Rise Early (Open)

[The Shining One]

Aleta Green


I woke up and was extremely bored. Bored to the point of dying perhaps. I woke up on the couch in our small living room, the scent of trees and leaves always hanging on to the furniture. I rolled on to the ground silently and lay there for a moment, the atmosphere seeming too peaceful to disrupt. But eventually I dragged myself off of the floor to find that it was Sunday morning.

Sundays were the best: the only days where the woods were quiet and you could hear every single bird in the whole forest. I like birds. I just love the whole idea of flying and soaring over the trees. Having wings would be awesome. I could live up to my namesake then.

Putting that aside, I walked into the little kitchen we had in our house only to find no one there. Everyone else was sleeping, and by everyone else I mean my mother. It was just her and myself in our humble abode. I thought nothing of it. My mother always slept late and I always rose at the crack of dawn. Waking early was something I became accustomed to. I hated sleeping late because I'd always feel like I'd miss something. My internal body clock was always set for the first streaks of light that crossed the sky.

In the kitchen I grabbed a piece of bread and some butter, combined them and put the two into my mouth. The traditional Sunday morning breakfast for me: I didn't like to hang around the house too long.

I quickly chewed up my food and silently crossed the floor to my front door. I grasped my wolf-tooth necklace. I got the tooth when I found a dead wolf in the forest. It was the farthest I had ever gone before. So me, being the unique individual that I am, walked on over and pulled a tooth right out of the jaw. It was one of the canine teeth, the biggest and sharpest ones. I always laugh at that thought: canine teeth of a wolf. Isn't that redundant?

Anyway, after slipping inconspicuously through the front door, I made a straight course into the heart of the trees. Since it was still considerably dark, I practiced blending in and out of shadows. A skill useful as all get out, for me. As I practiced, I began to pick up the gradually loudening sound of birdsong. Eventually the sun rose too high in the sky and most of the forest's shadows were too light a grey to use. So, to keep myself out of boredom, I decided just to go running for a while.

At this point, I was too hyped up to sit still. I am extremely paranoid of everything, but the woods never really felt worthy of being dangerous to me. Not to say that I really relaxed, I never truly calm down, but just less aware of every little sound that could possibly be heard by human ears.

With my deep black eyes I scanned the area for any signs of movement, like an animal or maybe another person. My golden rule for other living things is: I see them first, but if I don't then I assume that they're dangerous. What can I say, being wary is what has kept me alive. Or so I believe.

When I reached a nice looking tree, I sat down, leaning against the strong solid trunk. I found a comfortable spot and closed my eyes ready to just cast out my senses and listen to the world. If anyone or anything came by, I'd be ready to fight or fly.

[Guilietta]

My father looked so small and sad, down there on his bed. He was still asleep, but it wouldn't take a lot of time until he'd wake up. Maybe she could just go outside, not too long, but long enough to get her head all empty.

She put on her old coat and stepped outside. The ends of her layerd hair tickled her cheeks and through the thin bottoms of her shoes she could feel the soft forestfloor. She had always liked the idea of stepped outside and immediately entering the forest. Chaya decided to make a quick walk around her favorite tree and maybe stop by to sit down and hear the birds sing.

Just as she walked, slowly quietly, enjoying the early morning, she saw another girl, sitting against hér tree. She wanted to scream to her, she had to go away from her tree, but she kept her calmness. Calmly she said.
"What are you doing here?"

[The Shining One]

My eyes shot open, flared wide as plates.

The voice sounded of controlled calmness. A girl. How in the world did I not hear her coming? I thought. I wanted to run, bolt, but I didn't, like an idiot. Instead, with extreme self-discipline, I let my eyes and face go flat and devoid of all emotion. Preparing myself to face the person, I made my breath deep but not noticeable, my feet ready to run. Slowly I stood up and turned to face the girl, but not all the way. Turning my left shoulder to her, I kept my heart turned to the tree to protect it.

Making myself look calm in potentially dangerous and or annoying situations has been one of the things I was "taught" in school. Well, I taught myself really. It took a while to get a handle on it, but eventually I was able to look completely emotionless given any circumstance. Now, most people can't do that to the extent that I can: looking unaware but in reality ready to disappear in a flash.

