Deep in the forest, there are many strange legends afoot, but none so much strange is the story of two children raised in the forest - me, and Six. Whoever we were raised by was a thought to behold, but still, we were wild and free. Our forest home had no boundaries, so we were free to run wild like the animals we are. We were chosen by the spirits of the forest as protectors of the four elements of nature - earth, the soil that keeps the ground glued. Wind, the strong force that gives courage to the bravest animals in the forest. Sand, the base of the beach near our home. And water, the crown jewel of nature. As well as being protectors of our forest home, Six and I liked to play together. It's not often that on your next forest walk, you could hear two girls shrieking and laughing, and sounds of tumbling about. Just me and Six, no one else. So please, don't disturb us.
But this isn't the end of the story, let me tell you all about what Six and I got up to in this peaceful forest.
Every time you go out for a walk in these woods, you might hear the sound of a flute playing. You wouldn't know if this is all in your head or just a real sound, but let me tell you, it IS real. Six was very good at whittling wood into things, wheras it's a wooden horse or a drum. When I was three, Six fashioned a flute out of a large tree branch, and taught me how to play it when I reached the current age I'm in now. I won't say it due to my sister having the same name, I'll spell it for you: S, I, X. At first, I didn't know how to blow into a simple piece of wood, but as I learnt to walk, I could play it like an angel. Six clapped and said, "There, Sophie, you're the master of the flute now!" I would often play it to draw the attention of the creatures in the forest, and we were friends with all of them - chipmunks, squirrels, bears...they'd all come running to greet us. We stroked their soft fur, and snuggled with them. Six was the one I'd snuggle up to most, especially at bedtime when she'd draw on the walls of our cave with juice from a dry gourd and tell stories to go with the pictures.
We'd run out into the forest on Autumn days and try to catch leaves that are falling. Six tells me to leap as high as a wolf on its hind legs, and the higher I leapt, the more leaves I caught. The great spirit told us that the leaves are symbols of kindred, fallen spirits that turned gold with their halos in Heaven. There is a beach near the forest, which we are also asked to protect, and we loved running onto the soft sand and rolling about on the millions of sand grains lying on the beach. We'd draw pictures on the sand of horses and forests with tall, towering trees. Six told me, "If you play your flute as a draw, a story is told." So I did, and images filled our head of a wild, free stallion running through the forest, looking for the one he loves. Then I'd drop my flute, neigh and gallop around the beach as Six chased me, my neighs turning to laughter as Six leapt onto me and nuzzled me. I loved that game so much. We'd often sit on the rocks and watch the waves splash up against them, on days when the sky was dark grey and it was about to rain, and the sea was about to go violent. When a big wave was about to splash onto the rocks, Six would dangle me over the water and let the tide splash over me while I squealed in happiness.
On clear days, we'd go swimming in the lily pond, a beautiful place where lotus flowers grew near lily pads. This was our equivalent of bathtime. Six and I would splash each other and smell the beautiful lotus flowers that grew. The water was smooth and clear as a glass bead, and sometimes we lay on top of the water, looking up at the sky and watching as the clouds formed shapes above us, of animals or flowers. We'd play hide and seek in the deep forest. First Six would hide and I would count and find her, then Six would find me. Whenever she found me she growled in her best bear growl, "Found you!" and tickle me under my arms while I screamed with laughter. Hide and seek was our favourite game to play in the forest, because Six always knew the best places to hide, from bushes to trees to burrows. Sometimes, she would be disturbed by rabbits or badgers, and she had to apologise. I giggled whenever this happened, but sometimes Six would glare at me with an angry look on her face. Sometimes, she laughed along with me.
When we were hungry, we'd forage around for nuts and berries that grew in different parts of the forest. The berries were equally juicy, but Six told me to be careful, as some berries aren't good for eating. An example of this happened when I was eating those red berries which I can't remember the name of. The red-berries-which-I-can't-remember-the-name-of had a drastic effect on my tummy, and I was sick with stomachache and diarrhoea. Six had to let me stay in the cave until I was better, feeding me with water and healing me with the juice of the dry gourd she used to paint the cave. When I was better, Six told me to keep away from the bush which I ate from. We only ate blackberries and nuts which don't give you allergies. Sometimes, there are fresh honey trees in some parts of the forest, and we'd climb together up the trees to sample the sticky honey from the kind, wild bees. They never stung me, because I understood how I hated their powerful stingers. So they sucked them up and told me they'd never sting me, not ever.
There is a field in between the forest and the beach where we liked to spend peace and quiet. We'd lie on our backs in the grass and look up at the clouds forming into shapes above us. The grass was soft under our backs, so soft in fact that I yawned and fell asleep, and Six picked me up and placed me onto her body, whispering reassuring things and singing me lullabies. Sometimes when I fell asleep in the grass, she'd take out my flute, which we'd like to share, and she'd play a gentle lullaby.
When the sky grew dark and it began to rain, we had two ways of enjoying it. We'd play together and frolic about in the rain, splashing each other with the falling raindrops. Sometimes when it gets too rainy, we'd shelter under a tree, and Six would wisely tell me about some legendary creatures that inhabit the forest, such as the bear or the raccoon. No matter what happened in that forest, Six and I loved each other so much, it felt as if we've been together forever. One night, I had a dream which will change how I view the forest forever...
Lovely, I really enjoyed this.
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