A Journey's Revelations

Exploration

Aubrey paced in her parent’s living room, in front of the door that had haunted her for years. Her parents weren’t home, and they wouldn’t be tonight. It was finally her chance. She had to know what breathed behind the oak door. 

Aubrey took a deep breath, closed her eyes and reached out her trembling hand. She fought within herself, her mind flashing to the beatings she’d received for this very action. But, before she could stop herself, she opened the door and peeked inside. 

She gasped.

 It was just like she had imagined her whole life. Another world lay, sprawled at the doorstep, expansive and truly more than she could have ever guessed. It was springtime, just like in her own world, with all beautiful flowers littering the soft earth, wild and colorful. Heart pounding, and with a certain roaring in her ears, she stepped inside and the door shut behind her. Much to his surprise and dismay, it immediately disappeared behind her, causing her no little amount of panic. She steadied herself, and realized she cared little if she ever saw that house again; she could not live the life she was currently leading. Then, like a baseball bat to her stomach, she remembered Aaron. She hoped desperately that she would see him again, but she couldn’t be anywhere near her parents ever again. She could no longer take the pain, the beating, both verbal and physical. Stuck in her thoughts and attempting to master her fear, a butterfly swept past her nose like the wind and woke her from her brief trance. As she hesitantly walked further into the world, she spotted a black rabbit in the glen. She sat, then patiently goaded it with some leaves she saw it had been eating, and soon it was hopping all around her, if not letting her pet it. Aubrey looked away from the creature and took in her surroundings, and again was swept up in worry.

How would her parents handle her strange and sudden disappearance?  They probably wouldn’t care; they never loved her anyway. She was 21, but after college she’d come back home to work and finish paying off her loans. It had grated on her to place herself in their mercy again, but there had been no other options. Her loans weren’t going to pay themselves, and she had no one nearby she was close to that she could live with. While her brother and she were fairly close,  he was an engineer, destined for great things.  Or so Mom always said. He was currently working in Beijing for an engineering firm devoted to clean energy.

Aubrey breathed deeply of the clean air around her and leaned back on her elbows, her dark, curly, auburn hair brushing the ground. She looked around her, her sea green eyes taking in everything as fully as possible, drink it in like fine wine. She smiled, amazed, but simultaneously felt the panic rise in her. She didn’t know where she was, where to go, what the language was, or really anything of value about the place she had come to.

She thought she had been right to come here, and it truly was amazing, but what if her foolhardiness of coming here without supplies or a plan was the end of her?  She wanted to explore this new realm, to see what she could find but she knew she had to have priorities. She had to find water, food, then people. If there were any people here. She shivered as the thought crossed her mind. She stood, ready to go about her tasks, and instantly realized she’d forgotten about the rabbit. It started from her sudden movement, and quickly bolted into the nearby brush.

She wanted to go after it, as it was really her only comfort. She was stuck, with no guide and no idea where she was, where to go and as much as she wished to explore, she was scared. She wished Aaron was here with her. She walked for a while, attempting to find somewhere to make camp, and hopefully some water and something to eat. The sun started to leave the sky, and dark was dawning. She found some trees to shield her,  and she laid down, hoping to find what she needed to in the morning. She fell asleep under the majestic night sky, the stars glittering, foreign and brilliant, the wind breezing warmly, as if trying to comfort her.

She awoke the next morning to a songbird. The songbird, as if speaking to her, played a sweet, solemn tune that nearly moved her to tears. She coughed, and her tongue felt dry. Her stomach growled and she realized that her need for food and water was greater than she would have liked. Aubrey got up, brushed off her pants and set out along an unmarked path. She came across a clear, blue stream. With no way to check whether it was safe or not, she knew running water was typically safe, and with her parched throat she truly had no choice. She tested the water, searching for a bad taste,and then drank deeply when she discovered nothing of the sort.

Now that her thirst was quenched, she found another unmarked yet worn path and wandered along it, hoping to stumble upon something that she could eat--and that, hopefully, would not kill her.  She wandered along several different paths for a while, hoping to find something. Just when she had given up, she spotted a strange looking bush with a small fruit the size of an orange on it.She went over to it, and it looked as though some of the blossoms had been picked off, which seemed like a good sign. Aubrey picked one, and examined it. Without knowing whether it was safe, and with no way to find out, she sighed. Hesitantly, she took a bite, and discovered a sweet taste, much to her surprise and pleasure.

  She had seen no sign of anything human: footprints, ashes, gadgets or otherwise. She was beginning to second guess her choice to leave her home. She walked on and was lost in her thoughts, thinking of home, of Aaron. She was cursing her foolishness when all of the sudden she tripped and fell flat on her face. Confused, she went back and looked at what she had tripped over. It was a spear, which boded well for some sort of human existence. She travelled a little further on the same path. She spotted something brown and dried that looked out of place. There was blood, old and dried, over nearly everything.  At first, she has assumed it was mud, but now she knew otherwise.Other weapons were scattered all over, broken. Big indents, as if something had been dragged, lead in two directions. Aubrey looked in the dirt, and dried blood for footprints, and found a few of what could be. Eventually, she found horse tracks, and smiled with relief. They went in one of the directions of the drag marks. She followed them for some time and shivered with anticipation and no little fear after she left the sight of the skirmish. Just when she was about to give up, Aubrey smelt smoke. She followed her nose to the heart of the scent. Her heart skipped a beat and then pounded in her ears.

There, off in the distance, was a small village of canvas tents.