exercise #2

She sat at the base of the broad leaves of the mighty redfern, for the last time.

"I can't do this any more," she whispered softly.

Yes, you can! We can do this together!

She gazed upon the majesty of the slope below. The trees around and below her were sliding into their autumnal stage of life, slowly shedding off their clothes to bare their naked trunks to the world. Well, what was left of them in the valley, anyway. More commonly, the weak, gangly children of these formidable giants were trying to fight their way to the top, lying in the shade of the countless Domes above them.

"I can't keep escaping down here. They'll find out, they're clamping down on my activities," she said sadly. A solitary tear tracked its way down her dirt-streaked face. She ignored it.

"Anyway, I'm getting too old for this...."

You're only 24!

"Exactly! The Choosing is soon - I might be sent out with the rest of the-"

You can choose too! They won't find you! They wouldn't even care!

She grew silent at this remark. It was true, she thought to herself, I could choose not to leave. But the temptation, oh the temptation. The stories you heard! They said that it was paradise, they said you could re-invent yourself, they said it was a new world! She could meet her parents, she could see her friends again...

She cast her eyes up towards the floating Domes above them. Each held a city, a bustling organism that catered to the whims of the newly-born...and the forgotten. Those who were cast down after birth, and those who had Chosen to stay forever. The radiant blue sky cast the Domes in stark relief; gray, hulking cut-outs against the colorful surroundings. What majesty had humans created! And yet they left them behind.

You have treated us with the utmost care and-

"-and what do I get for it?!" she suddenly cried out. "I've spent the better part of my years slaving away for you, helping you grow, finding and smuggling the best for you down here. Though the rest of my life was on hold, I somehow managed to fight my way on to the list - and now you want me to stay? What the fuck gives?!"

There was silence. The susurration of the leaves and the gently falling leaves filled the gaps between the silences, as if drawing breath before speaking. She sobbed quietly as the emotions overcame her; she remembered times like these. Her breath became ragged as she sunk further into the cavernous roots in which she sat.

Do you remember how we used to dance?

"I do," she whispered, wiping away her tears, causing them to mix with the dirt on her face. The mud slowly dripped down and splashed on the splayed roots of the tree. The land used to be colourful, the air was vibrant, and her heady, younger days were filled with an imaginary dancer that stepped lithely through the falling leaves. Picking the gaps between the falling colours, weaving through the obstacles with such beautiful grace. She would pirouette and twirl and listen as the trees laughed with her, drinking in the spectacle of joy. It was like imagining she was part of a sprawling ballroom, dancing as they did with large, voluminous dresses, and the intrigue of what the night could hold. It was easier to fall into imagination than face reality; what companionship she lacked in the cities above, she found in the ever-present redferns below.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly. She stood up, and departed with an intense sense of sorrow, her footsteps the only sound as she left.

The sighing trees watched her leave.