giovedì 30 agosto 2018

My life beyond the hills

Welcome to The Spot Writers. The August prompt is based on a photo taken at a local zoo. There was a fence leading to a "no admittance" area, but about 12 inches at the bottom had been bent upward, allowing admission of… people? animals? And where does it lead? The Spot Writers’ task: Write a story involving a fence that has been snuck through—as a major or minor plot point.

My life beyond the hills
by Chiara De Giorgi

“If you want to know what my life will be like, you have to follow me.”
The girl pointed to the top of the hill.
By then, I was pretty sure I was dreaming. Where and how had I fallen asleep, though?

My friends had wanted to go paddling on the lake, but I had felt such an urge to go explore the woods behind the B&B, that I had quickly packed a waterproof jacket and a bottle of sunscreen  - you never know what the weather’s going to be like in Scotland, after all! – and had started hiking up the hill.
Fluffy, white clouds were scattered across the sky, and a soft, warm wind was blowing, leaves rustling under its fingertips. The air smelled sweet, birds were singing, flowers were blooming all around, and my heart was about to burst with joy. This place was so beautiful, and somehow familiar. Where had I smelled that sweetness before? When had I seen such colorful meadows?
My hike abruptly came to an end when I reached a fence. I glanced right and left and saw no one, but I’d never climb over it: I was too well behaved for that. I squinted in the sunlight, trying to locate the end of the fence: maybe I could just go round it, and find the path again on the other side. I saw nothing promising, though: the fence just climbed all the way up the hill and disappeared beyond the top.
“I can show you a way through.”
Her voice startled me. Where had she come from? She looked about my age, small leaves and grass blades were entangled in her hair, that was long and dark and matted. Her sparkling green eyes made her dirty face look pretty, and she watched me with wariness and amusement.
I didn’t know what to say, I just opened my mouth and asked: “How?”
“Come with me, quick!”
She picked up her long, ragged skirts and started running up the hill, along the fence.
“What? Wait!”
I started after her before I even had the time to think. Who was this girl? Where had she come from? Why was she so shabby? Where was she leading me, and why?
“Okay, stop. Stop!”  I cried.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “We can’t stop now. They’ll catch us! Come on, run, we’re almost there.”
She started up the hill again, and I couldn’t help but follow. I stopped again when she did. I thought I’d be out of breath, but I was not: that’s when I realized this must be a dream.
“Now what?”
“Look”, she said, pointing to the ground. The fence had been wrecked.
“We’re too big, we’ll hurt ourselves. Besides, what’s the point? Why not simply climb, if we have to get to the other side?”
She grinned.
“Let’s do that!”
With one leap she was beyond the fence and had started running again.
“Wait, stop!”
She kept running, so I climbed the fence, much less nimbly than her, I admit, and ran after her.
She finally stopped and crouched behind a big, thorny bush. Sweat was leaving white streaks on her dirty brow and cheeks, her breath was heavy. She looked at me, terror in her eyes.
“What? What is it?” I asked, grabbing her hand.
“Shut up, don’t talk! They might hear us. Oh God, will they catch us? Where are they? Can you see them?”
“Who are you talking about? There’s no one here, it’s just the two of us.” Dream or not, I was starting to feel uncomfortable. “Now calm down and tell me: who are you? What or who are you running from?”
She looked at me with sad eyes.
“Don’t you remember?” she asked.
I gasped. One moment I was myself, the next I was the girl in front of me. Chased by men who wanted to burn me as a witch. By men who had burned down my village, killing or capturing all my friends and family. I was left alone in a dangerous world. Running for my life, but where?
My head was spinning.
“Now you remember”, she muttered. “We fled”, she added, nodding to herself, her eyes lost in the distance.
“Did... Did they catch us?”
She shook her head.
“They did not. We ran for days, climbing hill after hill after hill. We were all alone. We shed tears for all the people we had lost. For all the beauty of this place, wasted on evil people. For all the magic that was lost.”
I didn’t dare break the silence that followed, so I stayed still, crouched next to her, waiting for her to speak again. At last, she glanced at me and smiled.
“It wasn’t lost, not all of it, at least. The magic, I mean. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I am you, you are me. That much you know, right?”
I nodded quickly, before my mind had time to process the thought and convince me it was nonsense.
“I am here right now, but you are not. Not really, at least. You are my future. I needed a scrap of hope, and I called out to you. Now I know it’ll be worth it.”
I slowly stood and lifted my eyes to the top of the hill. She did the same.
One heartbeat. Two, three. I shook my head.
“Go on and live your life”, I said then. “I’ll go on and live mine. Come see me some other time, if you wish. Let me know how you’re doing.”
She sighed, but kept on smiling.
“I will. Take care, and be wise.”
She turned and started running again. I stood there, watching her becoming smaller and smaller until she disappeared beyond the top of the hill.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up, but realized I was already awake.
The sun was about to set and I must run if I wanted to be back at the B&B before dark.

The Spot Writers:
Val Muller:
Catherine A. MacKenzie:
Phil Yeats:
Chiara De Giorgi:

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