Memory 1

Skye was hiding amongst the trees. She had gotten lost in her venture into the forest and now that the sun had set everything felt carrier. Branches looked like skeletons, trees looked like people, leaves looked like faces, and the wind blowing sounded like wild animals.

She was scared and alone and all she could do was cry and hope someone came to find her.

She was too scared to call for help because she thought she'd attract any predatory animals to her hiding spot so she kept quiet.

It had been hours and yet no one had found her.

Soon rustling sounds filled the quiet area and Skye held her breath for fear of what was approaching her. The sounds got closer and closer until-

"Aaaaa!" Skye screamed. "Please don't kill me- please..."

As she covered her face with her tiny arm, fearing for her life, Skye suddenly heard laughter amid her panic. She slowly opened her eyes and raised her head but was met with a flashlight pointed at her face.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." A young boy said.

The boy looked a few years older than her, and seeing that someone had come to save her, Skye resumed her crying but this time it was tears of relief.

"I thought- I thought no one was coming to save me." She said through hiccups.

The boy sat next to her on the stony ground and patted her head. "It's fine now, stop crying."

Feeling safe in his presence, Skye stopped crying but she was still sniffling so he handed her a handkerchief. "Here, take this. It's clean."

Skye smiled at him and loudly blew her nose. She was no longer scared of attracting any wild animals because she thought he would save her. "Thank you."

"How stupid are you to run into a large forest like this alone anyway?" the boy asked.

"I was chasing a rabbit and got lost in here." Skye shyly said. "but why are you also here."

The boy looked away and bashfully scratched his head. "I saw you come in here alone so I decided to follow you but then I got lost."

"So we're both stupid," Skye said without filtering her words and the two started laughing at the awkward situation they were in. "What do we do now?"

"It's dark and unsafe and neither of us know the way back so we should just wait for our parents to come find us."

"My parents' aren't alive and the Lanes don't want me around..."

Although her voice came out as a small whisper, the boy could still hear her and he felt sorry for her. "I'm sure someone will come looking for us."

"Mm." the talk about her parents' had soiled Skye's mood and she no longer felt like conversing.

Noticing her low mood, the boy decided to lighten things up. "What's your name?"

"Skye, what about you?"

"I'm Ash."

"Who names their child Ash?" Skye asked with a chuckle.

Ash smiled to see her finally laugh again. "What's wrong with my name? I could say the same about yours you know." He feigned being hurt by her question.

"Do you live around here?" Skye asked.

"No. We're just here visiting."

Before they could say anything else countless voices started calling out Ash's name.

"ASH."

"Ash, where are you?"

"Can you hear me?"

Recognizing his father's voice, Ash stood up and started calling out to him. "Dad! I'm here... Dad!"

His father followed his voice and ran up to him. "I finally found you- are you hurt? Did anything happen?" James examined Ash's body from head to toe making sure he wasn't injured anywhere.

"Dad, I'm fine. I'm not a little kid you know-"

"You're just fifteen and still my little boy... complain once you become taller than me." James smacked Ash's head playfully.

Skye just silently watched the father and son duo until they took notice of her presence.

"And who might you be?" James asked her.

"She's a friend of mine, we got lost together," Ash replied once he noticed Skye was too shy to speak up.

"Alright then, let's head back. Your mother is worried sick about you."

They all left the forest and Skye found one of the housemaids waiting for her. She knew none of the Lames would be searching for her especially since Earl wasn't around.

"I need to go now. Thank you for finding me and have a good night." She said her goodbyes and ran into the house almost immediately. It was dark and late so she knew Glynda, Earl's wife would punish her for that.

Meanwhile, Ash and his father stared at her until she got into her house before they left. They wanted to make sure she got home safely.