat up and found myself surrounded by an endless view of thick, dense forest.

I couldn't recall how I'd ended up here or anything else for that matter, I couldn't even remember my name one, I looked to the ground and saw that my clothes had changed to a flowy midnight blue dress. I was so confused, last I checked the weather was cold, we were in the middle of winter- I think. I couldn't understand, summoning some strength I tried to stand. It felt like someone had just hit me in the head with a bat, all my memories had all come back at the same time. I fell to my knees holding my head trying to calm down, I felt so lightheaded. Waiting a few minutes, my hands still against my head, the pain had slowly subsided and I had regained some strength. The last thing I could remember was sitting at the park looking towards the pond. The feeling of deep sadness and shame seemed to weigh so heavy on me that all I could do was sit with my head resting in my hands focussing all my attention on the pond.

Taking a deep breath I got to my feet and decided to do some investigating since the forest was so thick that the sun hardly shone through so there was no telling what time of day it was. Looking around for a few minutes, to my right it seemed that the forest became thicker and somewhat darker, to my left it looked like a path leading to a tree where the roots were shaped into a circle. Turning again I looked behind me, it was similar to how it looked to my right, the vegetation just became thicker. Skeptical of which direction to take I turned and looked straight, the sun seemed to shine more, the further you looked the more sunshine could be seen. Paying close attention to my surroundings I could hear water in the distance but I couldn't make out where it was coming from.

The original plan was to just randomly select a direction and take a chance, but now, I thought about how long I'd survive without food and water. I figured that it would be better to start walking straight, where I saw the sun started to shine. I began making my way through some fallen trees and uplifted roots. With every step I took, my senses started to clear, I noticed how the trees seemed to be breathing, the bark of the tree was such a dark shade of brown that it could be mistaken for black, on every leaf droplets of water could be seen. Every dark shade of brown and green you could imagine was a part of the vegetation. After walking for a while my feet started to ache, looking back I could see the path I've created. Although the forest was so thick and humid, it wasn't suffocating.

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Climbing over yet another fallen tree, it seemed to have almost become one with the grass, it was one of the largest I've seen so far, being a little over approximately two meters high and three meters wide. It was completely covered in grass and the only way I knew it was once a tress was because of the last remaining track that somehow managed to still be alive, having a few green leaves on it. At this time the sun had managed to shine through more, dogging most of the trees beaches. Strangely enough, it felt as if I've been walking for over three hours, and yet I hadn't begun to feel tired. I've covered quite a bit of distance from where I'd woken up from.

Once I reached the top of the trunk I took the opportunity to look at my surroundings. The sound of running water seemed to have become louder, sitting down I laid on my back and looked up toward the sky. The fear of not finding any food and water to survive had long gone, now all I thought about was how beautiful this place was. Sucking in a breath of fresh air I heard a branch crack. From the time I opened my eyes in the forest till now, there was no sign of animals in the area which did seem odd but I never questioned it. I slowly sat back up trying not to seem fearful I turned to where I heard the crack but saw nothing. Just as I was about to relax again I heard yet another break but this time it sounded much closer.

Even though there was significantly more sun, making it easier to see whatever was out there seemed to move so fast, only leaving the sound of angry branches fighting. I quickly got to my feet and scanned the area, my heart seemed to beat a little faster. Then out of nowhere, something flew towards my face, and before I could even think about what to do my body immediately bent dogging the creature. Jumping off the tree trunk I made a run for it, behind me I heard the creature let out a scream. As I jumped over rocks, I could hear the flapping of winds start to become louder. Looking back I saw what looked like a griffin, its eyes were dark as night looking into pure darkness, with the body and hind legs of a lion, the head, wings, and front legs of a Lesser-spotted eagle. This only increased the amount of fear I had running in my veins, turning my head back I managed to quicken my pace.

Attempting to lose the creature I searched for somewhere I could hide, still dogging trees I could see a river. Once again the creature let out a frustrated screech and I could feel the wind generated by its wings make the grass dance. I knew if I look back the monster would get me. With adrenaline pumping through my veins all I could think about was, I can't run forever, once again I search for anything that could help, there was nothing. Before I knew it, I felt the claws dig into my shoulder blades. Letting out the loudest scream, the creature picked me up. Trying to escape I clawed at its feet, this seemed to only anger the creature more because it dug its claws deeper into shoulders, screaming I managed to swing my legs and hit the monster's leg lose. In an attempt to regain control the creature then tried to flip me and once again dig its claws into my skin to get a better grip.

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[Chapter quote:" Into the wild, I go losing my way, finding my soul"]