"The world is a very busy place. If you try to get ahead of all the noise, you'll end up missing the small delights the world around you has to offer."
At least, that's what my Grandmother used to say before she ascended to the land in the clouds. I've always been fond of her words; Her gentle yet passionate wisdom echoes through my mind, every waking moment. Even now, despite the chains of fear and despair, I hold dear to her messages and hope to carry them with me once I escape this penitentiary of horror. If I ever manage to break free from my captors, I would wish to prevent this whole incident before we plunged ourselves into the hands of the damned. If only in that one moment, I could have been spared of this fate.
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The river is flowing ever so loudly. The sounds of birds nursing their young among the roofs of the forest like a symphony resounding the joy of nature's gifts. The clashing of stones along the creek, the rustling of the foliage among the howls of the creatures living on the land. Sunlight seeping through the trees, shining down on the eyes of the young; as if the kingdom itself was searching for a new spark of hope to lift this would out of the darkness.
I called to the light, Bellowed to hear its voice, hoping it would rise from its slumber. I approached it with great caution, to avoid falling into the depths of the water before me. I listened carefully for it's beating drum and living wind; both were intact. Just as I were prepared to beckon the heavens to save this light, I witnessed it ascend as if it were a miracle by god, and it spoke.
"Yikes! Just one inch closer and I would've been swept downstream!" It was the voice of a boy, not older than I, but oddly playful and childish. I was astonished at his calmness -considering I witnessed him plunge from the trail.
"What's wrong buddy? You look like you saw a ghost!" He's chuckled nervously. I studied him curiously, He appeared to have minor scrapes from the fall but no severe injuries or abrasions.
"I just witnessed you run off the trail, fall unconscious by a river, and then wake up with such... energy. I must admit, that was not the reaction I was expecting." He was a small boy with short black hair, dark brown eyes, and a medium build. He was wearing a multi-colored tracksuit and a cyan rubber bracelet.
He rubbed the back of his head and laughed "It was just a little stumble, nothing to worry about. Sorry for the trouble!" The ledge was about 3 feet tall and he landed on a bed of rocks. Theres no blood so he didn't get any concussions either. Such incredible luck. I noticed he dropped his school back pack as well so I assumed he was another student.
"None at all. I would have felt guilty later if I had simply left you here. Now come, We're going to be late for school if we stay here any longer" I gestured to him to follow me back to the path. He perked up and began to climb out.
"Oh shoot, you're right! Wait, you're going to school too? Bahandale High School?" I nodded. He told me he was a sophomore at the school and was born and raised in Bahandale. We continued to travel on the autumn-covered path towards the school.
"I don't think I've seen you around town or school before, are you a freshman?" The million dollar question. I grew tired of the repetition but it was inevitable for the subject to come up.
"My family just moved in recently so I transferred schools. My mother usually drives me to school but she had a meeting early this morning so I found this path instead. I'm attending Bahandale as a junior this year." My parents travel often for their jobs so we never stay in the same place for more than a year. The boy wasn't really paying attention to me but he perked up when I mentioned my grade.
"A junior?! But you're like, 3 inches shorter than me!" I'm 5' 8 and he appeared to be 5' 10. This is the usual reaction when I tell people my grade, I shrugged it off and kept walking.
"I seem to receive that reaction quite frequently." I've always been short for my age. Even though there are plenty of people in the world shorter than I at the same age, It happens to be an uncommon occurrence in the places I've traveled. He laughed nervously, as if taking caution to my reaction.
"Sorry! You're the first junior I've met that isn't taller than me; even my sophomore friends on the cross country team are taller than me!" Cross county is a racing sport about running long distances around the local terrain. I have never been fond of sports but I often read about them in local libraries. Although it was not my business, I was oddly compelled to motivate him.
"Height is just an appearance, It does not determine your identity, skill, nor potential. When facing your opponent, the results are always determined by your performance." It was clear he took my words to heart despite them coming from a stranger he just met. He paused for a moment and looked up to the sky with sincere retrospection.
"I know winning means I have to work hard, but even when I do, sometimes it feels like it's not enough. You seem to know a lot about competition, but how do I know if I performed well?" His passion to improve his ability certainly caught me by surprise. Never once in my life was there someone who asked me for advice nor evoked in me, such feelings of empathy for another. I could not deny him of the hope he yearned.
