Colors : The Spectrum of Light

Chapter 7

Alabaster stared at the sky as the sun made its way behind the horizon. Well, that wasn't good. He remained in the spot they had abandoned him in. He didn't move but at this point, he was tired of waiting and thought that he should do something about it, but then he thought for a second. That wasn't a good idea either. He would get lost if he tried to find his way back. He thought about this before and now, it didn't seem like too bad of an option because he didn't want to see what happened in the forest after dark.

He got up, his mind coming to a decision. He would try to find his way back but where to start? He barely remembered the direction they had come in and now that the light was fading. Darkness was threatening to obstruct his view and possibly stop him altogether. As he began walking around the empty, grassy field, he found himself unsure of where to go. All he knew was that he had to start moving at some point.

He stopped when the trees met the field. They created a defined barricade, a barrier of where the field stopped and the forest began. He hesitantly stepped forward into the much darker area where all the light that could have been there was being shaded by the leaves. He trembled slightly as he continued to reluctantly step through the thicket, the forest around him looking all the same yet so different when he first came through here.

This was a bad idea. Alabaster turned around to head back to the field, but he already noticed that it was no longer in his view. The forest had swallowed any image of the clearing and he couldn't recall the direction he had come from.

This was just great. He didn't know where he started and now he didn't know where to go. What if they just forgot about him and he'd have to stay out here? What if they finally went to search for him and they couldn't find him because he was gone? What if they think he ran off? He held his head as his thoughts corrupted his mind with insecurity and doubt.

His hesitant steps became quicker as it escalated into a jog. Desperate, looked around for a place or image he could recall. Nothing was familiar; he was lost in a world he had never seen before.

Alabaster stopped with haste, his breath heavy. The light was gone and there was nothing left to see. Nothing to look for.

He was hopeless. Lost.

Not only in the manner that he couldn't find his way but he felt like he was detached from the world and he didn't know how to reattach himself. Could he ever?

He glanced up towards the treetops, the few leaves that were present rattled in the wind like dark, lively sheets of paper. Every once in a while, a small beam of the faint moonlight would grant him visibility. He stared up, as if someone would help him, someone would guide him. Lead him back home, tell him everything was a lie. That he was stuck in a dream. That he could just wake up in his normal bedroom and see his friends again without having to worry about their safety when their fifteenth birthdays roll around.

He needed a sign. A direction to follow. He waited.

Nothing came.

Alabaster dropped his head, the feeling of defeat overwhelming his mind as he trudged his way through the darkness.

Just when he thought he'd never find an answer, a clue of some sort, it hit him.

Literally.

He stumbled back, having hit his head on a surprisingly sturdy branch. Groaning for a moment before following it to the trunk of the tree, he slowly slid his hand along the rough bark until he met the trunk, he looked up at the tree. All of its branches were in reach of each other. He reached up for the first one which was at the height of his forehead, as he found a foothold in the tree and made his way to sit on the branch.