Description

Filled with amazement and curiosity at the same time, Mari walked deeper into the beautiful forest. What was this wondorous place? Her eyes sparkled as she turned her head this way and that, struggling to comprehend the whole scene. Pink flowers draped over trunks tickled her nose as the stepped over vibrant blue pedals sprouting from a thick green stalk. Her feet made their way to an old, creaking bridge, the distance between the railings not much wider than her boney hips. She found herself crossing it, only half aware of what she was doing. She was too preoccupied with a bird’s song she had started to hear, straining her neck to look among the treetops. Where was that silly bird?

All she wanted was to go deeper and deeper into the paradise, toward the sweet smelling flowers and the beautiful song. A slight breeze blew her sandy brown hair back behind her, cooling off her neck. She unknowingly walked straight into a berry bush, crushing a red fruit with her forehead. However, Mari simply laughed and wiped off her head, plucking off another berry and tossing it into her mouth. It tasted sweet and tangy, like a cross between an apple, mango, and strawberry.

Mari walked deeper into the bushes, chewing berries as she went along. As she kept going, the forest kept getting better and better. More beautiful flowers. More birds’ songs. More sweet fruits. More sparkling ponds. More pretty trees.

Mari decided with a firm mind that she would live there for the rest of her life. What did she have to lose? Mari’s mother had passed the year before, and after the loss her father had turned from grieving to alcohol. Mari was forced to run away after he had almost killed her with a knife, his mind-and liver-gone beyond repair. Mari had been living her life practically an orphan, jumping from train to train and sleeping on bench to bench. She scavenged for food like a vulture, gnawing on whatever scraps she could find.

And now- this paradise? With no coldness to fight off in the winter? With no other people there to kick you to the curb as you try to curl up in your threadbare sweater in the cold? With only sun and beautiful plants and sweet berries and eternal happiness? Deciding to live there was a no brainer to Mari.

As Mari smelled a pretty rose, she heard a voice. It whispered her name, “Mari...” Curious, and somewhat frightened, her spine straightened and her fingers trembled.

Mari suddenly felt an urge to creep deeper into the forest. Pushing through shrubbery and maneuvering around trees, Mari eventually made her way to an open flower field. In awe, she walked through it, skimming the beautiful red pedals with her fingertips. The sun beat down on her hair as she made her way through the field, smelling the sweet air and picking the flowers. She decided she would make a crown with them.

After picking a flower, Mari looked up and gasped. She stood still in her place, a statue among field of flowers. The ones she picked in her hand fell onto the ground, but Mari didn’t notice. The sight before her eyes took her breathe away.

Her mother stood there, smiling. Her open arms welcomed Mari as she ran to her and wrapped her arms around her in a powerful embrace. She looked exactly as how Mari remembered her- wavy hair as dark as night framing her cheekbones on her olive skin. How the wrinkles around her pale green eyes came out when she smiled. How she always radiated sunlight whenever she was near.

“Is this what heaven is like? It must,” Mari thought. “I will live here with her for the rest of my life. I will.”

Mari’s mother backed away from the hug, and smiled even wider. Mari noticed how her green eyes look more yellow in the sun. “Just like her,” Mari thought.