A Step Through The Ring

Chapter One

The breeze was cool and crisp, carrying the scent of fallen leaves that crunched under foot with a hint of smoke. Probably someone setting fire to their leaf pile somewhere nearby in the neighbourhood.

Which was illegal in the area, Maria noted.

So while the scent was pleasant to her nose, the idea of all the different insects like butterflies and caterpillars that need leaf brush to over winter in, and how so many people don't care because of aesthetics, made her recoil to the smell

Iris had invited Maria out to lunch that crisp autumn day. It was lovely weather when they originally left to grab a slice of pizza at the local plaza, but now on their way back in the late afternoon it was simply splendid. The air crisp with a touch of chilly coolness, just enough to wear a thick cozy sweater, but the sun warm and bright that kept you from too much of a chill and set the bright colours of the trees ablaze. Iris had begun the subject of dating life as they made their way back home along their old path through the 'forest' as they had called it.

What Maria and Iris called the 'forest' was really just a small section of the woodlot along the concrete lined creek that ran through their section of suburbia. When this area was originally deemed a 'forest' by Maria, the trees seemed taller and older with the magic of being a child half her current height. The mid afternoon light streaming through the trees gave a flicker back to her eyes that she felt she had once lost. The forest before her almost looked the same as it did back then, glittering with an air of beauty and magic about it.

"-and then Brad decided to dump me! After he had been so clingy to me for the last, what? Two and something years?!" Iris' voice came into her consciousness again. She looked over to her friend who walked along the path beside her, feeling guilty that she had gotten distracted from the conversation at hand.

"What an absolute dick" Maria stated between nods and looks over at her friend in confirmation of Iris' feelings. Iris was walking along the path, eyes down, watching where her feet lay as she seemed to spit her anger at the leaves underfoot. Maria felt that Iris was likely imagining her ex-boyfriends face in the leaves' stead.

As they can around the small bend in the path that followed the creek towards the sitting tree, the 'forest' opened up into a small open plain close to the creek lined with bright red sugar maple trees. This used to be their playground, their village to roam, caves to explore for hidden treasure, their kingdom to rule and bring to life within their minds. Now, it was just a stand of trees by some water with cigarette butts and pieces of food wrappers dispersed throughout the leaves from local high schoolers.

A pang of sadness rang through Maria to see that the area was no longer as pristine as it once was, and probably will never be again with the new high school just around the corner. A sense of bitterness came to the thought of it, as a good portion of the forested area further down the creek was removed for the Highschool's football field. Which also made it an easy route to get off property somewhere out of sight for the smokers in the school.

Iris looked at the area for a second and made to sit down on the sitting tree. A large tree in the shape of a curved 'L' where the bottom was a well worn seat, and the top leaned over the small width of moving water below.

The naming scheme of a 9-year old Maria was very literal, but it worked and it stuck. Frankly, at this point there would be no better name for it.

Sitting down beside Iris, Maria sat forward to look towards the bend in the creek. Maria could see the shafts of light start to form between the trees into columns of gold, she once make-believed that those columns were what made her fairy palace.

"I am happy that we're over. I am just pissed that I ditched the girls for him. Wasn't a very good trade, but I guess since I made it-" she paused "I was trying to make it one".