I Was Found

When I woke the next morning, after having spent my second official night in the forest, I jumped up and immediately put my cape on. I was just a lost child that still did not know who she was. Yet I was ready to... To.... Find something. I was not sure what I would find, but I was optimistic. I was not planning to spend another night in this forest. I knew that I would find something. I still had that childish faith.

 

I looked at the tree I marked and followed the arrow. I was too excited to walk so I took off. I ran and ran until my heart was pounding and my legs were aching. I did not even bother marking all the trees that I raced passed. I did not care. I was not going to take my time and act cautiously. I was ready to leave. I was not going to prepare for another lonely night. Plus I thought I could have been sleeping on the good side of the forest. Who knew if there was a bad side? Who knew how big this forest really was? Did kids usually get lost? The questions that clouded my mind would never have an answer. Well at least not while I was still out there alone! I started to stare up towards the treetops; I saw another bird swoop down from the sky past the trees.  I was so deep in my own thoughts, I never heard anything. At least not until I saw it. I had stumbled upon a river!

 

That was what the birds must have been diving towards. Maybe there were fish in that river. I hoped that I would find food. I knelt down by the bank, scoped water into my hands, and splashed my face. It felt cold to the touch. I got shivers. I did not care because I was filthy. After running, climbing the tree, and sleeping on the ground I was covered in dirt. I dried my face on my cape. (Which was not much cleaner.) I started to cupping the water into my hands and drinking it. I then started to rinse off my arms and hands.

 

After I was clean, (or at least as clean as possible) I looked around. I was extremely hungry and I did not know when I last ate because I did not know who I was! The area was fairly barren directly near the water. It was as if my side of the rushing water had all the trees and the other side had all the shrubs. A slight distance away from the far side of the river were what looked like berries. Berries nestled into each bush. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen. Although I did not have any other memories, so all that I saw was this forest. Do not get me wrong. It was a beautiful forest, but more in a mysterious beauty. Like this forest could be where I take my last breath. That type of beauty that could kill with its secrets. Besides being in a creepy forest I felt like I was in heaven.

 

That made me start to wonder if I really was. Maybe you go to heaven not knowing who you are. You make a name for yourself literally and metaphorically. You are stuck in some survival thing to start your afterlife. That would be bizarre. I tried to stay positive. I thought I was lost and I had a family looking for me. I was curious as to how I forgot who I was. Maybe I was kidnapped and I escaped. Maybe I was hit on the head and forgot. (The thoughts of a child are quite strange.) Maybe I have been an orphan my whole life.

 

I was startled when I saw a woman walk up to the far side of the river. I jumped up to my feet. "Hello" she said, "I didn't mean to startle you." "That is alright." I said as I looked down at the river. I was curious if it was shallow enough to walk across. "Are you lost?" the woman asked. How did she know? I looked back up at her. ‘She does not seem to be that old,’ I thought. (I guess that as a kid you think the age of a person has to do with their level of kindness. On second thought… yes it actually does matter.) "Uh sort of," I finally told her. "What happened?" she asked. ‘She seems like a sweet woman,’ I thought. Maybe I just had a lost expression. "I am not sure," I yelled back. I wanted to walk over and trust her, but I was thankful there was a river separating us. What if she was bad? I thought ‘maybe I was right about the forest having a bad side.’

 

"Where are you from?" "I do not know," I hesitated. I started to weigh the pros and cons of crossing and talking with this woman. I could be kidnapped or she could help me. I could starve or I could get food. I felt like crossing was the best option. I knew I would need help from someone and if I waited, I might not find someone else. I was not sure what to say to this woman. It seemed like she was unsure of what to do. (If I found a kid all alone I would not know what to do.)

 

"Do you need help?" "Yes," I immediately replied and I looked down at the river. I started to step in. I picked up the end of my cape and held it high above the water. The current looked really slow and I felt it might not be that deep maybe up to my waist. Once my feet were both firmly planted near the shore I was freezing. I rushed across. As I got further in my tights were getting soaked and then my tunic got wet. I hit the middle of the river and the water was below the belt at my waist. I got across safely and I was shivering.

 

"Oh dear!" She exclaimed. It suddenly occurred to me that she might be frightened of me. The woman removed her shawl and draped it over my shoulder. She was not afraid of me after all! The shawl did not help because my upper half was dry and I had my cape on, but I felt as if she only did it for a sign of trust. That I could trust her because of her act of kindness. "Would you mind telling me what happened?" "Well it is a little weird." I was not sure where to start. How was I going to tell this woman what happened and how could she help me? I started to regret my decision to cross the cold waters.

