Young and Happy - Melinne Hay

Young and happy, yet it was taken short as a wicked storm blew, breaking me in such a cruel manner, ripping me harshly from my mother. Not yet ready to break free nor was I ready to feel so cold and alone. I cried out to my mother as I was ripped from her loving embrace. She stretched and reached down, still fighting the winds that bullied her, only to barely miss me. She called out my name in despair crying out lulls of comfort, trying to calm me down to tell me everything would be alright again; that once this chilling rain had subsided we could and would be happy and warm again. I knew that there would never be such a time – with the crashing impact of a few steam trains hitting my whole body seemed only to confirm my doubts. How I felt so dead, curled up on the forest floor as young grass laughs and cheers rejoicing in the feeling of the refreshing rain. To me the harsh rain just felt cold and unforgiving, I felt dead. I don’t know how long I waited there curled, I watched as the warm sun go up and go back down too many times to count. I just sat there – until some strong hands had taken me up to inspect me. I begged him not to, just to let me wallow in my self-pity, just let my days pass by as I knew my doom was only a few years away, that I would spend it in solitude. He acted like he couldn’t hear my pleas. I watched his unusually striking green eyes look over me. I felt suddenly naked and exposed. We stood there looking at each other for a few seconds that felt like an eon to pass in all reality it was probably only a few fleeting moments. He finally nodded in approval and the kid with fire had pulled me back into his container roughly made from an animal of some sort. Then I felt warm. I had taken a ride in his pouch of some sort for a while, but soon others like me were added and we were packed together, fuzzy and content. Within a few hours I had found my saviors name and some others things about him. He slid me out of the case and bringing the edge of his rather dull knife the top of my head and with one stroke after another he worked methodically and not settling for anything less the prefect. He talked to me while he worked. He had a rough voice for someone so small, it was rather apparent that English was not his native language but he talked to me and another boy who couldn’t be much older then five, the same striking green eyes, who came running towards us. “Ian, Ian!” he chipped happily running towards Ian. Ian had put me down on the grass for a second to free his hands to pick up the younger kid who wanted attention so desperately. I didn’t mind though – the ground felt nice and possibly because I knew that he would soon pick me back up. “Hey wee lad, ya got somethin’ fer me?” Ian smiled picking up the blonde and swung him around a little before sitting back down putting him on his lap with a smile. I watched on curiously. The boy gave him a wide smiled and settled down comfortably on his lap. “Of course! I got you some herbs, you promised you’d make me tea if I could find the right herbs see!” Unraveling the bunched up part of his green tunic to reveal a mess of leaves and a few strands of grass that had gotten in the mix. Ian smiled softly. “Course Arthur, we’ll make ya some tea, I’ll catch dinner after I finish makin’ arrows ‘lright lad?” Who I assumed was Arthur nodded and looked down at his pile of herbs rather proudly. I smiled watching the two young kids have fun together and just like I thought Ian hand picked me back up and started working on my half finished point. “Are we going to eat something other then rabbit today?” Arthur had finally spoken up after a while possible, the quiver in his voice made my heart just break into several small pieces. Had they not have a mother? Or a father? Maybe a place to return too? “… Aye, I’ll see what I can do ‘lright?” Ian kisses the back of Arthurs head and slid me back into the pouch with the other recently made arrows we all looked at each other silently agreeing that we all had to do something for these two. We had to help in our own way; getting them food perhaps something bigger then a rabbit.