A White Melody in the Silence

PART II

Holly picked her way through dense underbrush, pausing briefly to wipe away the sweat on her forehead. It was a hot day. She was thirsty.

She'd stopped keeping track of the days a long time ago. It had to have been years since she left, surely, but she couldn't say exactly how many. All she knew was that every morning the sun came up, and every night it went back down.

She paused to lean against a tree, heaving a sigh. There had to be a river or pool or something around here somewhere. It was just a matter of finding it.

Above her, there was rustling in the leaves. She looked up. Sitting on one of the branches, holding a large nut, was a little red squirrel. Holly cleared her throat.

"Excuse me?"

The squirrel jumped, though surely it had to already have known she was there, and looked back down at her. "What?"

"Sorry to interrupt," Holly began, "But I was wondering if you know what direction I should go in to find some clean water?"

The squirrel appraised her for a few seconds. "Water?" it repeated.

"Yes," Holly said slowly, deliberately. "Water. To drink. I'm thirsty."

"In the river," the squirrel said.

"Great. Where's the river?" Holly asked.

"In the woods," the squirrel replied.

"We're in the woods right now," Holly said.

"Yeah," said the squirrel.

"Could you be more specific?"

"Could you be less ugly?"

"Hey! That's not very nice!"

"It's not very nice to be ugly." The squirrel clambered up the branch it was on, leaped into another tree, and disappeared.

"Wow, okay," Holly said. "Thanks for nothing! Piece of work . . ."

Her grumbling was interrupted when she saw something watching her. A deer, with massive antlers, and a scar on its face.

"Hello," Holly said, raising a hand.

The deer didn't respond. It flicked its tail, still watching her.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, motioning in the directed the squirrel had taken off in. "I can't believe the animals in this forest sometimes."

Still saying nothing, the deer pawed at the ground with its hoof. Holly tilted her head to one side. She'd learned long ago how to speak with animals, and she'd spoken to many deer. Some of them were the chattiest animals she'd ever met. But this one remained silent.

"Do you know where I can find clean water?" she asked.

The deer snorted. It flicked its tail, then turned around and started walking away through the trees. Holly's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Another creature walking away from her. She sighed.

The deer stopped and looked back at her. It flicked its tail again. Holly frowned. Was it motioning to her?

"Should I follow you?" she asked.

The deer signalled with its tail again. Holly pushed off from the tree she was leaning on and approached the deer. When she was close, it started walking again. She matched her pace to its, and the two of them trotted through the forest, neither of them saying anything.

Some time later, they came to the river. They stepped out of the shelter of the trees, and onto the bank, where the deer dipped its head and began to drink. Holly dropped to her knees next to it, cupping her hands and dipping them into the water.