I looked at the girl and quickly studied her. At first glance, she didn't look too dangerous. Too skinny. But does that mean anything? No. It doesn't. Steeling myself, I looked hard right into the girl's eyes. My black eyes bored into hers as I replied, "Hanging out."

[Guilietta]

Her black eyes bored into mike as if she wanted to intimidate me. As if. "Hanging out." she answered. And Chaya got the idea that she might have been rude. She just had been surprised that someone was sitting against her tree. Maybe she could say something kind, because the girl looked like she could attack her any minute from now. "Umm...." Chaya said, trying to find any words to say, looking at the leaves above her as if they carried the answers. "I'm Chaya." She tried to be friendly, though she knew that she, and the girl probably not as well, would like to have a friendly chit-chat. She wanted to just be alone, at her beautiful tree, but how could she tell the girl without being rude?

[The Shining One]

I definitely picked up on the feeling that she wanted me to clear out. Ha. We're on the same page. Even though I caught on to this intention, it felt like to me that she wasn't very sure of herself. I had to hand it to her though, she was doing well to hold her ground. It's very easy for me to look scary. One of my skills. The girl and I stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds. Then the girl looked up at the leaves. I searched for answers in myself. Think think think think! What could I say to her? Keeping my calm face, I pondered my options.

"Um… I'm Chaya," she said.

Okay. So her name's Chaya. She sounded friendly enough, but I knew that it meant absolutely nothing. She was probably waiting for a response. I just continued to stare at her as she waited. I wanted to get across that I was not something to mess with. Trying to decide whether or not to tell her my name, I looked at the tree. I began to connect her faux friendliness to the tree. Maybe she thought I had trespassed on her little area or so. She probably wanted me to get away so she could hang here. Well, I wouldn't want to keep us in conflict here.

Coming to my decision, I told her my name. "Aleta," I nodded at her.

[Guilietta]

Did this girl did it on purpose, waiting long enough for her to feel not a little, but very awkward before answering? Chaya looked in all ways except for the girl's face, which made it even more awkward. Finnaly, she answered with a short "Aleta". The rest of the quietness of the woods that needed to be filled, she left for Chaya. Chaya started to wish she had never gone to her tree. If her father'd wake up and notice she wasn't here, what'd happen? She had always been back in time, except from today. Would he think she had somehow left him, like her mom and sister in some way had done? The quietness and awkwardness of being alone with another girl, not knowing what to say, make her overthink.

"So... Umm.... Do you... Umm..."
Questions were always good, but now, she had to find a good one which would keep the girl talking.
"Do you come here more often?"
That sounded like a poor way of flirting. She wasn't making any friends like this...
"Umm... I mean.... in the woods, where it's always nice and quiet and..."

This was crap and Chaya knew it. If the girl had even considered the idea that Chaya was someone kind you want to be friends with, or someone so scary you better leave her stuff alone, she had now completely sketched herself as someone stupid. If she and her sister used to hear people talking like this, they immitated them and laughed. She could almost hear her sister say 'Umm...' the annoying way she had just did. Chaya wanted to throw an axe in a tree, make it fall, roots up in the air.

[The Shining One]

So I told her my name. Was that smart? No. Of course not. Was I thinking straight today? Absolutely not. I wasn't too concerned though. She looked more nervous than me. In fact, I didn’t look nervous at all, or any other emotion, to be accurate. If any threat was posed, I'd be out of there like lightning. I was waiting for a response. I'd told Chaya my name, so it was her turn to talk. I still had my heart turned to the tree.

"So… Umm… Do you… Umm…" she tried.

It's a good start. It is really awkward. She hadn't run away. I felt strangely happy. Was it possibly because I was not acquainted with many people? Maybe, but I wasn't sure. I mean, I had no reason whatsoever to be unkind, so I just stayed neutral.

"Do you come here more often? Umm... I mean.... in the woods, where it's always nice and quiet and..." Chaya said.

