Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

III.

Earth The air was blowing softly across the field. The sun was shining warmly and brightly above me and even though I felt tired and sweaty, I loved being out here in the open. It had been so long since I had last been here. Too long.I had almost forgotten the way the trees sounded against each other as the wind swayed them back and forth. The smell of blooming flowers and trees moving with the wind. The way the ground felt like a soft cloud underneath my feet. And the old abandoned cabin that came with the scenery. 

It was a picture I would have imagined in a romantic or a self-discovery movie. I smiled at the thought and shook my head as I headed for the stairs that led up to the cabin's door. I sat down on the top step and looked out into the horizon, recalling all the memories I had made here all those years ago. 

I couldn't remember why I had stopped coming. All I knew was that the last time I had been here was ten years ago. I always managed to sneak out of adult supervision and find my way here. 

I never knew how I came to discover this cabin nor how I could easily find my way as if I had been here before a million times. It was as if something here were calling out to me. 

The adults and other kids in the orphanage didn't understand why I spent so much time here. Everyone knew about the existence of the cabin but no one knew much about it aside from that it was abandoned and no one knew its story, and they didn't seem eager to come to join me. It was as if they thought the place was haunted or cursed. I didn't believe in any of that. Partially because I didn't feel any dark vibes coming from the small abandoned building. I felt nothing but peace and at home. 

It was funny how even though I had stopped coming here in a long time, this place still felt more like home than the orphanage I had grown up in. For a little over sixteen years, the adults taking care of us in the orphanage had raised me and taught me most of what I knew. 

I never met my parents and neither had most of the orphans in the small place I lived. Just like me, they had been taken there before they were old enough to realize what was going on. But the biggest difference between me and those kids was that I held no remorse or anger towards my birth parents. I knew there must have been a big reason for leaving me there. Maybe they couldn't take care of me or maybe they were being hunted down by some killer, who knew? 

Either way, I had made peace with that reality. Maybe someday I would know the truth. Maybe someday I would know the real reasons why I had ended up here. But then again, maybe not. I couldn't hold onto that string of hope wishing it would come soon one day. If I got the chance to meet them, great, but if I didn't, I was okay with that too. 

I chuckled as I shook my head. It was this sort of thinking that isolated me from the rest of the orphans I lived with. 

The boys always bullied me for having liking different things than them and for thinking differently. While they played soccer or baseball, I was locked up in my room drawing or deep inside the forest exploring and just losing myself with nature. The girls liked to call me a very down-to-earth sort of guy and that seemed to make them more friendly and open towards me. The girls were nice but I had never considered any of them my friends, just acquaintances that someday I would start to forget. 

With a sigh, I shook my head and got to my feet before walking down the steps towards the garden in front of the cabin. The long grass a couple of feet away was swaying with the soft breeze and I kneeled to the ground while pulling out a small seed from my pocket. 

This was the real reason I was here. 

Somehow, I had found this seed while I had been out in the backyard of the orphanage. Something about it caught my eye and as soon as my fingers touched the small seed, I knew where I had to go. I couldn't sleep without dreaming of this place and three days later, I found myself here recalling all the goods times I had spent here.

A smile crept into my face as I recalled a small boy who liked to play on the ground. His shoes were always muddy and his jeans had grass stains on their knees. The adults would scold me once I got back to the orphanage but I never cared. I enjoyed being here. 

And ten years later, we were back here as if nothing had changed. Everything still looked the same. The small garden still had rows and rows of vivid flowers like peonies and tulips that decorated the landscape and hopefully, throughout the years, this seed I was going to plant would grow into a big tree or flower one day. 

My bare hands pulled the soft dirt back as I carved a small howl on the ground before placing the seed inside. Gently, I covered it with dirt and then poured some water I had brought with me from a stream nearby. 

I hoped that whatever this seed contained, thrived and grew like it was supposed to. A tinge of sadness filled me as I thought about how I might never be able to see it grow. Heck, I might never even see it sprout from the ground if I followed the idea that had crossed my mind a couple of days ago.

For some reason, I felt that it was time to leave. Something inside of me, a small voice told me there was some other place where I was needed. Where I needed to go.

I couldn't describe the feeling but it got stronger and stronger with each day that passed. 

My seventeenth birthday would be here in just a couple of days and when that day came, I knew what I had to do. I just hoped I was brave enough to take the leap. 

