Blue Heart

Chapter 2. Glory-of-the-snow

I stop by the edge of the forest and look at the dry gray branches of the trees, reaching up to the sky as if begging for mercy from the heavens. There's no more wind lashing at my face anymore, the air is still and dead quiet as if the forest is holding its breath and waiting for my next move.

"I ask for permission to enter this woods," I say quietly, watching the shadows from the trees grow longer and darker as they slowly creep up towards me. "I mean no disrespect to the forest or its spirits, I only seek to help my brother, nothing more. Please forgive my trespassing for it is only made with good intention in my heart." I give one step forward and finally cross the invisible line where a barrier of gray trees stands on guard, marking the border of the forest.

I am inside Blaewen Forest now. There is no turning back.

I keep a steady pace as I go deeper and deeper into the woods, looking for any signs of wildlife or its presence. I can hear a few birds chirping far away up on the trees and I see some claw markings on dead trunks and old logs laying on the ground, but I don't spot any animals scurrying away or hiding anywhere in the forest.

I try to follow some deer tracks, to see if I can find where they have been digging through the snow, but the few tracks that I find all disappear as quickly as I spot them.

Wildlife is not going to help me today, but there is still one last trick I can use. I can try to keep an eye out for the color blue showing above the snow. I need to find a gathering of Glory-of-the-snow, a delicate star-like flower that blooms with the most vivid blue throughout all winter in this forest. It is known to appear in small clusters near air pockets in the snow, and the chances I have to find the roots for my brother buried beneath those blue flowers will be high.

All I need is a small patch of these flowers to show me where the air pocket is, but I can't seem to find any sign of blue anywhere.

A song drifts back into my head and I hum it along, quietly to myself. It's an old nursery rhyme about blue flowers that I had heard a long time ago.

'And so it begins, our tale in a song,
of blossomed blue treasure, of too long ago...'

A violent gale sweeps through the forest, making my cloak billow madly as it brushes past me, and it is right then, that I hear... a low whisper carried by the wind... Or is it just my mind playing tricks on me, playing old sing-songs into my ears to distract me from the cold and fear that I am feeling?

'Two lines to remember, to take it to heart,
If all is forgotten, remember this part...'

All the branches of the trees around me creak and moan in complaint, strained by the force of the wind that keeps tugging childishly at them, to make them pay attention.

'A little of blue... might be able to save you.'

The whisper continues, this time not as low as before.

'A whole lot of blue will be making undue...'

I recall hearing this lullaby many times before... it was something the elders in my village used to sing for children, a song about the heart of the forest and the sea of blue flowers that bloom there.

This time the melody doesn't seem peaceful or calming like I remembered them to be though... it has an ominous ring to it now, something eerie that seemed to be lurking beneath the words and the rhymes.

I tighten my grip over the handle of the knife that is tucked on the side of my belt, hidden underneath my cloak. 'I am not a weak, defenseless girl. I can defend myself from any danger this forest might throw in my path', I chant this to myself, over and over inside my head, while I try to tame the bubbling panic that is climbing up my throat whenever I think about snarling wolves and haunting spirits that could be lurking close by.