Ha. I was glad she was trying to talk because I kind of suck at it. She still looked uncomfortable, and I was still watching her every move. Realizing that she had just spoken, I figured that I should say something now. Ok. Now I was in the melting pot. See? I'm demonstrating my amazing verbal skills. I decided to go along with her small talk. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to be friendly or if she wanted to keep me talking or both. It was hard to tell. So I just went with my gut.

"Yeah I come in the woods a lot. Never stopped here before though. Why? Do you hang out here a lot?"


That was all I had. Nothing else came to me to say.

[Guilietta]

Chaya had no idea why she didn't just leave... But then again, she had to tell her dad where she had been, and she didn't exactly feel like that. Maybe she just had better left while she still could, but Chaya had a strange feeling she and the girl were somehow the same, both loners.

"Yeah I come in the woods a lot. Never stopped here before though. Why? Do you hang out here a lot?" Aleta answered. Chaya couldn't just say like that why she asked, because the only reason she did was the fact that she just had to say something. The forbid herself saying umm for ten minutes, maybe longer, to came across as stronger for the girl. For this, she had to wait another couple of awkward minutes to make up a good answer. This little talk they were having, wasn't exactly going the right way.

"Well, I come here a lot as well. I just wondered if you came here more often, because it seems so weird I would have never seen you, but seen you don't, well..."
Chaya was a bit out of speech. "I probably did pay attention enough." she then decided to finish.

Now it was the girl's turn to say something or go away, wasn't it?

[The Shining One]

I put myself out there, and now I couldn't leave. I had trapped myself: Chaya could recognize me, knew my voice and knew that I come in the woods a lot. Wow. Three huge blunders in one day. That's a new record for me. Despite that, I was beginning not to relax, but become less aware of everything. I'm never, ever, not alert. Sometimes my senses are just...dimmer.

I looked at Chaya, waiting for her response. I couldn't run off now or back out. It wasn't like I could run to my friends: I didn't have any. Although, maybe I could make one out of Chaya. The thought barely even crossed my mind. But, I'm content with loner-ship. I've survived that way and I'm not letting that go immediately.

Suddenly my mother came to mind. I don't know why she did, but it didn't matter. Sometimes I spent whole days away from home and she didn’t worry. She knows how I am. Even though she knows me, she doesn't know much. I don’t let anyone in completely, but I do, however, trust my mother.

Then Chaya spoke up.

"Well, I come here a lot as well. I just wondered if you came here more often, because it seems so weird I would have never seen you, but seen you don't, well… I probably did pay attention enough."


Then I said, "Probably wasn't you so much as it was me. I practice getting around. People don’t notice me a lot." And I like it that way, I added silently. It still blows my mind how she got here and I didn’t hear her. Huh. I must be slipping.

[Guilietta]

This time, the girl answered more quickly. "Probably wasn't you so much as it was me. I practice getting around. People don’t notice me a lot." She answered. I wondered if she was playing a game with me, a game of letting me do all the talking, and almost saying nothing herself.

This was so uncomfortable. Even though that I started liking the girl a bit more, because she had just litteraly said People don't notice me a lot and this was also the case with Chaya. People never seemed to notice her, not that she cared, but it made them the same in some way. Tired of standing, she leaned against another tree, feeling a bit more at ease.

Quietly she listened to a song of a bird breathlessly, thinking of all the mornings she had stood her with her little sister, listening to what seemed like the same bird. When his song ended, Chaya almost felt the urgue to clap her hands, but of course she didn't, that would come across like really weird. Before she could stop herself, one word slipped between her lips.

"Beautiful." she said, then wondering what she could say to make it all less weird, but hestiated and then just shut her mouth to not make the magical moment go away.

[The Shining One]

It seems to me that Chaya and I are more alike than I had previously expected. She looked like a loner type, like me. It was kind of nice to know that I wasn't alone in that sort of way. Comforting.

Just then, a gorgeous bird flew onto a nearby branch. The new sunlight radiated off of his small, fragile yet powerful wings. He looked so iridescent. Then he started to sing. His voice sounded clear and high. The notes carried up and down, and occasionally he would flash his wings. I love listening to birds. Looking over at Chaya, I saw that she did too. I allowed myself an inward smile. Maybe even more is in common between the two of us. We sat there for what seemed like hours, just listening to the spirited and uplifting tune of the songbird.

I'm not sure what it is about birds, but they just fascinate me. Sometimes, when I have nothing to do, I come out here and listen to the birds without moving a muscle. Those were my favorite times. When I was about five years old, my mother would come with me, but I was pretty independent by six. After the bird finished, I heard Chaya utter, "Beautiful."

I turned my head to her for a second, and then back again to somewhere off in the distance. She was absolutely right. I couldn't agree more. Leaning myself against the tree, I thought about the bird. He was so free it hurt to think about it. My name, meaning "winged", I think is why I love birds. They are connected to me.

"Yeah… it was." I said accidentally. Oh well. It was a pretty song. And I loved it. So why should I keep it inside?

[Guilietta]

Leaning against the tree, she heard Aleta say something, but she didn't quite listen. Instead she listed to the quietness of the woods she loved so much. Her thoughts were totally somewhere else, they were with her sister and mom, somewhere far away. Thoughts that made her feel happy and sad at the same time. Just the thing she always did at mornings, when she sat here alone.

All of a sudden, after Chaya had no idea how long, she noticed Aleta's presence again. She had been disappearing in her own thoughts so much she forgot Aleta was there. She turned her head over and saw Aleta standing against a tree.

"Where do you live?" she suddenly felt the urgue to ask something again, not because it was unconfortable, just because she wanted to talk to someone, about nothing important. Get her thoughts all orderly again, in stead of messed up.

[The Shining One]

I don't think Chaya heard me. She just leaned against another tree, seeming to be listening to the world. Waiting and listening has always been something I liked too. Sometimes, if I was lucky, I could hear flocks of mockingjays who just heard a new song singing out in three-part harmony. Those days when I heard that stuff were the best. And of course they were all Sundays.

This one time, me and a few other people were deep in the woods, chopping as usual, and all of a sudden about 20 mockingjays flew in and perched themselves on branches. Then they burst out into the most wonderful song. We all recognized it as a song that many of the kids were taught. I knew it. We all started singing with the birds. That was the best day that I'd had so far. I was thrilled. That was the first day I had sung out loud.

I think I actually smiled.

The bird we heard wasn't a mockingjay, it didn’t have the mockingjays' song voice. Despite that, it was a pretty song. Suddenly Chaya asked me, "Where do you live?"

What brought that on? I wondered: should I tell her? It wasn't like she seemed dangerous. But I couldn't take a chance. So I said, "Not far from the edge of the tree line."


I still couldn't let go of my adorable paranoia, now, could I?

[Guilietta]

Chaya thought her question might have been a bit sudden, but she didn't care anymore. Her purpose had just been to, maybe, become friends with this girl in some way. "Not far from the edge of the tree line." she answered and Chaya smiled. For some reason Chaya found the girl funny, how quiet she was, in a way of not telling anything. She still wondered if her father was awake and missed her. Also she wondered wheter Aleta had family waiting for her, wondering where she was.

"I live there."

She pointed at her house, with was invisible through the trees, but very close. It was not like the girl had asked her anything, but why not give an answer anyway? She licked her dry lips and looked around the forest again. It made her all so calm, it was amazing.

[The Shining One]

"I live there," Chaya said as she pointed to where her house supposedly was. I didn't ask her where she lived. Maybe she was just a generally more trusting person than me. That is very likely. She smiled. I couldn't help but feel a little amused. We were so different yet had a lot in common. Not that she knew that though. I haven't exactly given anything away. Chaya licked her lips and looked around at the forest.

I found the forest to have the most freeing sensation in the world. The only thing that would surpass this would be actual flying, which I really wished that I could do. I mean, why shouldn't I? My name means "winged" for crying out loud. Then got a really strange image in my head of me with gigantic wings, but my face had a weird expression on it. Weird enough to make me crack the smallest, most miniscule of smiles. Even if I find something funny, I can usually control my laughter, but occasionally there are times where I can't and a little bit of a chuckle slips out. Those times make me laugh at myself for being so unconscious of my awareness.

Then I spoke up, saying, "Cool."

I had a question. "Why did you sound so tense before?"


I was curious. Really, I didn’t know for sure so I thought I'd find out. Or at least try.