The Storm's Thunder (#Wattys2016)

Chapter IV

August fourteenth, 2018

The sound of the violin sweeps through the forest. It blends with the sound of leaves shivering and branches creaking. It uses the air as a loom to weave its melodies on like tapestries. Every note a string, a silken strand of different color. Even the faintest note is important. Every string matters. And no symphony of sound or color is the same. A quiet melody sounds different in a different setting - it could sound spooky in a dark, abandoned mansion, or soothing next to a gentle river. There are many things that go into a song. Every note, every place, every movement of the violin's bow, singing over taut strings.

A single instrument sings its lonely song. It calls out for the other. It is a soft, sad sound. It shivers like it is on the verge of crying. It sings every day, in hope that the other will join in.

Another violin sings the same song. But it is different. More forceful. It is a frustrated, weary sound. It sounds a bit harsh. It seems angry and hopeless, but it continues to sing its song.

Neither is aware of the other, but they sing the song together. A duet, two tunes coming together as one. Together they rustle the leaves and coax the birds into singing along. But, eventually, one fades away. Leaving only the soft one to continue with a few more notes before falling silent.

The next day, the lonely one takes up its song once more. But there is no one to listen. The other has passed out of reach of the call.

There is no answer. Not yet. For now, each of the violins must stand alone and continue its sorrowful song. The same notes, again and again. The same, yet different. Desperately continuing each day in search for the other. One day they will meet again, and pick up a happier tune. But not yet. For now the simple, soft tune remains. For now, nothing changes... everything changes.

Every little thing matters. Everything affects everything else, especially in a forest.

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Storm put down her violin. Then, in the silence after the shivering notes died down, she heard the crunch of leaves. Footsteps. Barely perceptible, but certainly there.

Someone was walking slowly. Storm immediately looked up, readying herself for an ambush. Her hand closed around the long branch, stripped of bark and sharpened on the end. She kept it beside her at all times. She figured that her fencing skills would help her defend herself from anything that felt the need to attack. She hadn't been threatened by anything yet, but life in high school had made her wary. Thunder had been accepted well by the other kids, but her gold eyes seemed to unnerve people. People often bullied her for her height - short at 4'9", much shorter than Thunder - and her strange eye color. They called her a monster, a freak. She eventually began to draw into herself, using her long dark hair as a curtain to hide behind as she silently wrote her stories. She was still a happy, carefree person with her friend Earth, but she didn't open up to other people anymore. Especially after Sky. But Earth had always been kind to her, and they comforted each other in their sorrows.
As if she had been conjured by Storm's thoughts, a girl with long, brown hair crept shyly out of the brush. A small grizzly cub sat comfortably in her arms. With her hair the color of tree bark and her green dappled tunic, she blended in easily with the forest.
Storm's golden eyes widened in surprise. "Earth?!" The girl, her lifelong friend, gazed at her sadly, then the cub whined a little and she cuddled it like a doll. Then she looked around. She seemed... nervous... and smaller than Storm remembered.
Earth spoke, her voice seeming almost strained, like an instrument long left unused. "Storm... follow me. And be quiet about it. She'll get mad if she finds out that I helped you." She hugged the cub closer to her. She kept looking around as if she expected to be attacked. This was... Odd behavior, for Earth. She had always loved the forest, and would sit and sing quietly to the plants. Birds would flock to her and the flowers seemed to dance. But now she seemed almost... afraid of the forest. What was going on?
"Who?"
But Earth had already turned away. "Follow me. Please... trust me." Her voice shook.
Storm's eyes narrowed, but she picked up her violin. She felt like she shouldn't leave it alone. It was her last link to her past, to her life. Then, before she left the clearing, she paused and whistled softly. Instantly, there was a flurry of shiny black feathers and Rouge landed on her shoulder.
The black-haired girl glanced up toward the sky, memorizing the position of the stars. She had done this several times before, but she wanted to be sure of where to go to get back to her cave, her hidden sanctuary in the woods. Her home for so long.
If this were a trap, she would flee back to this place and gather the few things she had collected while she was in the forest. Then Storm would abandon her little cave, venture off into the forest and beyond, and go to search further.
For her twin. For her other half.
She took a deep breath and followed Earth into the trees. The leaves rustled behind her, the trickle of the waterfall singing a watery goodbye.