Username:booklover789
Deer's Name:Sadie Mimuraサミ・ミムラStory:(NOTE: Sadie grew up speaking both Japanese and English, so she often mixes up the two whenever she speaks. So as to help keep things straight for the reader of her story, whenever Sadie speaks in Japanese I've italicized the words as well as included a translation of the terms into English in the same sentence. Hope you enjoy her story!)Sadie crept along the wooded forest, her ears pricked and upright, waiting for any sound other than her own blanketed steps to come to her attention. Moss covered the ground along with fallen leaves. A crisp, cool breeze slowly wafted through the forest.
Shadows covered her and helped her vibrant fur blend into her surroundings. She stayed to the sides, never darting out from under the shade of the trees. She didn't dare place a hoof into the Open, the Wide Spacious Open - she wasn't safe when not under the blanket of darkness. Petite for her age, she'd learned to blend into her surroundings as perfectly as she could - she'd mastered the art of deception, of standing still so as to appear like a wilted flower or a piece of bark upon a tree. She gently placed hoof after hoof as she crept along, feeling the small crinkling leaves underfoot and hearing the pine needles swaying in the brief breeze above her velvet-covered antlers. She scented for what she sought: food for the day. Nothing entered her nose, nor tickled her senses.
The small bush to her left rustled, the leaves quivering with anticipation. Sadie froze and watched the bush, wondering what creature would emerge.
A rabbit leapt out and immediately halted in front of her. With a start of fright at her presence, it fled into the Open. Sadie cringed - she knew what would happen shortly thereafter. She looked away, darting off as fast as the rabbit had fled, though her hooves pounded dirt as she raced in the opposite direction. Still, she wasn't far enough away when the predator attacked - the Ancient One who roamed the forest and devoured whole any foolish creature so naive as to leap into the Open or creep from the shadows. The snap of his teeth and the cry of anguish from the rabbit drove her onward, far away from the dangerous Ancient One.
Sadie paused under a large Weeping Willow, the saddening branches drooping low to cover her small frame. She panted from exertion, upset that the Ancient One had forced her further away from her next meal. Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate. She'd sleep here for the night and get food in the morning. She stretched once, yawned, and curled up beneath the tree, taking careful measure to not dislodge her rose flower crown - her mother had given it to her, all those years ago, and by some strange magic, the roses had never wilted. They'd stayed just as vibrant and pink as the day her mother had plucked them from the green earth and had woven them into such a beautiful tiara-shape for her only daughter.
Sadie sighed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Remembering the tragedy that had befallen her mother pained her. Deciding instead to dwell on her goal at hand rather than live in painful remembrance, she drifted off to sleep with the memory of the scent of roses filling her nostrils, peaceful trees swaying in the wind, and a small lake with fish leaping forth from its crystalline waters. Dragonflies flitted overhead, and butterflies flapped noiselessly along in the light wind that always blew through the area, strongest only at midday. The trees offered shade and protection from the Ancient One, and spells older than the forest itself lay like comforting blankets over every creature and plant who resided there. Rosebushes surrounded a den in a hill near the lake, so beautiful in shape and vibrant in color. Roses every color of the rainbow dotted each bush, sparkling and dew-filled from the morning mist. Each color was a multitude in and of itself - with eighteen different shades of blue, seven shades of red, four different shades of grey, twenty shades of orange, thirteen shades of yellow, four shades of green, five shades of purple, and seventeen shades of pink, every color imaginable could clearly be seen dotting the landscape thanks to the beautiful rosebushes. The strong scent of roses almost overtook all of Sadie's senses as she curled up beneath the willow, feeling bittersweet in the lovely memory. She knew she'd make it back to her home someday... and if she didn't, she'd gladly give her life to try.
The morning rays filtered through the canopy overhead, causing beautiful dappled shadows to fall across the fawn's back. Sadie stretched, yawning as she awoke. Her pink eyes blinked open sleepily, and she took a few deep breaths to gather herself and calm her racing heart. Her heart had been like this for quite some time - most days when she awoke, her heart would race as if she'd been trying to break the world record for running laps. Her body would shake and she would tremble with fear, even when no real danger was present. This didn't just happen when she was waking up, however - it would also happen throughout the day, whenever her heart felt like doing something silly such as that. (Doctors would have called her condition Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia - commonly known as PAT - but Sadie would never have known that, as she was no where near a medic nor would she ever have had a chance to visit one.)
Once she'd calmed down, Sadie began her day. She foraged for wild berries and edible leaves growing on the bushes nearby where she'd fallen asleep the night prior, and once her belly was no longer gurgling for attention, she set off trying to find her original home once again. Blown away one night as a fawn in a terrible storm, she'd lost all bearings and gotten lost in the woods, hunted by the Ancient One day in and day out. Sadie had learned the ways of the forest quickly so that she could survive, but now that she had grown into a young deerssert, she wanted to return back to the place where she'd come from. Every day she looked high and low through the forest to no avail, never finding her home.
