Re(1): deep in the meadow, under the willow [open] Posted on March 20, 2020 at 07:16:49 PM by Alto
Surprisingly, Alto felt more lost after he'd arrived on the eastern shore than he had since the beginning of his journey. It was rather unfair, he thought. He'd come all this way - no easy task - so he should be faced with some kind of reward, not this looming uncertainty that he couldn't get off his mind. So he did the only thing he felt reasonable - leaving that beach, of course. Not only was sand inedible and saltwater undrinkable, staying in one place only worsened the feeling of anxiety and doubt about his future. Traveling, at least, gave him something to focus on instead. He chose to follow the river - oh, there would surely be something lying in the other directions, too, but they were nothing but open expanses of grass, while the river -
Well, the river was a line, a path to follow. It might have meandered here and there, but a path was a path, whereas flat fields with the occasional hill offered nothing. No path to follow, no promise of getting somewhere eventually. Maybe this line of thought was irrational; Alto wasn't sure. But following the river made him feel better, so follow it he did.
The day blurred behind him as he traveled, while his surroundings shifted from flat meadow to gentle hills to sloping mountainsides. By this time the sun had set but the sky still held on to some light, not quite the deep blue-black of night yet. He didn't notice the roaring sound at first. At first, it was just another constant background noise, sitting with the evening crickets in an unacknowledged corner of his awareness. But it grew and grew as Alto went further along the river, and when the moon was high in the sky the sound of crashing water had grown to drown out most quieter sounds. Alto quickened his pace with a subconscious eagerness to get to whatever it was, to finally get somewhere and see something, and before he knew it he'd come across the clearing.
The power and beauty of the moonlit falls mesmerized him, but only for a moment. Because there was someone else in the clearing. Although Alto had hoped to meet someone in this new place, he felt his stomach do a backflip as it always did when he tried to talk to strangers anyway. The old worries, what if I'm annoying, what if she isn't friendly, what if...., rush through his mind, but this time there was something else: the stranger appeared to be crying.
Gripped by nervousness, Alto hesitates for a long moment before tentatively stepping closer to speak. "Hey. Um, are you okay? Do you need help?" Although he wasn't quite sure what he could possibly help with, anyway. Maybe she was lost. But it wasn't like he knew the way to anything, either. Replies: