Elemental Dreams

Chapter 1

   Rosaii silently looked out the window, indulged in the music playing on her device. She knew where they were going, but what followed after was incredibly unbeknownst to her. They were going to Yosemite Park, since Rosaii was fascinated by nature. It was her reward for getting all A's on her report card, and she had worked hard to get to where she was now. Her parents understood that, and therefore surprised her with passes to Yosemite. They were camping in an expensive part of the woods, mainly because it was on a riverbank, which gave an extensive view of trees that were effected by the season, fall. The mountains were beautifully dotted with the trees, and low-hanging fog gave the area a rather foreboding sense. It was amazing.

   Once they arrived at the comely spot, Rosaii quietly sat behind a tree to call a friend. Nobody answered, as she expected. She wasn't the most favored person at school. She sighed as she turned off her phone, appreciating the amazing scene which fell before her eyes. Fireflies. The night sky was darkening, and as she waved her arm along the wild grass, fireflies flew out. They looked like faeries' lanterns, as her father had told her they would. She sighed happily as they danced through the night, like spreading wildfire. She stayed like this for about a half hour, until she noticed the hastily darkening sunset. 

   Rosaii quickly yet silently ran to the family's camping space, but noticed her parents were missing from their usual spot, in their tent. She frowned, picking up a note laying on her parents' tent floor. It read, "Meet us in the heart of the forest. Enter through the trail, then go right(off the trail) after about 5 minutes. Turn right again. We'll meet you there."

   Rosaii followed the instructions, and soon was led to a large sequoia tree. On the base of the trunk, there was a carved message. "Get a stick. Draw a polygon, any polygon, on the extra space between my roots. Then tap the polygon's fourth edge, and chant these words: 'Seenai, Rateenai, Carnethus.' It may sound dumb, but it is worth your time." Rosaii searched for a stick, but to no prevail. She began walking back to camp when she heard a buzzing sound behind her. Rosaii's mind immediately jumped to bees, but the sound came from far away, so she kicked that idea out of her mind. 

   She started back to investigate when she felt a small paw on her toe. Jumping up, she looked down to see a squirrel. It had a stick in its mouth, and a flower bracelet on its wrist. She bent down cautiously, stretching her hand out to the squirrel, which reacted by licking her palm. She gasped, beginning to pet the squirrel. As it dropped the stick in her open palm, the squirrel ran away, acting as if it had no idea who Rosaii was. Confused, Rosaii began walking back to the large tree. Now there was a strange glow emitting from the tree, which she found enchanting yet strangely frightening.

 "Do it," a small voice in her mind began chanting. "Rosaii, carve into the dirt. Carve! Do it! There's nothing to lose! Come on! DO IT! ROSAII!"

  "No! Stop!" Rosaii put her hands to her head, her breathing irregular and her heart beat fast. There was silence now. Nothing moving. Everything was still, waiting to see what Rosaii would do. The voice stopped. Her breathing regulated. Everything.. Everything seemed normal. She inched toward the tree, beginning to draw a diamond into the space between the roots. Tapping the very bottom face of it, she began to chant the words she was told. She stopped, and she realized she was holding her breath. 

  "Rose, you idiot, you were scared," a deeper, now darker voice began talking in her mind.

  "You'd be too!" said the smaller voice.

  "I wouldn't hold my breath because a tree told me to do something."

  "You don't even have a breath. You're Rose's evil subconsciousness. You don't breathe."

  "Neither do you."

  "Shut up."

  "I know you are but what-"

   "Stop!" Rosaii shouted at the minds in her head. She looked around, now realizing she was shouting at herself. She walked toward the trail, laughing at herself. However, she stopped laughing after she realized the trail was nowhere in sight. The sky was now the same darkness as it would've been at six PM, and she was scared. Rosaii climbed a tree in desperate search for the trail, but once she saw what was happening as she climbed, she realized something was wrong. Something was desperately wrong.