 

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. How about we go back to my place and we will get you cleaned up? I can give you something to eat and if you want to you can tell me what happened." "Okay" I was not sure if I liked that plan. Was she used to finding people, or did she know me? I had no clue but I definitely thought food and shelter sounded good. I had not noticed what she was doing out in the forest until she bent down to pick up her basket. She must have been picking berries.

 

"I live just on the other side of these trees," She explained. "It might seem like a long walk, but that might be because you're tired." I felt weird when she said that. I was in fact tired. It was almost as if she read my mind. I thought ‘how could she know I'm tired?’ Are all my facial expressions that telling? I guess if there is one thing I know, I cannot hide my feelings.

 

I walked with this woman through the trees. To me this all looked the same. The same as the other side of the river. The same as every other tree. I was not sure how this woman knew where she was going. I followed close behind her. I debated on walking next to her but I did not want to start a conversation. I still was not sure if I could trust her. I decided that once we got to her house I would figure that out. (I guess somehow in my mind I concluded that I can only trust this woman by the looks of her furniture.)

 

"Almost there!" She stated with pride. I guess she was glad I was going home with her. What if she kidnapped me and came back to the woods? What if she was checking in on me? No, that was not right. She obviously came to the forest to pick berries. Although I could not help but notice, there were not any other people in the forest. Either people knew the forest was bad or people did not know there was an abundance of berries.

 

"Here we are!" She said cheerfully. I caught up to her side to see. It was a clearing of trees and I could see a village. Many, many houses all spread out unequally among the dirt. There were not any clear paths to walk along. She started to weave her way through the village. Kids were out playing, adults were inside talking with their doors wide open. People were walking from house to house. If I had a birds eye view, it would have looked like millions of ants walking around. The atmosphere was upbeat. Everyone said hello to the woman I was with. The houses were so compact with each other, to which a full minute would not pass by until the woman received another hello.

 

"This is my home!" Okay, this woman was excessively happy. Maybe she never has company. The place was small. I stepped in, there was a kitchen with a dining table, and that was pretty much it. There was a hall that must have had her bedroom and the bathroom. She put the basket on the table. "Take a seat." There were only two chairs at the table. I sat down and looked out the window. There were kids looking in the window at me. I swiftly turned to face the woman. (Little did I know that this is such a small town, that everyone already knows each other.)

 

She cleaned the some of the fruit and placed it in front of me. "Eat up." I was very hungry and she must have known that too. I ate all of it without any hesitation. I did not even ask if she would like some. I mean I didn't really think she wanted any because she just sat across from me and looked out the front door, which was wide open. I guess that was normal for everyone to see into each other’s houses, and lack privacy. But what did I know about privacy? I was just a kid lost in the forest back then. (I didn’t know that leaving the front door wide open is the normal thing to do.)

 

When I finished eating, I was extremely grateful. "Thank you." "You're very welcome! Would you like some more?" She had already put a lot on my plate. I knew I should not take more because I was not sure there was much left and I was not hungry. "No thanks," I responded. "Okay, well, would you like to tell me what happened? What's your name?" "Well...uh... What happened? It's complicated." I did not want to tell her I did not know who I was. What if that was good for her?

 

I thought about it and decided I should trust her and I would tell her. "I basically woke up in the woods and found you." "Oh" she said. "Is that all?" "Yes" I said. "Well, not really. I woke up not knowing who I am." "My goodness!" she exclaimed. "How awful!" "I actually don't remember anything else." It suddenly hit me like a boulder. I may never know who I am. "Well, whoever you are, you'll need a name. What would you like to be called?" I do not know. Was this seriously happening? "Uh... I don't know." "Well I've always wanted a daughter named Juliet." That name did not ring a bell. But it did sound nice. "Okay." "If you don't like it," "No! Juliet is fine," I interrupted. I do like it but I wished that I could put a face to it. Such as a face, saying it to me or someone else called Juliet.

 

"I don't know what I am supposed to do,” I continued. “I am lost. I do not recognize this place or any of the people. I have no idea how long I have been missing or if I even am missing. I don't know if I should stay or go." I guess this woman has officially earned my trust because I just blurted it all out.  Now everything was out in the open. If I wanted to keep secrets, that was not possible anymore. "Well you can stay here as long as you'd like." "Thank you." I glanced out the window. The sun was setting. "If you'd like to stay you are welcome to sleep in my bed. We can go out tomorrow morning and search for your family." "Okay"

 

She led me down the hall past the bathroom and at the end was her bedroom. It was just her bed and nothing else. "Where will you sleep?" I asked. "I'll sleep out there," she pointed down the hall. "Thank you." I felt bad that this woman was going to sleep on the floor because of me. I hoped that I would not have to stay for long. She tucked me in and said goodnight and she started to make her way down the hall. I asked, "What's your name?" "Eleanora." And with that, I fell asleep.

---