KEEPERS OF THE WOODLANDS.

chapter 22:THE CEREMONY

THE COLOURED PETALS

The fire over the pond burned on despite the rain. Everything was running smoothly. the commanders felt more relaxed.i saw them smile at each other and let their guard down.the next part was fun.it involved throwing around crushed petals of all colours.the petals would stick on the skin due to the rain and send a sweet smelling scent everywhere. the purpose for the coloured petal throwing was to get the sky to reflect the colors we'd thrown around.my mother believed that we were never alone that there were higher powers that watched over us from the skies.the colours were meant to please the sky and the higher beings above us.the stars would shine in the same colors wed thrown around.we had to spread as many colours as possible and get the blessing from the sky for this sacred ceremony.

marylin was standing next to a sack full of crashed petals.they were beautiful. She tore the sack open and the petals were spread for us to get some and throw around.it was fun. really, all this fooling around.it strengthened my faith however.i felt it first hand.what mother kept insisting on.the spiritual stuff.i was practically in spirit mode for what.two seconds?but it was enough to leave me in awe of the power that surrounded us."did you feel that?" daimakn asked while we were picking petals from the ground to spread around.these things fascinated him.he had the same excitement i'd seen when i showed him the magic of the woodlands.

i smiled."yea,i thought i was loosing it?"

"noooo you weren't. believe me. Everybody felt it."

"so where'd you leave Cecile?"it hit me that i sounded jealous after id said it.so i bit my tongue and looked away.he bleehed and said that she was screaming too loud so he got away."what. you dont like people who scream?" that also hit me after id said it.its like i was fishing for information about him. like what did he like in girls and whatever.i felt so lame that i promised not to ask any more stupid questions.unless he wanted me to."is russ your.....ummm"he was looking at me straight in the eye.i was avoiding the stare and i couldn't believe he asked that .where did he even get that idea.id tried not to get so close to russ since he came down and joined us at the pond earlier.

"my what?"i said as i got up.i had petals filled to the brim in this little bag cecile gave to me before the ceremony started.she'd gotten it for this purpose.i guess she was really looking forward to this.he got up after me with only a fist full of petals.he'd ignored the question .it was best that he did.i dint want to have to explain any more of my life to him with me barely knowing any of his."you can use mine." i welcomed him to use my bag of petals since his fist full wouldn't really help much. he scratched his head with his empty hand trying to come up with a reason why he even thought a fist full would be enough.i smiled.he looked cute with that face on."thanks."he said,

i spotted cecile from a distance ,she was jumping around throwing petals at people.daimakn noticed i was heading to her and sulked.i caught his expression with my side eye.was he not into cecile.well i felt relieved .i was guilty about it.why was i relieved .that was my girl.i mean .nothing ever made sense when i was with this boy.i threw some petals at him and ran toward cecile.

russ was over there too.he was dumping buckets full of petals on people.his friends were playing around.you know the type of play that turns into rough fights.

i shook my head and tried to walk around them so that i wouldn't get pulled into the chaos.everyone had their bags of petals with them.throwing them around while looking to see if the sky was reflecting.cecile was making marylin mad by jumping and pushing her down.i just loved her energy.i helped marylin up .she thought she was safe now that I was there .between the three of us I was the tranquilizer .cecile was chaos while marylin was the organized OCD one.

i shoved petals on her face.she made her bitch face and decided to show us ."uuuu now she maaad."Cecile made fun of marylins im gonna get you face.she got her bag full of petals and threw it at me. Directly.like the hole thing..she just shoved it at me. the petals Went flying everywhere .i closed my eyes so that I didn't get some in my eyes.

Russ came up from behind me and lifted me from the ground. Spinning me around .i opened my eyes in shock when my feet left the ground. I heard his boys cheer him on .it felt good for a second. i was in his arms in his tight grip .he put me down .I turned around to hit him. "Why do you like coming up from behind me?"I wasn't mad at him.it was because of his annoying habit . I couldn't really hit him.he was so much bigger I'd end up hurting myself."quite bugging cas.have fun.live a little."

He picked me up again this time my bag of petals fell down.one of his friends threw a bucket of petals at us.cecile did too.hers was out of spite though.he put me down and ran after his friend to get him back ."ill be back." He was having fun.i watched him vanish Into the crowd.

"u dropped this."daimakn handed me my petal bag.my smile faded.i caught the expression on his face.it wasn't a happy one.i took my bag from him.i didn't have to explain myself to him or whatever.Cecile was keeping him company so that he wouldn't feel out place.or like he was the new kid .which was my main concern. It shouldn't affect him. whether or not I had a man.i think?

"ill get more flowers."i walked past him.back to the sack of petals.

Man .i certainly felt his gaze as I walked away to get the petals.why did I feel like I hurt him somehow.maybe I was just being silly.i brushed it off.that wasn't going to get in my way tonight.it was lively.i looked up to the sky.nothing yet.we still had more to do.more petals to throw around.more laughter more fun.i fixed my mood and went back to where they were.i was holding my bag loosely infront me.trying to catch the others.cecile walked past me while going to refill her bag.she told me she'd catch me at the spot.i bet D was all alone or having an awkward conversation with marylin.i definatlley didn't want to be a bad host leaving my guest unattended.i mean If I went to the grasslands I'd feel pretty out of place too.