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#18- Walk Through The Woods
I nodded, happy to be able to acquire warmth again. Ahisutah turned around, still with her hands behind her back, beginning to walk towards the deep forest in a slow but steady pace. I followed her, noticing my shoes where completely soaked with the water of the ankle deep snow. It felt cold and uncomfortable but I felt a lot calmer since it was certain I was finally walking towards all the answers to my questions. I had so much to ask her that my head hurt.
Whitey-chan was striding happily beside me; the feathers on his wings stirred from a small but chilling gust of wind. He moved closer to me and grabbed my jacket sleeve, holding onto it tightly as is I was his mother. I glanced curiously at him. He noticed my looking at him and turned his attention up to me, beaming and sticking out his pink tongue. I opened my mouth in surprise, fixing my eyes on him then closing my mouth tightly, glaring at him with a smirk.
I was amused.
He whirled his look away from me playfully, giggling to himself, and continued walking in silence.
The forest around us was astonishingly quiet; no shrieking of millions of birds, no cawing of crows. There were trees surrounding us from all directions, their branches covering most of the bright sky light above us, only letting a few strong rays of light shine through. The ever-green trees seemed like ants amongst the bare-leaved, enormous cedar trees. Their trunks were almost two meters wide across and the roots stuck out from the ground, causing lots of bumps and hills in our path. I’ve never seen such large trees in my entire life. The snow on the ground was becoming thinner and thinner as we got deeper into the forest where larger trees covered the sky and snow from penetrating into the trees and onto the forest floor. From time to time I would hear the crackle of a twig some animal may have stepped on while roaming or the sound of quiet and distant bird calls and calls of other wild animals which startled me. But Ahisutah was always glimpsing back at me and Whitey-chan to check if we were both still there, saying a few assuring words.
“The animals of this forest are quiet at peace,” Ahisutah said mildly, looking back at us, “they do not taste the flesh of man or feel the urge to kill. Do not worry, Ayumi, dear, they won’t harm us.”
I nodded in understanding of her words yet still feeling nervous walking with only a bizarre young boy with wings and a sleepless looking grandmother.
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