"Performance isn't just practicing and competing, it's also everything else in between that contributes to your success: Your emotions, your mindset, your determination, your health, even your life, it all affects your performance. Losing to another does not lower the value of your effort, it reflects the results of your efforts as well as theirs. If you feel you've done all you could, then that's well enough. If you feel you could have done better, then find ways to build on to what you've started..." I opened my eyes and realized he was staring at me rambling on like a self-righteous teenager. In my mind, I scolded myself for preaching without having any achievement to talk about, but then my thoughts were interrupted by the words I should be giving myself. Thoughts of shame and stress flooded my mind and I started rambling to myself.
"I apologize! I probably sound pretty arrogant right now. I really shouldn't talk this much about effort when I am struggling to find my own. I hope I'm not too overbearing. I'll stop talking about it now, let's just get to school and forget I said anything! I-" I was spiraling into a panic. "I opened my heart out to a stranger and now he'll turn on me for stepping too far" I thought over and over to myself. Suddenly, he stepped in front of me and firmly grasped my shoulders.
"Hey hey hey calm down! I just wanted to say thank you. Believe it or not, I actually feel better now! I know it's up to me to do my best, and I'm sure you're doing your best in whatever you're doing too! You seem to know what you're talking about so I believe you. Don't beat yourself up about!" Then he let go and gave me a warm smile. The kind of smile you give to someone you care about. The kind of smile that comforts you when you feel alone. I had poured my heart out to someone and they accepted it instead of spilling it all over the floor. For the first time In my life, I felt welcomed. I took a deep breath and nodded. He let go of my shoulders and we continued towards the school.
We silently walked together as we approached the end of the forest which eventually led us into the quaint suburban town of Bahandale. Although there are plenty of available houses in Bahandale, my parents preferred to stay away from all the noise and move into a pocket town on the other side of the Corwin Forest Preserve. We were about half a mile away from the school when the boy decided to break the silence.
"Hey, by the way, are you in any extracurricular activities?" We were both still nervous after what had just happened in the forest but I decided to engage to break the ice.
"Yeah, I'm in photo club and media club. Though, I don't really attend the meetings often." I've never enjoyed meeting with new groups of students because I know eventually, I'll leave the next year and forget about everyone. I try not to get close to people to avoid the pain of separation, but clubs are my outlet to all of my cumulative stress and anxiety.
"Wow you do photography? I bet your pictures look really cool! I have a friend named Aubrey in photo club and she's in there almost all the time!"
"Oh. I don't really do photography, I'm only present as the photo editor to clean up shots and stitch images together." I attempted to avoid talking about it further but he persisted on maintaining the conversation.
"That still sounds cool, your job is to make the photos look really nice! I hope you'll show me some of your work some time." He smiled sincerely at me but he looked like he wanted to tell me something. It was already too late to avoid contact with him now, so I thought I might as well get it over with.
"You seem fidgety, are you hesitating to ask me something? I apologize if I appear unapproachable, I'm just fairly sleepy this morning." He stops fidgeting with his hands and faces me again.
"Oh! No! I mean, yes I want to ask you something but it's not because of you, it's just. I was wondering if you would like to join a club with me and my friends" He wiped the sweat off his neck. The temperature was about 18ºC at the time so he was obviously nervous about my response.
"It's called lunch club. We host it every day in Room B105 at lunch of course. The teacher set up a couch, some bean bags, and computers in there for the students to use. You don't have to of course! I'm sure there's plenty of other places you could spend your lunch at, but we'd love to have you! You would also be the first Junior there since all of us are sophomores...But I'm sure you'll be fine!" I thought about it for a second. The school was drawing near so I had to give him an answer.
"I think I'll check it out." I smiled back at him. It's been ages since I genuinely smiled at someone. I felt it wasn't just the club I was giving a chance, but I was also giving people a chance.
"Really?! Wow! You'll really come? I'll make sure they give you a warm welcome then!" He was practically gleaming with joy. I never understood why my attendance was such a big deal to him but I'll never forget the excitement he had on his face. Right as we arrived at the school, the first bell rang and all the students started finding their classrooms.
"Ah! Just in time! Thanks for agreeing to come visit our club, you wont regret it! It was nice meeting you!"
"It was nice meeting you too." We both waved goodbye and went our separate ways. But a minute later, I saw him running towards me at full speed.
"Wait! pant pant I forgot to ask pant pant what your name was!" The students around us noticed us but carried on with their own business. I was shocked at first but then I started laughing.
"Oh my god, hahaha. My name is Aidan, Aidan Row"
"pant pant Owen Eberheart! pant pant See you later!" He then dashed towards the other side of the school. I laughed some more and then went to find my classroom.
"Owen Eberheart." I repeated to myself. "Today is certainly going to be interesting."
Oh how I wish I could go back to those days and start it all anew.
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