That night as she settled down next to a rotted tree, she found herself losing hope. Sighing as she curled up, she spoke quietly to herself. "Well, Sadie, this has been another unsuccessful day. Sure, you collected leaves and lay them down to sleep upon, but what good are dried-up dead leaves when you could be frolicking in a meadow somewhere?" She stared down at the ground as the dim sunlight lessened as the sun sunk below the horizon, the sunset blocked by the thick tree coverage in the area. Most trees here were dead and bare, spindly branches casting odd shadows on the forest floor. Sadie knew she could only spend one night in this area - staying here too long would spell out certain danger for her personal well-being. "I searched and I searched," she whispered to nobody but herself, "but still I couldn't find it. I've tried for so many years to find my home. Why can I not find it? I've searched every corner of this forest. I know the streams and trees like the back of my hooves. I feel the breeze as I would a whisper on the wind, as if one where speaking quiet nothings into my ears. I know how to tell what time of year it is by how the moss grows along the rocks, or what bird calls I hear in the still morning air." She sighed once more, her ears drooping low and the flower crown atop her head sliding downward, nearly covering her tear-filled eyes. "I will never find our home,
MaMa (ママ). Mother, I will never be able to succeed in the plan you told me you had for me. Before the storm, before that wretched night, you told me that if I thought hard enough and believed strongly enough, I would always be able to find my way back home. I've tried, Mother. I've tried so hard,
MaMa (ママ), but I cannot do as you've asked. I cannot find my way back." She broke down sobbing, fat tears rolling down her tired face. "
Watashi wa hitorida. (私は一人だ。) I am alone."
Sadie opened her eyes the next morning, but instead of sunlight filtering through the trees or rain clouds obscuring her vision, she found herself staring at a blue meadow, the grass spindly and tinted turquoise instead of the rich green she was used to seeing. The birds were all flitting about against a yellow sky, pink clouds dotting the horizon. The trees were green and leafy, but the bark was striped white and red like candy-canes. "
Ima doko ni iru no? (今どこにいるの？)" She looked around with a frown. "Where am I?" she murmured, standing up and looking around at this strange new world she'd come to find herself in.
A flittering motion caught her attention, and her head snapped to the left. There, just in the farthest reaches of her vision, was movement of a small creature not quite the size of a fly but not as large as a mouse. The movement was similar to a hummingbird, but too jerky to be a woodland creature. Her eyes narrowed. "
Kon'nichiwa? Soko no hito wa daredesu ka? (こんにちは？ そこの人は誰ですか？)" she called out in a loud voice. When no response was heard, she tried again in English. "Hello? Is someone over there?"
A fluttering buzz hummed in her ear. She moved her head slowly to the right, and there Sadie came nose-to-nose with a creature she'd never seen before. "Who are you?" she asked inquisitively.
The creature smiled back at her. "I am Yōsei, the fairy of this realm." She glanced up and down at the deerssert before her, and a small smile played at her lips. "You are not of my realm. What are you doing in these parts?"
"I do not know how I came to be here. I don't know how I will get home. I need help returning to my sanctuary."
"Your
sanctuary? What an odd term."
"
Watashinoie wa watashi no seiikidesu. (私の家は私の聖域です) Sanctuary. My home. The two are the same to me."
The fairy smiled. "I see. Well, I'd be happy to get you there - and get you out of my realm and out of my hair, of course - but I'd need something from you in turn."
"A trade?"
"A deal."
Sadie frowned. "What type of deal do you speak of, Yōsei?"
"My dear, all I require of you is that you owe me a favor once you go back to your realm. I can choose to contact you at any point in time for this favor, and you must do whatever it is I ask of you."
Sadie smiled slyly. "Certainly, so long as it does not endanger my livelihood or any being whom I care for and his or her livelihood. Do I make myself clear?"
Yōsei smiled back. "You are a clever creature. Yes, that sounds fine to me."
She nodded abruptly. "
Keiyaku wa torihikida. (契約は取引だ) Then we have a deal."
When Sadie opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting in a lush area with peaceful trees swaying in the wind around her. A tiny lake with fish leaping forth from its crystal-clear blue waters lay just behind her. Dragonflies flitted overhead, their red and black bodies humming along at a faster rate than Sadie could run. Butterflies flapped noiselessly over her antlers, one landing gently on her nose and then alighting back to the air. She felt herself breathe a sigh of relief. The trees offered shade and protection - she knew she wouldn't be found by the Ancient One here, due to the spells older than the forest itself that covered each being who lived there. She glanced around and spotted the rosebushes surrounding a den in a hill - her hill. She trotted over to the green-grassed area, the blades folding neatly under her gentle footfalls. Roses in every color and shade imaginable were bursting forth from each of the bushes, sparkling and dew-filled from the morning mist that would soon burn off in the heat of the afternoon. With a smile, Sadie felt stress leave her shoulders and unknot itself from her stiff back.
"
Watashi wa sore o jibun de yarimashita! (私はそれを自分でやりました！) I did it! I did it, Mother! I found our old home. And I will stay here forevermore. I will do whatever it is that Yōsei the fairy wishes me to do - I will do it without hesitation, for Mother,
Anata o hontōni aishiteimasu. (あなたを本当に愛しています。) I love you so so much, Mother. And I will keep my promise until the end of time."
She was home.
And finally she found herself at peace.
If I don't win, I won't be too upset. I can probably use the story for something else! This makes me want to get back into writing. Haven't done this in years!