Dusting my hands off, I got up from the ground and took in a deep breath. The cool air was beginning to feel colder as winter approached but with it came the smell of pines and oaks coming from the forest. A smell I had always loved. 

Exhaling deeply, I smiled and decided to head back to the orphanage. It was almost dark out and the adults were very strict with their rules about curfew. 

A shudder of discomfort ran down my spine as I thought about the only time I had been out past dark. It hadn't been my fault but the adults didn't want to hear it. 

I had been cornered in the forest by a group of older boys when I was twelve. They had surrounded me and thought it would be funny to tie me to a tree and leave me there calling for help and crying like a scared boy. 

But I didn't. In fact, I enjoyed every moment I had spent tied up to that tree as I looked around the forest and tried to memorize everything. 

Someway, I had managed to set myself free a couple of hours later but by then, it was too late. The adults from the orphanage had already started looking for me with their bright lanterns and loud calls. 

When they found me near the orphanage, I had never seen anyone so mad as I did then. The punishment had been the worst part. I still had scars on my back to prove it. But just like the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. 

After that, I learned to go back before dark and keep away from the boys who enjoyed messing with me. 

Little by little, things settled down and I was now sixteen years old. 

The small white building of the orphanage came into view just in time before the sun started to set. Children and teens were crowding around the entrance to get back inside as the adults watched and counted each child that walked through. 

When it was my turn, I instantly wished I could be back in the cabin. 

Young children were screaming and chasing each other around the house and I had to avoid getting run over by them. 

Further, into the house, the older teens were laughing and talking amongst themselves as if they weren't sitting only a couple of inches away from each other. It was too loud. Too chaotic and I didn't feel comfortable being here.

Quickly, I headed up the stairs towards my room and closed the door after me, drowning all the noise behind me. 

Thankfully, my roommate wasn't here and that gave me a bit of relief. I didn't hate my roommate, he was a good guy, but I wanted to be alone in peace for a moment before we had to head towards the dining room to eat dinner. 

Looking at the clock, I saw I still had at least half an hour before I had to go back down so I pulled my sketchbook from under my pillow and opened it to the next blank page. I lost count of how many drawings I had made throughout the years but the ones sketched in this notebook were my favorite. It was clear my technique had developed into what it was now. 

Skillfully, I took my pencil and let my hand begin to graze the paper. I didn't know what I was drawing. Normally I didn't. I just let my imagination wander until the final picture came into view. And right now that picture was my guess of what the plant inside the seed would look like once it matured. 

A big oak tree stood in front of the cabin and I managed to capture every single detail as if I had seen it before so many times. 

In the end, I was surprised to see just how realistic the sketch looked. It was as if I could push my hand inside the paper and touch the object in it. 

I chuckled and shook my head just as I heard a woman knocking on the door. "It's time for dinner!" She called out and I winced. Her heels started to move towards the next room and I quickly set my sketchbook down and placed it back under my pillow. 

I ran down the steps and followed the rest of the orphans towards the dining room where our dinner was all set. Everyone took their seats and like it was customary, we held our hands together in prayer as we thanked for our food. 

...

After dinner, I felt completely exhausted and full. I didn't know how I'd been able to eat so much. Normally, I only ate what I had to feel well, but this time, I had gone all the way. Even the adults looked surprised to see me eating so much. 

I groaned as I let myself fall on the bed as my eyes stared up at the ceiling. It was spinning and I placed my cold hand against my forehead and I shivered. I was burning up. 

How had I gotten sick? I never got sick, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes when a headache started to form.

Maybe it was from eating too much, I thought, but even I knew that wasn't true.

Turning to my side, I curled up into a ball and shivered. How was it possible to feel cold and hot at the same time? It made no sense. 

As I could, I pulled the blanket over me as another shudder course throughout my body. My jaw was clenched together tightly as a shock ran through my brain. 

You need to sleep, Mason. You're just tired, I told myself as I tried to calm my breathing.

Slowly, my heart started to slow down and through the pain, exhaustion overtook me. 

The last thing I saw that night before losing myself to the darkness was the big, blooming tree I had sketched in my notebook. Distantly, the wind carried the soft voice of a woman I couldn't recognize but my blood went cold when I realized what she was saying. 

Mason. Find me. We need you. It's time.