Stunning Shades Of Autumn, Updated For Portfolio

Reworked And Added To For My Fourth Creative Writing Portfolio. "Transposed" from the image.

The sun was brimming above the far edge of the valley. The forest was beginning to come alive with noise. The sun, like a conductor, was stirring his choir into song, the birds, chirping and tweeting along to his instruction.

Sophia clung tightly to her sister’s clammy hand.

“Right, here we go then Izzy” she said, and they began their descent down the valley side, toward the misty forest.

At the edge of the forest track, Sophia recognised that the harmonies were a bit off key, something had gotten the arrangement out of order, being a curious sort, she let her feet run her forward, dragging Izzy behind, down the path, which had only just begun to be visible, the sun’s light trickling down through the dense leaves above.

The smell of rotting vegetation filled Sophia’s nostrils, as she ventured further into the forest; the floor beneath her became a mash of reds and oranges, the stunning shades of autumn. It’s funny how a season can swing in one short week.

Then she saw what was to blame for the bird’s maladies. At first it had seemed like a vast slab of glass, a mirror, the light bounced off it in sharp rays. How unusual for autumn to bring with it so much water, there was at least ten inches deep of it, spreading out in a large pool, as far as the eye can see.

As Sophia looked on, Izzy bent down and picked up a flat stone, and threw it delicately across the pool; it skimmed twice and then sank with a splash.

All the ground nesting birds were up in the lower branches, looking down, waiting for the water to subside. The valley flooded regularly, but never this early. Sophia began to feel concerned for her grandmother, who lived in the forest, she was usually well prepared for flooding, but at this time of year, it wouldn’t have even crossed her mind.

Sophia drew Izzy back to her and they pressed on, wading through the waters in their high wellington boots. As they glided through it, ripples raced out from them, turning the surface into a chaos of blinding glint.

Sophia loved the birds, she often sat at her window, listening to them, she had a longing fascination, as if she were a cat, and the birds her prey.

Presently, Sophia suddenly became aware of the calling of a bird that she had not heard before. It wailed so sadly, the cry laced with melancholy. The noise reverberated off the trunks of trees and skimmed off the surface of the groundwater, making it hard to tell from which direction it came.

“Stay here O.K” she whispered to Izzy, sitting her down on a stump, which was just poking through the water. Izzy sat with curious eyes and watched as Sophia walked out of sight.

Sophia pushed forward, through the middle of two trees, using a low branch to pull herself through. As she put her foot down she felt a branch break beneath it, and she found great swirls of water plunging down over the sides of her boot.

She let out a kind of half cry, half angry bear noise, and then she heard the tip-tapping of water being scattered. She turned to her right, near the base of a boulder; a white rabbit was shaking and looking straight at her.

“Aw hello bunny”

It glanced around, and then darted off, as if in great urgency.

Behind her, she heard the wailing again.

“That doesn’t sound...poultry, that sounds...human”

A way off in a shady clearing, Sophia saw the source of the sound. Atop of a large rock, in the middle of a large pool sat a girl. The girl was wearing a blue dress and a white apron. She was hunched over, with her head in her hands, crying.

She was crying so loudly, Sophia couldn’t even hear the birds over her; all the sounds of the forest were drowned out.

Sophia made her way closer to the girl. Despite the splashing she made, the girl didn’t look up.

“Hello?” Sophia said. The girl jumped, but seemed otherwise unperturbed by Sophia’s appearance.

As she looked up, Sophia noticed reams of tears flowing down the girls face.

“Are you okay?” Sophia asked

“No, I’m not alright, I want to go home, I’m lost and fed up with this forest” the girl spluttered through cascades of tears.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. My name is Sophia, what’s yours?”

“Alice” 

“How did you get here Alice?” Sophia enquired

“I was curious to see how big the forest was, but I got so lost, I wish I could go home”

“Alice, listen, I live in the village over the hill there, Wolfs-cross, is that where you’re from?”

“No, that’s not it, I’m from a different place, I’m so lost!” she wailed, more tears pouring down. “I’m from Fernhill”

“Oh, well I know where that is...though it’s confusing with all this water everywhere, basically you need to head that way, you come out of the forest and there’ll be a sign-post and a dirt track”.

“Oh, really?” Alice replied, the tears drying up. “I’ll be back for lunch” and without another word, she jump down, splashing in the pool of water, and headed in the direction Sophia had pointed.

“Bye” Sophia called out after her, but Alice seemed too preoccupied with the prospect of home, she didn’t hear her.

“Strange” Sophia muttered to herself, and she turned and made back for the stump.

As she came within view of the stump, she noticed that it was Izzy-less.

“Izzy?” she called, but there was no reply. She shouted louder this time and a great ball of terror launched into her throat.

“Izzy?” she yelled once again. The only sound that came back was the calling of birds and the rustling of the leaves.

She pulled herself up and stood atop the stump for a better view all around, but there was nothing but hollow forest.

She clambered down and made her way back along the path a little way; out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of red.

“Izzy?”  Sophia broke into a run. As she reached what she had seen, she realised that it was Izzy’s hood, the red fabric dirty with mud and leaves.

She scooped up the tiny garment and looked back along the path, it was then she noticed tiny foot prints in the mud, a glimmer of hope. She began following them; she tracked them as they disappeared into the pool of water and she trudged back over to the stump, as she looked all over she saw the prints over at the other embankment, scrambling in long muddy streaks. It was the direction of their grandmother’s house. Sophia knew that Izzy would head there if she were lost, so she took off in the same direction, following the prints as she went.

A good ten minutes passed along the road, but there was still no sign of Izzy. As Sophia rounded into a clearing, she noticed the tracks had turned into a muddled mess of others, big ones and small ones, all jumbled together. A small cracking sound from behind made her turn round.

“Izzy?” she called in hope, but there was nothing but empty space where she expected her to be. As her eyes trailed down she noticed a small furry animal, a cat.

“Scram!” she shouted, angry that it had gotten her hopes up. The cat seemed to smile as it slinked and disappeared under the darkness of some ferns.

About a fifteen minutes later, Sophia arrived at her grandmother’s little cottage, the waters had not reached it, and she was glad to see little tufts of smoke rising up from the moss covered chimney. She made her way up the small garden path, past the rows of flowers, pansies, roses and foxgloves, which all seemed to smile welcomingly at her and stepped inside the cottage, the door slamming behind her.

“Oh hello dear, would you like some tea?” her grandmother asked, smiling.

“No thank-you grandmother, is Izzy here?”

“No dear, she’s not, has she run off?”

“I...” Sophia was interrupted by a knock on the door. She walked back and as it swung open she was alarmed to see an axe wielding girl, who looked very dishevelled, her blue dress cut and torn, and was that blood too?

“Alice?” Sophia stuttered

“Does this belong to you?” she smiled and in came running, Izzy, looking unperturbed.

“Thank-you so much!” Sophia said as she ran and embraced Alice.

Over the shoulder she noticed the axe once more, its head dripping with blood.

“What’s with the axe?” Sophia asked, cautiously backing off.

“Well, let’s just say you had a wolf problem”

“Oh dear!” grandmother exclaimed “Come in, come in, have some tea”

“No!” Alice yelled, then regaining herself “No thank-you...I’ve had enough of tea”